Northumberland Fusiliers volunteer battalion collar badge in white metal, produced in the pattern worn before 1908 by officers and other ranks of the volunteer battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers of the British Army. This British Army fusilier Volunteer Force collar badge displays the recognised regimental device in clear relief, incorporating a flaming grenade as the principal device, with the ball of the grenade bearing a circular circlet inscribed with the regimental motto “QUO FATA VOCANT” (Latin: “Whither the Fates Call”), enclosing the figure of St George slaying the dragon. The motto-inscribed circlet helps distinguish this badge from the regular regiment pattern adopted in 1904, in which the motto on the circlet was replaced by the title “NORTHUMBERLAND FUSILIERS” — the Volunteer battalion badges retained the older motto form throughout their existence. As a collar badge, this example is one of a facing pair, worn as matching left- and right-facing badges on the collar of the service dress tunic, with the grenade flames positioned to the outer side of the St George figure on each badge.
The regiment traces its origins to 1674, when it was raised as Viscount Clare’s Regiment of Foot for service in Holland; transferred to English service in 1688; and ranked as the 5th Regiment of Foot in 1751. On St George’s Day, 1836, the regiment was redesignated as a fusilier regiment, adopting the flaming grenade badge common to all fusilier regiments, and the motto “Quo Fata Vocant” was restored to the badge circlet by royal approval in 1831, having formerly appeared on the regiment’s colours and appointments. The figure of St George slaying the dragon was incorporated into the badge device on the regiment’s redesignation as the Northumberland Fusiliers under the Childers Reforms of 1881. Under the Haldane Reforms enacted by the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, the Volunteer Force was dissolved and reconstituted as the Territorial Force on 1 April 1908, at which point the four existing Volunteer battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers – the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Volunteer Battalions – were redesignated as the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Territorial Battalions, bringing the pre-1908 Volunteer collar badge pattern to the end of its authorised wear. The regiment was granted the “Royal” prefix in 1935, becoming the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, and was amalgamated into the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on 23 April 1968.
Manufactured in white metal consistent with British Army Volunteer Force fusilier collar badge production of the 1881 to 1908 period, this original example provides a well-defined representation of the Northumberland Fusiliers Volunteer battalion collar badge in its pre-1908 motto-circlet pattern. Northumberland Fusiliers Volunteer battalion collar badges are collected as examples of late Victorian and Edwardian British Army Volunteer Force fusilier insignia, pre-Territorial Force headdress and collar hardware of the Northumberland county regiments, and original uniform accessories of one of the oldest fusilier regiments in the British Army.
Dimensions
Approx. 25mm x 40mm
Condition
Very good, with the details still being clear
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