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A rare badge issued by the firm R.W. & Co. Ltd. for their internal ARP 'First Aid' squad. I imagine that if they issued a First Aid badge they also issued others for Wardnes, etc. The badge is made by Thomas Fattorini and the design of this badge was used for a fake ARP badge. That fake replaced the company name with "COVENTRY" and it stills crops up on eBay and auction sites from time to time. I have not been able to identify the company.  R.W. & Co. Ltd. First Aid ARP Badge
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The badge on the left is an original wartime R&M ARP Fire Watcher badge issued by the ball-bearing making firm of Ransome and Marles. The ampersand between the R and M is very detailed. The rear featured the half-moon lapel buttonhole fitting found on many wartime enamel badges. It's a scarce badge and appears in Jon Mills' wonderful book "Doing Their Bit - Home Front Lapel Badges, 1939-1945". The badge on the right is a fake repro that used the design but added 'Rolls Royce' (a huge clanger as the actual company is called 'Rolls-Royce', always with a hyphen) and a weird 'R & R' in the scroll. So, along with the incorrect company name, with have modern fonts and a crappy pin and clasp rear. Copies of the badge were previously listed on eBay by a well-known shyster as an original badge and sold. These days they are hawked on the tat bazaar as "ideal for ww2 re-enactment reissue badges ,film or TV prop" (sic). It's a complete piece of trash.
Several towns operated Civil Defence Cadet Corps, with Liverpool, Nottingham, and Birmingham being the best-known examples. The cadets were trained in ARP measures and those over 16 could volunteer with the local Civil Defence Services. Apart from Liverpool, limited information is available about these cadet corps. If you have any more details or photos, please send them via the Contact page. The Dudley cadets below, sporting the rather fetching headwear, are not wearing standard CD uniforms. They appear to be general use overalls and coats to which the ARP breast badge has been attached. The photo has been censored.  Dudley Civil Defence Cadets in 1941 © Black Country History  Civil Defence "C.D. Cadet Corps" shoulder title  Liverpool Civil Defence Cadet (LCDC)  Civil Defence Cadet Corps Nottingham badge The badge below features "FIRE BRIGADE A.R.P." and crops up now and again on eBay (as per this example) and at fairs, etc. I've not yet come across any background details regarding the badge, so if you know more information about when it was issued and by whom, please drop me a line.  Enamel 'Fire Brigade ARP' Badge The green enamel CD Rescue Instructor's badge is probably as rare as the C.A.G.S. Instructors badge (Civilian Anti-Gas School). It is shown with several armbands within the Postal Museum Archives, but little information is available about where, when and how it was issued. It is the same shape as other instructor badges but with green enamel. If you have enjoyed reading the blog, please support the site with a small donation. Thank you.  Armbands, Defence Meal ribbon and Rescue Instructor badge
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