Is this a Cheshire Reg Officers Badge?

[CBH]

Found this interesting Cheshire Regiment cap badge, it appears to be a silver officers badge.
But I wanted to ask for more opinions. Thanks for looking.

[Mark Holden]

Other ranks Cheshire Regiment Cap Badge

[CBH]

Thanks for the reply, Mark.
It's appreciated.

[Jerry B]

Badges on sliders are almost always other ranks.....have to be very peculiar circumstances to have an officer use one.

[CBH]

Thanks for the additional information, I don't see many British WWI cap badges over this side of the water.

[Watchdog]

Hi Chris,

Yep definately an ORs badge which looks to have been painted black at some point (I suspect a very clumsy attempt to make it look aged) which I do believe is spurious and you will do no harm to remove that whatever it is. Of course the badge would then be quite "shiny" but that is not a huge issue as being made of nickle and brass these types do not carry a great deal of patina beyond a few months of being untouched.
You will also have noticed that the end of the slider has been cut off. This is not at all unusual as many came out of the factory with a slider perceived by the users to be too long and in some cases this was perfectly true as the badge would not sit right in the headress (with this one it would probably have been the SD hat). But, "Tommy" had the perfect solution, a quick snip with a pair of sidecutting pliers (which accounts for the crude edge) and "Bob's yer muvvers bruvver!" (sorry, Bob's your uncle)
As I say the black isn't right as widespread blackening of badges to subdue the finish in the field came about much later than 1922 when this badge was replaced by the later version with the acorn reduced in size and within a circlet.

Some may disagree and I gernerally wouldn't clean a badge of such age but in this case I don't believe there is a down side. You would simply have a much more "correct" looking badge. Just don't use anything abrasive or corrosive!

I hope this helps.

Regards

Mark

[CBH]

Thanks Mark, for the detailed reply. I did lightly brush the badge when I got it, but I may clean it thoroughly now.
Also the slider did have me confused, thanks for the explanation.
Cheers to all that commented or looked, I'll repost once I get it cleaned up.

[Watchdog]

Thanks Mark, for the detailed reply. I did lightly brush the badge when I got it, but I may clean it thoroughly now.
Also the slider did have me confused, thanks for the explanation.
Cheers to all that commented or looked, I'll repost once I get it cleaned up.

As I say, I am pretty sure from the pics that it is black paint that has been applied to this badge and I would try actetone first (watch the Mrs face when you ask for her nail polish remover !! ) but if that doesn't shift it try a little commercial paint stripper (I expect your health & safety regulations have made the stuff you can buy as weak as here!!) you won't damage the metal just be careful of anything containg strong acids that will compromise the metal. If in doubt Google the chemical properties of the ingredients but I think acetone is a good bet.

A little bit off line from this badge but (aside from the clean/don't clean thing) it may seem unbelievable but if you need to clean a really cruddy brass and white metal badge that is just not fit to be seen due to the filthy state it is in, basic household toilet cleaner eg; Toilet Duck (other toilet cleaners are available!!) is fantastic and will clean these metals almost instantly.

Regards

Mark

[CBH]

Well the acetone didn’t do much, but the paint stripper worked well.
Still some crud in the recesses but much better, thanks for the help Mark.