TOPIC:

A new addition.

A large cast brass badge in the form of the coat-of-arms of the Transvaal. Owen lists this as a "Z.A.R. martingale cast badge?" (#2005). If it is indeed a martingale badge, which I believe is likely, which unit was it designed for? As I understand it, both the Staatsartillerie and ZAR Police used a badge similar in design to the ZARP helmet plate: – that is, "ZAR" monogram within the motto "Eendragt Maakt Magt", surmounted by the Transvaal eagle (see below).

Or could this badge have been used to embellish the harnesses of the work/gun horses rather than those of the men's steeds? It is certainly more robust than the standard martingale badges.

Note the eight stout fixing wires to the reverse for attachment to leather.

This badge is much scarcer than the standard Staatsartillerie / ZARP type.



















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Neville, a rare and very interesting badge. I am not aware of other ZAR badges which have single flags bordering the arms. The single flag design occurs in the Free State badges and the only Transvaal link to single flags I could find was in the design of the Arms of the Nieuwe Republiek, an country that existed between 1884-1888 and was subsequently absorbed into the Transvaal. Because both motto and arms design of your badge are clearly that of the Transvaal, the single flag could indicate a very early production date and/or a foreign producer.

Below a small Nieuwe Republiek shield in silver.

Having today discovered not only the identity but also, quite amazingly, a photograph of the owner of the pouch pictured below, it seemed like a good time to revisit this topic.

These pouches or cartouches, with their ornate ZAR badges, were worn by members of the Transvaal Staatsartillerie. The insignia are seen both in plain brass and with a gilt finish, the latter type, I imagine, being reserved for officers.

The belt that came with the pouch has a seemingly illegible name inscribed on its reverse, but fortuitously the initials and service number are somewhat clearer. Regimental rolls for the Staatsartillerie have survived and today MC Heunis very kindly scanned these for possible matches. His success in identifying a potential owner, which I thought could never be done, was amazing enough, but MC did not stop there. He then found a photograph of an individual with the same surname and initial which he described as "a long shot". Well, long shot it was not. There are two images of this artillerist, one on his own and another with his brother. Their names are given as Abraham and Mateus de Beer, and looking at the rolls, an A.S.J. de Beer and an M.J.M. de Beer are shown with consecutive service numbers, both joining up on the same day, 2 March 1896. These are clearly the brothers, and with the aid of the new-found information provided by MC, it is "A.S.J. de Beer 235" that is now just discernible on the back of the pouch belt. Abraham left the regiment on 1 January 1897 to pursue his higher education, but had returned as a gunner in the 2nd Battery by May 1899, and therefore almost certainly saw active service during the ABW. The Bloemfontein database has him listed as a Staatsartillerie Reservist (mistranscribed as A P J de Beer).

The above highlights the fact that an old purchase, in this case from 2008, can keep giving.


















The Staatsartillerie roll showing A.S.J. de Beer and M.J.M. de Beer with consecutive service numbers. They both joined on 2 March 1896, when they were 17 and 18 respectively.







The two photographs, one depicting brothers Abraham and Mateus [Mathys] de Beer together, and the other, Abraham on his own. Without the former image, showing that Abraham had a brother with the initial "M", linking the owner of the cross belt and pouch with the de Beer in the photographs could not have been done with any certainty. Both images courtesy of the Transvaal Archive.







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