(left)......medals and ephemera to Corporal Lawrence Cowin,1st (Airborne) Battalion,Border Regt, signaller/wireless operator,D Companys signal platoon,KIA by German mortar round on slit trench,courtyard of farmhouse,34 Van borssellenweg,Oosterbeek,Arnhem,25/9/44  (own collection).

Basically,all those 4th and 5th Battalion badges on e Bay are all copies.The originals should be concaved in detail,not flat.The originals are concaved in the mold..if you look across the edge of a genuine badge,the details should be raised..if you look across a fake,its perfectly flat!..you cant concave a repro flat badge as it is pressed into an original as part of the manufacturing process,so bending it between two fingers is a no no!!..see Border Regiment Militaria group in E Bays Community section for a good cross section of Border Regt badges. Alternately,join the Military Collectables Group,also in E Bays Community section.Another giveaway on the fakes is that the small "pimples" which make up the arms of the backing star are perfectly flat ,but on the genuine badges are raised and better defined..also, maker marked rear sliders are not the sign of a genuine badge..i have seen fake 4th and 5th badges with genuine maker marked sliders attatched being offered on e bay...the sliders are genuine, but the badges are not.

3rd Battalion Border cap badge only has the Dragon as its centre motif..it has no motto or battle honours..this is due to the Battalions role as a special reserve unit,based its entire life at Carlisle Castle as traning and recruiting unit..training officers and men for sending overseas to other Border units in WW1..they never went anywhere,hence no honours. There is a similar badge to the Royal Cumberland Militia (which eventually became 3rd Border)..their badge is same as 3rd Border BUT with the Arroyo honour to the circlet,whereas that of the 3rd Border proper is blank as stated...the arms to the Cumberland Militia badge are also blank..another 3 rd Border badge is same  as the regular 3rd Border BUT has "3rd vol btn" to the circlet AND a scroll across the bottom arm of the maltese cross reading "South africa 1900-02"..this is still a 3rd batt badge but with these differences it was stamped for award to those 3rd batt members who volunteered for the Boer war..it was awarded to them after they came back..it is one piece diestruck and has so far only been encountered in whitemetal..no ones faking them....something to look out for.

The fake 3rd Battalion badge has only been encountered in brass.......genuine examples are either one piece whitemetal, one piece silver, one piece bronze, all with loops to the backs....and an officers 2 piece in silver plate with seperate enamel centre (this type has blades to the back)...some silver examples will have "SILVER" stamped in small letters to the rear,in the area of the arm just below the crown,some wont...some will have silver lugs,some copper.

The 11th Lonsdale Battalion badge as a fake is done in cast alloy which is plated chrome..fairly easy to spot as they have rough reverses with a pin across the rear..not intended to fool anyone,they were made from 1990 onward as cheap gap fillers for display..since the late 1990s however fakes have been seen in diecast chrome (never a feature of an original), diecast brass with lugs,and bronze...The lonsdale badge was NEVER ISSUED as a bronze badge..these are post 2001 fakes. Genuine ones are only encountered in brass (not easily bendable) and silver (which should be hallmarked).....to date i have never seen a genuine 11th Border badge offered for sale on E Bay.....expect to pay around £60-£100 for a brass badge and £200++ for a silver one..there are FAKE SILVER 11th Lonsdale badges around which have been in circulation since the 1980s and have PROPER HALLMARKS TO BIRMINGHAM 1914..these are stamped as proper but fake hallmarks on the LEFT wing of the dragon, as you view the badge from the back...the hallmarks on an ORIGINAL BADGE will be deep and readable, but on a FAKE the same hallmarks are not deeply stamped and are badly defined, and the more you look at the marks, the less detail you see (if you see what i mean), the majority of these fake hallmarked silver badges are usually fitted with a brooch pin across the back, but some wont be.....there is no such thing as an 11th badge at a bargain price..they all know what they are so you pays your money and takes your choice!!.I have never seen miniature lonsdale badges as collar badges..presumably the normal Border collars were worn..until a pair of MATCHING left/right facing Dragon 11th lonsdale collars turn up..we can safely assume they dont exist!.should you encounter a miniature lonsdale badge..its probably a "sweetheart brooch". same for 11th lonsdale buttons..never seen any.

Sometime in WW1,11th Border had a cloth shoulder title reading XI BORDER..i dont know the colour used,and to my knowledge they havent been faked.

All the victorian numbered shako badges to the 34th..55th Cumberland/Westmorland regts which are to be seen on E Bay are all fakes..also be warned that there has been at least one example of a fake 34th Cumberland Regt officer shoulder belt plate offered on E Bay..so someones doing them an all...Be wary of any 1822 patt Bell top Shako plates to the 34th Cumberland...some were made in Canada in the early 2000s for a Canadian based re enactment unit..they also made shoulder belt plates as well..a genuine 34th bell top plate sold on e bay Uk in May 2008 for just under £700..thats the "going price".ive not seen  another offered..it may have been the one from the 2 volume kipling and king books on headdress badges..i know some rare plates pictured for the books were offered on the UK market during 2008, it may have came from there...although the advertiser didnt link it to the books.

In Carlisle a few years back a well known local jeweller contracted someone to manufacture hallmarked silver copies of not only the regular Border badge,but also those of the 11th,4th,5th Battalions also..but these have modern hallmarks on them. If in doubt about anything,drop a line to the military Collectables Group.

Incedentally,treat westmorland & Cumberland Yeomanry cap badges in the same way..allways in brass,bronze or silver...fakes are flat,genuine ones are concave,particularly in the area of the central chaffs of corn..they stand proud on a genuine badge..flat with the rest of the badge on a fake...Silver Westmoreland & Cumberland Yeomanry badges will sometimes have "SILVER" stamped on the rear,some wont,but in all cases the lugs will allways be silver...another pattern of W&CY cap badge is that issued from 1962-1968 being a circle with the regiments title around it,chaffs of corn to the centre,with a Queens Crown above. This pattern badge is allways in anodised and will allways have the Queens Crown..no other patterns in any other metal are known of this particular badge..the original pattern badge was dropped after WW1 when the regiment converted to an artillery role and the regiment wore Royal Artillery badges until 1962 when this pattern was issued and worn until the regiments disbandment in 1968.The back slider is usually stamped FIRMIN LONDON,and usually is in mint unissued condition,and has never been a common badge,between 2004 and 2006 the price of an example has gone from a tenner to around the twenty quid mark as the stigma of having anodised badges in a collection diminishes!!. ..an earlier example of the circular badge may be found in bronze with a Kings Crown.

The "normal" whitemetal border Regt cap badge as a genuine badge will allways be fitted with a slider and it will have a small brass "bar" across the rear centre..this is to hold the cloth backing in place,sometimes on a genuine badge this will be snapped off,but traces of it will be visible..the fake "normal" Border regt badge is usually found with cotterpin loops on its rear,not a feature of the original badge,however some fakes will have a slider..in all cases the fake will neither have the small rear bar or a trace of one having being there.This basic whitemetal badge is never worth a fortune,around £4-£5 being the norm..although i have seen novice collectors paying £15 for ones on E Bay..which is a rip off.

In 1916 an all brass economy version of the standard Border cap badge was issued however,any genuine examples encountered today will either be chrome plated,or if an attempt to strip the chrome back has taken place,brass with traces of chrome in the small details...any that are pure brass with no traces of chrome should be treated as suspect.also a genuine economy brass badge should have an un pierced centre..i have seen well polished examples offered on e bay but with pierced centres..they have turned out, on inspection, to have been very well polished bronze badges, but not 1916 economy brass!!

The 1916 economy brass badge was recalled after WW1 and all existing stocks were chromed  when the particular unit which wore the brass badge converted to tanks in WW2...the chroming of their brass badge brought the badge in line with the regular whitemetal issue...a cost saving exercise..it was cheaper to chrome all the brass badges than to chuck em and reissue whitemetal ones throughout the unit..

The standard Border badge as an officers bronze should have bronze BLADES to the reverse.....if  the same size bronze badge has LOOPS..its the officers collar badge for the service dress tunic.

To date,the standard Border cap badge has been encountered in the following variants.....Kings crown 1898-1952 ors whitemetal (the most commonly found border cap badge)...Kings Crown 1898-1952 chrome plated bronze...Kings Crown 1898-1952 officer bronze...Kings Crown 1898-1952 officer 3 piece silver....Kings Crown 1898-1952 officer 2 piece silver...Queens Crown 1953-59 officer 2 piece silver...1953-58 Queens Crown whitemetal....Queens Crown 1953-59 officer 2 piece silver...Queens Crown 1953-59 officer 1 piece silver.....Queens Crown 1953-59 officer chrome....Queens Crown 1953-59 ors anodised.There was also a grey plastic Kings Crown version issued 1943-46.,and the aforementioned 1916 economy brass...in addition at least one example exists of a cast brass economy badge made at a Cumbrian foundry in WW1...prices?? pay NO MORE than £5 for a standard whitemetal kings crown whitemetal..one piece silver kings crowns start at £95..the rest are in between the prices stated currently (2008).

Pay extra attention to the standard Border whitemetal collar badges,particularly the battle honours to the top arm of the cross....if there are FOUR battle honours to the top arm, the collar is the post 1902 to circa 1914 issue...if THREE then its the 1914-1940 issue....if NO battle honours then its the 1st Volunteer Battalion Border. The standard Border collar badge was struck in whitemetal,silver and silver plate..other ranks are one piece..officers in silver/silver plate will be multi piece..like the cap badges...no examples of the standard Border collars have been seen in brass. Those offered on E Bay in CAST plated metal are bad copies.

The 3rd Border cap badge has so far been encountered in whitemetal...bronze and silver.

The 4th Battalion cap badge has so far only materialised in whitemetal.

The 5th Battalion cap badge has been found so far in whitemetal..however (i forget which) but either the 4th or 5th Border badge is also found with an extra scroll reading" WORKINGTON"..this variant is extremely scarce,and it isnt known if the badge is from a different mold or the scroll has been added to an existing badge...i know examples exist, ive only ever seen one in the metal, a long time ago.

The Border Regiment collar badge issued 1888-1900 has a dragon inside a wreath,the detail around the dragons legs is cut out...and will usually be found in brass,and perhaps wire embroidered...this pattern of collar is extremely scarce with pairs none existent....the collar that predates this one is the lion only,these are extremely rare and were the first pattern collar issued to the "Border" Regt....the collar badge from 1878-1888 looks like a Royal marine collar,but with a dragon on the globe,set in a wreath.with "CHINA" above.....and will be one piece stamped brass for other ranks and 2 to 3 piece construction for officers..this pattern is also seen in wire embroidered,usually these in wire embroiderery have been removed from period bandsman tunics....pairs of these collars are very difficult to get,as one side is more frequently found than the other....a similar "Royal Marine" type collar will be found without the CHINA word..these are to 3rd Btn Border..and will always be in whitemetal,these will command a higher price than the CHINA ones,but be advised that around the early 1970s someone produced whitemetal copies of the CHINA less collars..the copies are extremely good and ironically are accepted among Border regt collectors....those in brass without "CHINA" are 4 th Btn collars..In all cases,all the various patterns of Border collars are "faced" that is to say,on a proper "pair",both the dragons should face inwards..ie,at each other..if not ..then they are not a proper "pair".A small version of the Border badge is often found with a Kings Crown or Victorian crown...seen in whitemetal and cast silver..(tho the cast silver MAY be a fake,its one piece with a solid centre)...this type,with both crowns,is universally called the 1902 pattern,its the pattern worn on the forage hat before the regular Border badge was adopted. Sometimes the blue cloth helmet plate centre is often found with the scroll reading THE BORDER REGt broken off...its often dismissed as a damaged badge..not so..when the regiment went from the blue cloth helmet to the forage hat,they simply removed the helmet plate centres off their Victorian crown back plates,removed the scrolls,and used the centre as the new forage hat badge..a way of saving money and using  an otherwise obsolete badge. The aforementioned helmet plate centre for regular Border has battle honours to all its arms..that of 1st Volunteer Btn has blank arms...2nd Vol Btn is similar to that of 1st Vol Btn,but the scroll reading THE BORDER REGT will have an additional scroll under it reading 2 ND VOLUNTEER BTN...but is fairly scarce.

To make matters complicated,the standard border regt whitemetal collars are faked complete with the small rear bar and red centrepiece,and vary from excellent diestruck (possibly ex-carlisle regimental museum stock) to very poor one piece cast metal. To my knowledge any 4th Battalion collars which turn up are genuine,no ones faking them...yet!

The upward curved T4 BORDER and T5 BORDER brass titles are easy to fake...you just add the relevant T,the number,and solder them to a bog standard upward curved WW1 to 1940 pattern BORDER brass title,believe me..its been done...however those you encounter in whitemetal will be right..similarly any Border whitemetal collar badges you find WITHOUT battle honours on the arms of the cross,are to the volunteer battalions,and will be right..there are no fakes of this collar minus the battle honours,so they are safe..for now..

as yet no buttons to the border regt have been faked..those in brass with CHINA and dragon are not rare and were issued from WW1 till the early 1950s..some will be found in anodised. Those Dragon buttons without CHINA are/were worn only by 4th Border,4th border officers buttons will often turn up on E Bay..silver with gilt or bronze dragon.

there is an odd badge in circulation to the 34th Cumberland Regt..its square with a blank centre..the badge is found in diecast whitemetal,brass,bronze,silver..and cast silver,they all have cotterpin loops and all share the same fault of a badly defined lion between the upper left arm of the cross.

It is thought that these badges are unfinished examples of an officers cross plate which should have an enamel "34" on the centre blank..the regimental museum in carlisle have a couple of examples,and just like mine,appear unfinished..and they are not certain to its proper use. (see my border group for a pic)...rumor has it that the same pieces could be horse furniture of some sort.

As a spin off to the Border regiment is the badge of the Cumberland Volunteer Regiment,raised July 1918 and disbanded in 1919. They were raised in Dalston,Carlisle,and although the actual cap badge is non Border,they wore the standard Border collars. There is a reference to the badge in Kipling and King,but no picture,not surprising as i know of only 4 badges in existence..i have one of them..see my Border group for pic.This regiment wore 1908 pattern web belts with 1 CVR stamped to the back..these are often mistakenly sold by dealers as "Cheshire volunteer regt" items...it is rumored that in the 1930s a Cumbrian man bought the regiments entire stock of  badges, frogs and stamped up 08 web belts in boxes from the old drill hall in a surplus auction,occasionally they do turn up,although we reckon the regiment numbered no more than 100 men....The cap badge to the Cumberland Volunteer regt was die struck in bronze..if you see one like that in my Border group...buy it....IT IS A RARE BADGE...no ones faking them,expect to pay what?...well,mine cost me £60 in 1998,but that was from a relative of one of the guys who was in it, straight out of the house in the village of Gosforth in Cumbria..ive never seen one offered commercially for sale,so to give an accurate price would be impossible.The CVR also issued sew on cloth emb.shoulder patches in the form similar to slip ons, being khaki with ,embroidered in white.. V CUMB. with the V above the upward curved CUMB...never having seen a pair available before, i paid £100 for them, were they an investment?..time will tell.............

these titles are extremely rare..i was fortunate enough to secure a pair on 8/8/08..i know of only 2 other pair in circulation, they have never been faked and a pair has never been offered for commercial sale..they also dont appear in books..they are mint, unissued and never appear to have been sewn to a uniform....it is likely they have all been cut from the same roll. UPDATE..on 11 Sept 2008 two pairs of the above V CUMB titles were offered on E Bay UK from a dealer in Wigton, Cumbria..who in turn was selling them for the guy i bought my pair from originally (apparently, as mentioned, his father bought the entire stock many years ago,and he just sat on them)..starting price was £15 each pair, both pairs sold to a WW1 collector in Merseyside for £85 and £92 respectively..so as of 12 Sept 2008, there are at least 4 pairs of these titles in collectors hands in the UK, and £100 seems to be the "going price" for a pair..time will tell if the Cumbrian collector releases any more pairs.UPDATE..on the weekend of 5 october 2008 another pair of titles surfaced at Yate militaria fair, offered by an e bay cap badge dealer .....i dont know if it was one of the pairs won by the merseyside guy in September, anyway, the dealer had no problem selling his pair...at £150..the guy who bought them was well pleased with his purchase!!.

all patterns of BORDER cloth titles have been faked..regardless of what you see on E Bay,the yellow on green with purple edge title is NOT specifically to the Border Airborne,neither is it rare,they were worn into the 1950s and should cost no more than £4 each...the white BORDER on red backing is a little bit harder to find at £5-£6 each.

The all brass Horsa Glider badge often sold on e bay as an officer/dress piece is neither....they are actually one of the 4 brass badges which make up the armlet of a Provost sargeant of the Kings Own Royal Border Regiment.

Hope this guide has been of some use to you,but sadly since i wrote it originally it still never ceases to amaze me how much e bayers are paying for fake Border Regt related badges,especially 11th Btn Border..i"ll say it again...save your money..YOU WILL NOT GET A GENUINE 11th BORDER BADGE,BRASS,OR SILVER ON E BAY OR ANYWHERE ELSE FOR UNDER £100!..i was hoping writing this guide would help the novice determine the good from the bad on E Bay.......obviously i dont know what im talking about!!if i have any more info..ill update this page....

Happy Collecting,Arnhem440.