History

The Rising Sun badge, also known as the General Service Badge or the Australian Army Badge, is the official insignia of the Australian Army and is worn on the brim of a slouch hat or the front of a peaked cap (select appointments only). The badge is readily identified with the spirit of ANZAC, the legend of the Australian soldier (or digger), and the esprit de corps of the Army due to its association with the landings at Gallipoli in 1915. Today, recruits receive the iconic badge with their initial equipment issue within their first three days of enlistment.

 Origins

However, the origins of the Rising Sun badge are disputed. It has been suggested that the association of the badge with the rising sun came from the trademark of a famous brand of jam at the time of its inception, known as 'Rising Sun Jam.' In contrast, other scholars have suggested that it represented the rising sun from the start. To be sure, rising sun designs had appeared on early Australian colonial coins and military insignia decades before the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901 and may have represented the image of Australia as an a young nation' and a 'new Britannia.'

Indeed, from as early as the 1820s, various progressive organizations used the symbol of a 'rising sun, loosely characterized under the banner "Advance Australia." The rising sun crest used in the New South Wales colonial and state crests was taken from the crest used on the first Advance Australia Arms circa 1821 and has been consistent since then. The oldest known example is the 'Advance Australia' coat of arms. The 'Advance Australia Arms' (named because of the motto inscription) became widely used in New South Wales and the neighboring colonies by private corporations and individuals. Although they never had any official status, they formed the basis for several official coats of arms, including the New South Wales coat of arms. The representation below was reputedly painted for Thomas Silk, the son of the captain of the Prince of Orange, a convict ship that visited Sydney in 1821. The symbol struck a chord with the pre-federation population and many examples still exist on colonial architecture.

 Military use

Australian Army slouch hat detailing the wearing of the Rising Sun badge on the upturned brim.

In 1902, a badge was urgently sought for the Australian contingents raised after the Federation for service in South Africa during the Second Boer War. The most widely accepted version of the origin of the badge is that which attributes its design selection to a British officer, Major General Sir Edward Hutton, the newly appointed General Officer Commanding Australian Military Forces. The design was subsequently first worn by the Australian Commonwealth Horse. Hutton had received a "Trophy of Arms" gift from Major Joseph Gordon, a long-standing military acquaintance, comprising mounted cut and thrust swords and triangular Martini Henri bayonets arranged in a semicircle around a brass crown. To Hutton, the shield was symbolic of the co-ordination of the Naval and Military Forces of the Commonwealth. Three designs were created, forming the basis of a new design created in 1903, which was adopted as the General Service Badge in 1911. The original badge bore the words 'Australian Commonwealth Military Forces' on the scroll at the bottom of the badge. However, as the original design was created in haste, it was subsequently redesigned. It was later worn by soldiers of the First Australian Imperial Force in World War I and the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) in World War II, used in both the slouch hat and the tunic. At the same time, it was also used in some Regimental badges.

Since its inception, the primary form of the 1904 version has remained unchanged, although modifications have been made to the wording on the scroll and the style of the crown. Notably, although no badge was ever struck with the wording 'Australian Imperial Force,' this wording has been used as a headstone design. In 1945, the Department of the Army recommended that two separate badges for Army war graves of World War II be used to distinguish between the 2nd AIF and the Citizen Military Force (CMF) members. Subsequently, this variation appeared only on the headstone badges of deceased 2nd AIF members.  Design changes

In 1949, when Corps and Regimental badges were reintroduced, the badge was changed again. The wording on the scroll was changed to read 'Australian Military Forces', deleting the word 'Commonwealth.' Nevertheless, the earlier badge was commonly used with recruit training units until at least the late 1960s.

Following the ascent of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the throne, the Crown on the badge was consequently changed from a King's (Tudor) Crown to a Queen's (St. Edward's) Crown in the 1956 version.

 In 1969, the badge was again modified to incorporate the Federation Star and Torse Wreath from the original 1902 version of the badge, while in 1972, the scroll wording was shortened again to 'Australia.' However, due to the number of older badges still held in stock, this badge was produced for issue in the late 1980s.

 In 1991, a new design was produced, which returned the design to one similar to that of the original World War I badge to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the fighting at Gallipoli. The inscription on the scroll was again changed and now reads: 'The Australian Army.'

In 1995, the badge was altered for the last time when the metal was changed from 1160 aluminum, returning it to brass for the first time since World War II, but with a copper and gold plate, while also raising the crown and arms and re-introducing piercings as it had in 1914, and thus returning to its traditional layout. Today's version is the seventh iteration of the design used as the General Service Badge.       

Be sure to add me to your favorite list! Check out my other items!