World War One Australian Pinback Button Badge

AUSTRALIA World War One Tin Lapel Political Patriotic Pin Back Button Badge very scarce - almost 100 years old

This is a November 1918 issued Burra Australia Cheer Up Day Badge associated with the Burra South Australia Cheer-Up Society chapter

World War One Burra Cheer Up Day Nov. 1918 Pinback Button Badge -  Very Scarce

Description

WWI commemorative circular plastic-coated pressed tinplate metal badge with a celluloid face and a pin attachment on the reverse. This fund raising badge celebrates the ending of the First World War with a Cheer Up Day event in Burra South Australia. It depicts a Union Jack flag , artwork and a pennant with the inscription "GOD BLESS OUR MEN". The wording "BURRA CHEER UP DAY" appears along the top and "NOV. 1918" along the bottom of this pin back badge.

Inscription:

BURRA CHEER UP DAY / GOD BLESS OUR MEN / NOV. 1918

Maker
Atkinson & Co

Place made
Australia: South Australia, Adelaide

Date made
c 1918

Size

approximately 32 mm round ( 1 1/4 inches )

Summary:

Australian Cheer UP Society , Burra Chapter badge made in 1918.

In August 1914 , soon after the outbreak of the World War One, Mrs Alexandrine Seager, a real estate and employment agent, along with William Sowden, editor of the Register, were shocked by the lack of public support for troops awaiting embarkation at the suburban Morphettville camp. They formed the Cheer-Up Society, whose volunteer women workers aimed to 'promote and provide for the comfort, welfare and entertainment' of soldiers and sailors. The society wished to shield soldiers from alcohol and disreputable city entertainments. At the Cheer-Up Hut, opened in 1915 west of the Adelaide City Baths on King William Road and financed by funds raised at fairs and badge days, the men could have free meals, meet friends, play billiards and enjoy concerts. Departing troops were given great farewells. Food and money were donated by the society’s 10 000 members, particularly from country branches. The Burra Cheer-Up Girls’ Band raised funds and the Murray Bridge Cheer-Ups met troop trains with refreshments. For Seager, with a husband and three sons in the army (one died at Gallipoli in 1915), and the other women, this was a labour of love, a maternalist contribution to the war effort.