BUTTON

Cast copper alloy hollow-domed, die-cut, two-piece button, with a soldered circular wire attachment loop on the back. The front of the button is engraved with the device of the Plume of the Prince of Wales feathers and the motto 'ICH / DIEN' in a scroll on either side. The three feathers and the motto "lch Dien", German for "I Serve", go back to Edward (1330-1376), the eldest son of Edward III. He was known as the 'Black Prince' because he had his suit of armour painted black, a very unusual thing at the time. He later became the Prince of Wales and the three feathers and coronet have been associated with Wales and the Prince of Wales ever since. The plume is above the Ordnance shield with three artillery guns, one above the other, surmounted by a band with three bezants in a row, and flanked by the letters 'R S' on the left and 'L A' on the right. These letters stood for 'Royal Stannary Local Artillery', which was formed in September, 1803 from the miners within the Stannaries, which were the privileged mining districts of Cornwall and Devon. These were men exempt from most of the normal provisions governing any form of military service at this time (Ivall & Thomas, 1974, p.42).

The backmark reads: '& SON...ONE A' but the rest is illegible.

Ivall & Thomas (1974) illustrate a similar example on page 43, Plate O, No.172, which is dated from 1803 to 1808.