Rights Holder: Surrey County Council
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BADGE
Unique ID: SUR-07E25F
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
A copper alloy badge with a five petalled flower in the centre, surrounded by a legend in three concentric circles reading from the outside in: WHEN THE PEOPLE WILLINGLY / OFFERED THEMSELVES / SURREY 1914. In smaller characters below the 1914 in the centre are the words Judges V 2. This is a biblical reference to the text of the legend as it appears in the Book of Judges 5:2: "When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves-- praise the LORD".
The reverse of the badge is blank and has the remnant of a fixing or pin lug towards the top edge. The badge is slightly bent on the top right edge.
Notes:
This is a badge known as a "willing" badge, issued on behalf of John St Loe Strachey, High Sheriff of Surrey between autumn 1914 and 31 December 2015 to individuals who attempted to enlist but were turned down for military service on the basis of being medically unfit as "proof of service proffered to the state" and thus an acknowledgement of patriotism. Over 4500 were issued. The badge represents a scheme intended to prevent rejected recruits from being unfairly labelled as refusing service in a highly charged wartime social climate and furthermore to encourage a possible future role for such individuals in some form of wartime service.
The badge was designed by the artist Henry Strachey, the brother of John St Loe Strachey and reproduced by Messrs. Elkington, Silversmiths, of 22 Regent Street, London.
The role of this badge was described in an article published in the Surrey Advertiser and the Spectator Magazine (which Strachey owned and edited) by John St Loe Strachey on September 26th 1914.
Inscription:
WHEN THE PEOPLE WILLINGLY / OFFERED THEMSELVES / SURREY 1914 / Judges V 2
Subsequent actions
Current location of find: The Surrey History Centre, Woking
Subsequent action after recording: Donated to a museum
Chronology
Broad period: MODERN
Period from: MODERN
Period to: MODERN
Date from: Circa AD 1914
Date to: Circa AD 1914
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Thickness: 0.9 mm
Weight: 4.81 g
Diameter: 25.7 mm
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Museum accession number: SGW/18
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Surrey (County)
District: Guildford (District)
Parish or ward: Send (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: TQ0255
Four figure Latitude: 51.28501549
Four figure longitude: -0.53879294
1:25K map: TQ0255
1:10K map: TQ05NW
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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