Object Record

Images

1 of 1977

View Image Metadata

Metadata

Object ID #

1972.003.009

Object Name

Stick, Swagger

Other Name

Stick, Walking / Baton

Title

147th Grey Overseas Battalion Baton

Lexicon category

6: T&E For Communication

Year Range from

1914

Year Range to

1918

Made

Unknown

Place of Origin

Unknown

Description

"Swagger stick" baton that would be carried by an 147th Grey Battalion officer. The baton is made of wood with a silver cap at the head (similar to that of a British officer's). There is also a regimental insignia piece (copper) crest plate in the shape of a maple leaf which reads "GREY 147 CANADA Over Seas" mounted on the shaft front. The bottom of the baton has a brass tip.

Provenance

Original provenance unknown. Would have been carried by an officer of the 147th Grey (Overseas) Battalion.

Obtained/owned by Oscar Broadhead, of Owen Sound, Grey County at an unknown time. Broadhead had been a member of the 147th Grey (Overseas) Battalion that was raised in Owen Sound, Ontario in 1915. In 1960, he served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the 147th Grey Battalion Association in Owen Sound.

Collection

Military, 20th-c Collection

Material

Wood/Silver/Copper/Brass

Dimensions

W-3 L-86.5 cm

Found

Owen Sound, Grey County

People

Broadhead, Oscar

Subjects

World War I (First World War/The Great War)

Search Terms

147th Grey Battalion

Function

This is an item carried by a commissioned officer as a symbol of his rank, when he was in formal uniform.
In the British Army and other militaries following the Commonwealth traditions, commissioned officers carry swagger sticks when in formal uniform as a symbol of rank. Warrant Officers and Senior NCOs carry longer pace sticks or regimental sticks instead, although a Regimental Sergeant Major may be seen sporting a swagger stick. British swagger sticks are often topped with a silver cap, bearing regimental insignia. A swagger stick remains an essential part of an officer's equipments and they are supplied by traditional British military tailors such as Gieves & Hawkes and Goldings. Cavalry officers will often carry a riding crop rather than a swagger stick, in deference to their mounted traditions.