Found in the field. Button from uniform ?

[MaxD]

James is absolutely right in that the shield held by the lion on button holds the clue to the whole thing! 
Further to my earlier thought about button one, the General Service button was worn by most regiments in WW1 (many regiments asserted their individuality as they do today thank goodness) (and at other times).  You could waste endless hours looking at correspondence about GS buttons!

[macintosh]

Would you be able to tell us the general area/district/county  of the farm it was found?
I quite understand if you are reluctant to.

James

[John915]

Good evening,

Having studied the button closely I think the shield has on it a repeat of the main design. And so on and so on ad infiniteum.

The regimental devices on buttons were replaced by the royal arms for ALL regts in 1871. Collar badges were introduced in 1874 to make up for this loss. The only differences were in colour and the material they were made of. So for instance  the rifles and light infantry had black buttons. Regtl buttons only made a come back after WW2 for most, the exception being the guards.

John915

[Welsh terrier]

James,
Thank you for advice to further research on web.
The farm lies North East of Caithness.

MaxD.....To conclude the  General Service Button is WW1?

John915... I will have to take another look under the microscope and look at the shield again, but thank you for pointing it out.

W/T

[MaxD]

WT

Re the GS button - from what I have read of articles written by folk far more expert than I, I believe it is most likely from the WW1 period. Among other sources, http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/ is a mine of information.

Rgds

MaxD

[Welsh terrier]

Thank you MaxD think I know how I'll be spending my Saturday afternoon !!

W/T

[macintosh]

Not sure if this applicable, the shield the lion is holding is possibly an heraldic way of distinguishing other branches of the family (cadet branches) from the senior line.
The smaller shield altough we are not certain what the details are appears to have a checkered band across the top, this is a Fess in heraldry. The most famous fess and one of the most widely spread is that of the Stewarts.
I admit this is only conjecture until the detail is clearer.
None of the clans or Industrial families or noble families of the Caithness and Sutherland areas have this  as  family crest,
Maybe a servant from a visiting family from the south perhaps for an estate shoot lost it.


James 

[philipsearching]

James is correct that the coronet denotes a Baron, but I admit to being puzzled.  The majority of  shields have two supporters, one on each side, with the coronet directly above the shield.  On the button this shield is held up by a single lion with an oversized coronet above the lion's head.

Either - this means that a search can be limited to shields with a single supporter or - this coat of arms is not official.

Philip

[John915]

Good evening,

It means we are looking at a crest not a coat of arms. To have a lion passant holding something between the front paws is not used in coats of arms.

There is also a reason for the coronet being spaced away from the lions head and not on it but can't find the answer yet.

It is confusing because a crest can appear to be part of a coat of arms because it sits on top of the helm. This is positioned  above the coat of arms but is not a part of the arms which consists of a shield (which may have lions on the field/s) and its supporters on either side if any.

The best example of this would be in St Georges Hall, Windsor Castle. The coats of arms are low on the wall and the helms (with crests) are positioned higher up with the sword below it.

John915

Added; The fess also only appears on a coat of arms and not on a crest.