The Army Catering Corps was founded in 1941 to provide quality cooking and food to military personnel. The idea of having a dedicated catering corps had been discussed as early as 1936 but the war provided the catalyst to formally create the unit. As with all British Military Corps and Regiments, a cap badge was required and the design adopted consisted of a flaming Graecian brazier in a circlet inscribed with the Corps’ title and surmounted by a King’s crown:

The badge was produced in a number of variations, including being entirely of gilding metal, in bronze for officers and in plastic for economy, this version however is in bi-metal and has both a main gilding body and the urn in silver. The badge was also available with either lugs to secure it with a split pin and with a slider, as in this example:

The stamping on the rear shows this badge was made by ‘Buttons Ltd’ of Birmingham. This company formed in 1907 from the amalgamation of several button manufacturers; Thomas Carylyle Ltd., Harrison Smith Ltd. and Plant, Green and Manton Ltd. for the purpose of becoming more competitive in the face of international trade. Manufacturing of buttons under the “Buttons Limited” name is recorded from 1909 in both London and Birmingham. As their chosen company name suggests, buttons were the primary product of this manufacturer, producing vast quantities for the military and civilian markets. They also branched out into cap badges for a short period of time around the Second World War, of which this is an example.