item details
NameHat pin made from officer's rank insignia
ProductionDorothy Broad; attributed; circa 1919; New Zealand
Classificationhatpins, insignias
Materialsbrass, enamel
Techniquesmetalworking
DimensionsOverall: 22mm (width), 165mm (length), 22mm (depth)
Registration NumberGH016804
Credit lineGift of Marianne Abraham, 2010
Overview
Mourning jewellery
The maker of this hat pin, Dorothy Broad (b. 1889), was engaged to Captain Thomas Wyville Leonard Rutherfurd of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (13th Reinforcements). It is made from his officer's rank insignia and may be considered mourning jewellery.
The insignia was amongst the personal effects returned to his fiancee after his death from pneumonia in Tehran, October 1918. These effects held a great significance for Dorothy, who kept Wyville's returned belongings as personalised memorials for private consolation. The Latin inscription reads: 'TRIA IUNCTA IN UNO' - 'Three joined in one'.