item details
NameCap and collar badges, 1st Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry)
ProductionJ.R. Gaunt & Sons Ltd; manufacturer(s); 1914-1916; United Kingdom
Classificationinsignias, badges
Materialsbrass
DimensionsOverall: 97mm (width), 9mm (height), 75mm (depth)
Registration NumberGH021096
Overview
This unit's cap badge is on display at Te Papa in Gallipoli: The scale of our war.
The 1st Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry) were formed in 1864, making it the oldest mounted unit in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Members served on Gallipoli on foot, and with their horses in Sinai and Palestine.
The unit's insignia features a ram’s head, symbolising the sheepfarming yeomen (small landholders), who made up most of the unit. The fern leaves symbolise New Zealand.
The Latin motto ' Pro focis et patria' means ‘For home and country’ and 1864 refers to the unit’s formation.