Description
Indian Recruiting Badge, GV issue, officially numbered 822 on reverse. World War 1 Issue for “For Recruiting Work during the War”
An attractive and scarce award, lacking neck loop, for breast wear
According to the findings of a JOMSA (Journal of The Orders and Medals Society of America) Journal article, only about 2007 of these badges are traced as having been awarded.
The badge was not really intended to be worn officially in uniform, but that did not stop the men from doing it anyway, there are some surviving pictures of the medal being worn regardless of regulations.
The writer of the JOMSA article notes that the medal was particularly hard to earn, for example the Hissar District in the Punjab managed to enlist 16,000 new recruits for service, losing 344 of them as casualties, yet just 7 badges were distributed to Hissar.
