Small fundraising badge : British Red Cross

Small circular pressed tinplate badge with a celluloid face and a pin attachment to the reverse. A scroll, a British Union Jack on a flagpole and a Red Cross symbol sit on a gold background. The words 'British Red Cross' are printed in red across the scroll. The word 'Copyright' appears on one lower edge but features no maker's details.

Fundraising badge produced to promote and support the work of the British Red Cross. Such badges were sold in trams, buses, at railways stations and at rallies to raise money for the stated cause. This example was produced in South Australia from 1916 and resulted in the raising of 256,465 pounds; other states appear not to have raised money specifically for the British Red Cross (although the Serbian, Italian and Belgian Societies of the Red Cross were often the subjectseparate appeals in these states) and instead raised appeals under the general banner of the Red Cross Society.