mprovements in connection with Gorget Patches, Badges, Medal Ribbon Bars, and other Articles Worn upon Officers' Clothing and Equipment.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Dec.,
1899
Complete Specification Left, 4th Sept., 1900-Accepted, 27th Oct., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
mprovements in connection with Gorget Patches, Badges, Medal
Ribbon Bars, and other Articles Worn upon Officers' Clothing
and Equipment.
I, JAMES WYATT, of 90, Gloucester Street, Belgravia, London, S.W., Military
Outfitter, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
A plate of metal or other suitable material cut to the desired shape, perforated
with pin holes to allow the cloth covering to be securely fixed in position upon it.
At the required distance from the point a hole is perforated in the plate to allow
the shank of the button to pass through to be secured underneath."
Upon the back of the plate a spring clip is braized, rivetted or otherwise fixed,
with sufficient space between the bend to permit the patch to pass freely over the
ends of the collar of the coat. The clip will hold the patch firmly and securely
in position upon the collar. It can be instantly fixed or removed, and the collar
requires no preparation for its reception. It can be used either upon a stand up or
upon a turn down collar with equal facility.
There is no doubt this movable "gorget patch" will be immediately adopted
throughout the British Service, not only on account of the readiness with which
it can be used, but for its smarter appearance and superiority over the present
mode of fixing, which is either by sewing on, or by a cumbersome arrangement
of tapes, which necessitate holes being worked in the collar, which not only
disfigures the coat is clumsy in appearance but entails the cost of a new collar
when the distinguishing patch is no longer required to be worn.
By the same method the whole of an officers badges, ornaments, medal ribbon
bars and such like articles worn upon officers clothing and accoutrements, and
which are now practically fixtures, could be made detachable when employed upon
active service and would be of great advantage, as it has been clearly shewn that
our great loss of officers in the Transvaal is the result of distinguishing badges
5 being worn by them when in action.
7th day of December 1899.
rmm
Improvements in connection with Gorget Patches, Badges, Medal
Ribbon Bars, and other Articles Worn upon Officers' Clothing
and Equipment.
Military
I, JAMES WYATT, of 90, Gloucester Street, Belgravia, London, S.W.,
or do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
This invention consists of the herein described improvements in connection with
gorget patches, badges, medal ribbon bars, and the like worn upon officers' clothing
and equipment which have heretofore been fixed to the clothing and equipment by
sewing or by a cumbersome arrangement of tapes which necessitates holes being
worked in the garment thereby disfiguring the same, and in the case of gorget
patches sometimes necessitating a new collar to the coat when the patch is no
longer required to be worn. Gorget patches, badges, medal ribbon bars and the
like when constructed in accordance with this invention can be instantly fixed' to
the clothing or equipment without its being prepared in any way for their reception
and as quickly removed.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawing on
which Fig. 1 is a front view and Fig. 2 is a plan of a gorget paich constructed
according to this invention; Fig. 3 is a back view of the same and Fig. 4 is a
plan shewing the same gorget patch in position on a coat collar but with the
fixing clip open; Fig. 5 is a back view and Fig. 6 is a plan of the combined plate
and clip part of the said gorget patch and Fig. 7 shews the upper part of an
officer's coat with two of the gorget patches attached to the collar of the same.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
in carrying out this invention I provide a plate A of metal or other suitable
material cut to the same shape as the gorget patch as shewn in Fig. 5, that is to
say, it has a vertical edge a corresponding with the vertical front of the collar
and a straight top a² and a straight bottom a³ corresponding respectively with the
straight top and bottom of the patch, the said top and bottom sides terminating in
inclines aa which meet at a point a corresponding with the point of the patch.
The edge a¹ of the plate A is perforated with pin holes B to allow of the cloth
covering g to be sewn to it as in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. At the proper distance from the
point a hole C is perforated in the plate A to allow of the shank of the usual
button D to pass through to be secured at the back of the same. Upon the back
of the plate A a spring clip such as E is brazed rivetted or otherwise fixed with
sufficient space between the bend E of the clip and the back of the patch to permit
of the patch to pass freely over the end of the collar of the coat with which it is
to be worn. The clip E which secures the gorget patch in place may be of any
suitable shape but what prefer is the kind of clip illustrated in my drawing
where the loop part E has hinged to its outer end e¹ the two armed gripping lever
marked f f made with rounded ends to bear against the coat collar.
In using
this clip the two armed lever f¹ f2 is first raised to the position shewn in Fig. 4
by inserting the thumb nail under the end of the lever f and then the gorget
patch can readily be slided into position on the collar and when this has been
done the lever is turned to the position represented by Fig. 2 so that the end of
the shorter arm f¹ of the lever and also the longer arm will then by the spring
of the bent part E of the clip press firmly against the inside of the collar and
thus secure the gorget patch thereto.
Thus it will be seen that the gorget patch can be instantly fixed to or removed
from the collar F and that the said collar requires no preparation for its reception.
Moreover the gorget patch can be used either upon a stand up or a turned down
collar with equal facility.
I similarly construct officers' badges, ornaments, medal ribbon bars and such
like articles worn upon officers' clothing and accoutrements with an internal plate
of a shape corresponding with the badge or medal ribbon bar or the like and
having a clip at the back for its attachment, thus enabling the said badges, orna-
ments, medal ribbon bars and the like which are now practically fixtures to be
quickly detached by the wearer when going into action thereby preventing, to a
great extent, the officers from being distinguished by the enemy which resulted
in so great a loss of British officers at the commencement of the present war in
Şouth Africa.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is: :-
1. A gorget patch, badge, medal ribbon bar, or the like to be worn upon officers'
clothing and equipment, provided with an internal metal or other strengthening
plate of corresponding shape and over and around which the cloth or covering part
is sewn said plate having a clip at the back adapted to grip and hold on to the
coat collar or other article of clothing or equipment with which the gorget patch,
badge, medal ribbon bar or the like is worn, substantially as described.
2. A gorget patch for officers' clothing provided with an internal strengthening
plate A round which the cloth or other covering is sewn such plate having a hole
to receive the button of the gorget patch and a back clip E provided with the
hinged lever ff at the back adapted to grip and hold on to the collar of the coat
with which the gorget patch is worn substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated this 3rd day of September 1900.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.