126 Battalion Peel County Collar Badge
A single, original 126th Battalion (Peel), Canadian Expeditionary Force collar badge, complete with its pin.
The badge displays exactly as photographed—what you see is what you get, and the photos form part of the description. She's a bit salty, but the price reflects that.
This example spent the better part of several decades tucked away in a box with a number of other Canadian badges, emerging only recently as part of my ongoing and entirely voluntary (read: space-enforced) effort to reduce the size of my collection. As such, authenticity is not a topic of debate here.
The 126th Battalion was raised in Peel County, Ontario, in late 1915 and, like many later-war CEF battalions, ultimately provided reinforcements; its men were absorbed primarily into the 109th Battalion (Victoria & Haliburton) and the 116th Battalion (Ontario County) in October 1916, both Ontario-raised units destined to feed or serve with the Canadian Corps. The 116th, in particular, went on to fight as part of the 3rd Canadian Division through some of the war's most infamous battles, meaning there's a very real chance this little collar badge once sat on the tunic of a Peel County man who later found himself enjoying such Canadian Corps 'stabby and boomy' holiday destinations as Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Amiens, or the Canal du Nord.
Would like to see this go home to Peel - where it first started its journey...
Maker marked 'Ellis Bros Toronto'.
