The Wakefield City Fire Brigade cap badges from this period are often described as "rocking horse poo" when a collector is trying to find an original badge. I have seen a few fakes of this badge, the most common being the small circular enamel centre that often comes from a broken up commemorative cap badge set of brigades that made up West Yorkshire in 1974. These were produced by Marples & Beasley in the late 1980's but there are several variations of the original cap badge & like the small brigade of Smethwick & West Bromwich Fire Brigade in the West Midlands, each variation is highly sought after by collectors.
Wakefield City Fire Brigade consisted of just one fire station covering a small area of just 9 square miles, any wonder these original cap badges are prized items !
There are small & large star variations & also variations on the badge itself being colour of the shield ( blue or black ) & gilt or enamel fleur de liss symbols in the centre of the shield !
This variation depicts the larger disc fixed to a fully pressed Home Office star, the enamel fleur de liss within a blue shield & blue surround . There is a small chip on the red enamel circlet, hence the price. Both cap fixing lugs intact to the rear of the badge and 100 % original. I have 5 variations in my personal collection. Being a very small county borough fire brigade and having at least 5 known variations, each from a minimum order batch, not many originals come onto the open market for sale, most being swallowed up by serving and surviving members, and the many private collections of fire badge collectors.