Military buttons are as varied as cap badges. It was common for individual Regiments or Corps to have their own unique regimental button. The New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps was no exception, with buttons featuring the Ordnance Crest between 1917 and 1996.

Button Background

Uniform Button Sizes & Types

Military buttons, specifically those used by the United Kingdom, New Zealand and other Commonwealth nations, fall into 3 size categories:

• Small – about 14mm diameter and used for caps, mess dress waistcoats (vests) and gorgets (red or blue tabs worn by Staff Officers on the collar).
• Medium – about 19mm diameter and used on pockets and shoulder straps (epaulettes) of most parade uniforms and service dress.
• Large – about 25mm diameter and used on great-coats and Service Dress jackets.

Button Ligne – the traditional way of measuring buttons

As with many military items, buttons have their own measurement system, which is known as ‘Lines’ or ‘Lignes’, where the diameter of buttons is measured, and the measurement in Lignes equates to 40L = 1 inch = 25.4 millimetres. The common Lignes are;

• 14L – 9mm
• 16L – 10.5mm
• 18L – 11.5mm
• 20L – 12.5mm
• 22L – 14mm
• 24L – 15mm
• 26L – 17mm
• 28L – 18mm
• 30L – 19mm
• 32L – 20.5mm
• 36L – 23mm
• 40L – 25.5mm
• 44L – 28mm
• 48L – 30mm

New Zealand Ordnance Buttons

Seven different types of Buttons used by the New Zealand Ordnance Corps from 1917 have been identified

• Brass 1911 New Zealand Forces button
• Brass New Zealand Army Ordnance Department, 1917-1924,
• Brass New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps circa 1917-1924,
• Brass New Zealand Ordnance Corps, 1924-47,
• Brass New Zealand Army Ordnance pre-1953,
• Gilt Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, 1947-1955,
• Anodised Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, 1955- 1996.

The dates listed were not the actual dates when the buttons were in service but the period that the particular iteration of the Ordnance Corps was in existence. It could be assumed that some buttons remained in service after newer versions were introduced.

Brass 1911 New Zealand Forces button

The first New Zealand Ordnance Soldiers initially wore the standard New Zealand Forces buttons, which were introduced in 1911. There is ample photographic evidence depicting these buttons being worn by both the NZEF NZAOC and the home service NZAOC. However, the use of the 1911 button gradually declined with the introduction of Corps brass buttons, and by 1960, supplies of anodised aluminum buttons for all corps were received from the United Kingdom, leading to the fading of the 1911 button from widespread use.

The 1911 button resurfaced in widespread use thirty years later in the late 1990s, as all individual corps buttons were phased out and replaced by anodised aluminum versions of the 1911 button.

Brass New Zealand Army Ordnance Department

Gazetted by regulations published on 1 February 1917, the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department (NZAOD) was established as part of the permanent staff of the Defence Forces of New Zealand and consisted only of Officers.

Manufactured by Hobson & Sons of London and Extra Super, NZAOD buttons are brass, embossed with an ordnance shield of three cannons. Instead of the standard three cannonballs, there are two stars in their place with the letters NZ in between. The shield is mounted with a Kings (Tudor) crown and has the words “Army Ordnance Department” circling the shield.

The NZAOD was combined with the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps in 1923. Given that the larger Ligne sizes are relatively common, they probably remained in use for several years after 1923.

Brass New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps Circa

On 1 February 1917, the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (NZAOC) was officially established as part of the permanent staff of the Defence Forces of New Zealand. This corps comprised Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and other ranks.

The NZAOC buttons, crafted by J.R. Gaunt & Sons and Firmin of London, are made of brass and feature an embossed ordnance shield with three cannons. Unlike the standard design, two stars replace the cannonballs, with the letters NZ positioned between them. The shield is adorned with a Kings (Tudor) crown and encircled by the words “Army Ordnance Corps.”

Similar to the NZAOD button, the larger Ligne sizes are relatively common, likely remaining in use for several years following 1923.

Brass New Zealand Ordnance Corps

Manufactured by J.R Gaunt & Sons of London, the New Zealand Ordnance Corps buttons are brass and are embossed with an ordnance shield of three cannons, with the standard three cannonballs in the top part of the shield. The shield is mounted with a Kings (Tudor) crown and has the words “New Zealand Ordnance Corps” circling the shield.

At present, little is known about the history of this pattern button, and it could have been utilised anytime between 1917 and 1955.

Brass Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps 1948-1953

Manufactured by J.R Gaunt & Sons of London, the Royal New Zealand Ordnance Corps buttons are brass and embossed with a badge similar to the 1947-55 RNZAOC badge with a Kings (Tudor) crown and NZ between the Garter and Riband. The standard wording “Honi Soit Oui Mal Y Pense” is not included in the Garter, but a series of large and small dots have been included where the usual script was normally placed.

Brass Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps 1948-1955. Robert McKie collection

Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, Gilt Mess Buttons

On the 6th of May 1948, an order was placed in the United Kingdom for six hundred anodised aluminium buttons of the pattern illustrated in the following picture.

Anodised Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps buttons

Anodised aluminium buttons for all New Zealand Army Corps and Regiments were first introduced into service in May 1960. Manufactured by various companies, including Gaunt and Firmin, these buttons remained in use until the disbandment of the RNZAOC in 1996. The buttons feature the badge of the RNZAOC, with the St. Edward’s Crown embossed onto them.

British Ordnance Buttons

The following British Ordnance buttons are familiar in New Zealand and, as with Ordnance badges, share many standard design features.

Army Ordnance Department 1896 – 1901

Royal Army Ordnance Corps 1918 – 1949

Manufactures Marks

Located on the rear of the button, manufacturer marks identify the various button manufacturers that produced buttons for the NZ Army over the last one hundred years, of which some examples are shown below.

Copyright © Robert McKie 2017