Artist Shirreffs McIntyre was born in Aberdeen Scotland. He came out to New Zealand in the 1900s and was working as a hotel porter in Te Puke when he was called up in 1917. He served on the Western Front with the Auckland Regiment. In 1918 he received a gunshot wound to the leg. He was hospiand returned to New Zealand. McIntyre died just after discharge from the army.

During the war Shirreffs McIntyre produced a number of ink sketches of conditions on the Western Front, some of which were made into postcards.

The New Zealand Returned Soldiers Association was formed in 1916, and later that year the Wellington firm, Mayer & Kean was commissioned to produce a badge for the association. It was worn on the right lapel. From 1918, the contract to produce the badges went to another Wellington badgemaker, C.M. Bay, and these badges are marked on the reverse with the letters CM. Despite minor modifications, the badge design remained much the same, until 1941 when the association name changed to the New Zealand Returned Services’ Association .

For those men discharged back to New Zealand as ‘physically unfit for active service on account of illness or wounds. The badge provided evidence that the wearer had served and could not be accused of being a shirker, and was preferred to the government authorised red armband.

Find out more at the following websites:

https://rsa.org.nz/About-the-RSA/HistoryoftheRSA/TheBadge