King's Own Royal Regiment Museum

Button Sticks / Button Cleaning Guards

Button sticks were used to protect the fabric of a uniform whilst cleaning buttons.  The stick would be placed behind a button, the polishing cloth could make contact with the button and the stick would prevent the fabric being damaged.  Most were made out of brass, however fibre examples can be found from as early as the First World War.  Photographs at the bottom of the page shown one being used.

Brass button stick marked 'King's Own 8992' used by Private A Wilde, number 8992, King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment.  Circa World War One.
Accession Number: KO2119/04

Brass button stick marked '3 Lan 694'.  Made by Smith & Wright Button & Ornament Manufacturers, Contractors, Birmingham. Relating to William H Johnson of the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment
Accession Number: KO2699/06

Brass button stick marked '3rd King's Own 11690'.  Made by ‘W H Briscoe & Co. Ltd. Birmingham’ and marked as such. Briscoe were based at 51 Park Street, Birmingham and made stampings, pierced sheet work and machined components. By 1956 they were at Wharfdale Road, Birmingham.
Number allocated to Private Frank Monaghan, who went overseas to the Balkans on 13 Jun 1915 and transferred to Labour Corps as number 353567
Accession Number: KO2684/36

Fibre button stick marked 'Lan 22131' and used by Private Alfred Hodgson, number 22131, 6th Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in World War One.
Accession Number: KO2659/24

Brass button stick marked '3709752' and used by Private J H Curtis, number 3709752, King's Own Royal Regiment in the 1920s and 1930s.
Accession Number: KO2513/001

Brass button stick used by Captain B D Armstrong, circa 1930s.
Accession Number: KO1523/24

Brass button stick used by Private Arthur Johnson, number 2890, 5th Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, First World War.
Accession Number: KO1926/37

Brass button stick marked with maker 'JRG & S' and 'WD 1955'.
Accession Number: KO1229/01

  
Unknown man sat on chair polishing buttons of an officer’s tunic, the collar dog can just been seen, with boots etc in and around Bell Tent. Likely to be pre-First World War territorial force camp.
Suggested that the man may be John Lacy Rowlandson’s father.
Accession Number: KO2951/052