YPRES PIN BADGE

I recently bought this tiny pin badge depicting the crest of the famous, (or infamous), Belgian town of Ypres.

This small town, not far from the French border, is forever linked with the First World War. It found itself caught in a salient, that meant it was shelled from virtually all sides throughout the whole war.

The town became a place of huge significance to both sides, and after the war and ever since, a symbolic place of remembrance.

A little online research revealed a few people calling it a 'Sweetheart Brooch', meaning it was bought during the war, and sent home for a loved one to wear.

I personally think it was made post-war, in the early 1920s, and sold in the town as a souvenir during the mass Pilgrimage Tours that were happening at the time. 

Someone probably bought it as a memento of their visit to the town, and the battlefields, trying to find where their lost son/husband/partner would have fought and died.

Although only a small badge, its a very poignant piece of history, and tinged with a little sadness, thinking of who bought it, and what they were going through.