This unusual brooch was worn on the shoulder plaid of the Pipe Major during the 1870s. The thistle device in the centre was conferred on the 79th Cameron Highlanders in 1873 when they became the Queen’s Own. Prior to that the regiment had a similar shaped badge with 79 in the centre (see Regimental Badge pre-1873). The number 79 has been placed at the base of the Sphinx. The quality is not the best so it cannot have been worn by an officer. The 16 knobs around the edge indicate that it was worn by a piper, but all images of pipers show a plain circular brooch inscribed ‘Cameron Highlanders’. It was customary for the Pipe Major to have different, more ornate badges.
