Tuesday 19th October 2021  

Thomas Rawlins Grammar School badge, about 1920

This enameled school badge shows the original crest of Thomas Rawlins Grammar School. Thomas Rawlins himself did not have a coat of arms, but when he signed and sealed documents, his seal was a tortoise. This formed the school badge until 1927 after which it was changed to the Farnham family crest of two crescents, as a result of the family’s generosity to the school. The badge is one inch in diameter (about 2.5 cm) and was probably designed to be worn on a lapel.

The motto around the edge reads “Perseveratia mellor celeritate”, which translates as ‘Persistence is better than speed’.

The badge was donated by Margaret Manning (nee Burton) and is believed to date from the early 1920s and to have belonged to her father Frank Burton, who was born in 1910 in Mountsorrel and went to Thomas Rawlins Grammar School.

On the back of the badge is the maker’s mark of Fattorini and Sons, Bradford. The firm was founded in 1827 by Antonio Fattorini, an Italian speaking immigrant who settled in Yorkshire. The company still exists today, it remains in the ownership of the Fattorini family and is still famous for civic regalia, badges etc.

Submitted on: 2021-08-28 Submitted by: Margaret Manning with narrative by Sue Templeman Artefact ID: 2460 Print: View artefact in printer-friendly page or just on its own.