MOTH The Story of Warriors Gate 1947 + Royal Tour badges + Tin Hat pin 1920s

Description

Please note: Though the booklet and badges were produced to celebrate the 1947 Royal visit to South Africa, the Tin Hat stick pin badge and
MOTH
booklet story are from the 1920s – which was influenced by World War I in their founding in 1927. MOTH members were affiliated to the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League.
Description: Vintage collection featuring a booklet (12 pages measuring 180 mm x 135 mm) about the MOTH Shrine and Museum, written by the founder of The Memorable Order of Tin Hats, Charles Alfred Evenden, under his affectionate title: Moth O. This was published a few years after the 1947 Royal Visit to South Africa (circa 1952). Included are various pin badges, of which three were issued to celebrate the 1947 Royal Visit. The tin hard hat pin is the official MOTH pin badge which was issued to all MOTH members over the years.
See all photos.
This booklet is about the museum building, Warriors Gate – the MOTH Shrine and Museum in Durban, run by The Memorable Order of Tin Hats. This Military Museum and M.O.T.H. Shrine was Built in 1936 and focuses on South African involvement in the two World Wars. It has Military Artifacts dating back to 1056 and the stones embedded in the Building comes from Battlefields around the World. The 1947 Royal Family visit to South Africa culminated in a tour of the Warriors Gate, which still has their signatures inside the building.
About the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (MOTH)
The Memorable Order of Tin Hats or the MOTH as it is more popularly known is an ex-serviceman’s organisation founded in Durban, South Africa, in May 1927 by a remarkable man Charles Alfred Evenden by name. He was born in London on the 01st October 1894 and as a young man immigrated to Australia and served with the Australian forces in Gallipoli during World War I where he was wounded and evacuated to England. After returning to Australia, he was discharged from the army.
Witnessing the annual ANZAC parades, Charles Evenden turned his thoughts to the formation of an association of front line soldiers to perpetuate the comradeship gained from front line service. Later, he settled in South Africa where he worked as a cartoonist on the staff of the Mercury, a morning paper in Durban, under the pseudonym of “EVO” by which name he soon became popularly known to most people.
In 1927 he saw a war film that included an impressive scene of marching troops wearing tin hats, and muddy uniforms all carrying trench equipment. Looking at the scene, it made him wonder what had becom of his comrades in the army; where they were and what they were doing. This line of thought inspired a cartoon on forgetfulness of a comradeship that had apparently ceased to exist. From this one idea other ideas came to the fore, then discussions with colleagues and friends and, eventually, the founding on the 07th May 1927 of an ex-serviceman’s organisation known as the Memorable Order of Tin Hats or simply MOTH.
The Order is added on concord and harmony and operates independently of race, religion or politics in the same way as front line service, but with full democracy.
On 11 November 1955 the freedom of the city of Durban was conferred on Charles Evenden.