Badges of honour
Brewery pin badges are in big demand. Andrew Burnyeat reports
Patrick Keogh has been a collector all his life. Indeed his mother once told him: “If there’s more than one of anything, you’ll collect it.” He started off as a boy scout, collecting the kind of badges boy scouts have to earn, rather than buy.
(Never mind loans for peerages – just imagine the scandal if scout badges were being sold!) From Leicester in England’s East Midlands, he moved on to speedway and collected the local club badges. He built up quite a collection, including some rare, pre-war items, before he sold the lot after the Leicester speedway track closed down.
By this time, Patrick had discovered real ale.
Through the Campaign for Real Ale, he began collecting pump clips. But as many collectors have found, space can become a problem eventually.
He said: “There are only two rooms in my bungalow. I got rid of the pump clips and started collecting brewery pins and badges instead. Not only because they were smaller, but because I liked the designs and the history behind them.” Patrick, 77, is retired now, but his collection continues to grow.
“I don’t count them, but there are probably a few thousand. I’ve got 200 Guinness badges.” The Guinness badges are among the most rare of all. Some are limited edition, issued once and never again. But Patrick is clever.
“They issue a badge each year at the Cheltenham Festival as there’s a huge Irish contingent who come over to watch the horses.
“The badges are given out in the VIP lounge and if you miss it, you’ve no chan.....
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By Andrew Burnyeat
Section : Collecting Beer
Page number : 57
