Fellowship of the British Empire Exhibition Associate Membership Badge, silver and enamel, bearing makers marked on reverse for the Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company Ltd Regent Street, London.
Condition: Good Very Fine.
This Fellowship of the British Empire Exhibition (FBEE) badge came in two types depending on the level of membership. Full membership cost 2 guineas (£2-2-0) for which the newly enrolled member got their personalised certificate, a silver hallmarked badge and two tickets to the exhibition. Associate membership cost 5 shillings and they got the same ,except the badge was made of plated brass and not silver. Both types were of the same design and were made by the same maker (Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company Ltd of Regent Street, London). The badge illustrated above is the base-metal version issued to Associate members. The FBEE was founded in 1923 as an auxilary organisation to assist the main organising committee with promoting the exhibition and staging special events. The FBEE was wound down in 1925. The badge's design is centred around the 'Herrick' Lion which was the official emblem and designed by Frederick Charles Herrick (1887-1970). This emblem featured on much of the promorional and souvenir merchandise produced for the event. The beehive and bees symbolise industry as well as being an acronym for the 'British Empire Exhibition' (B.E.E.). The British Empire Exhibition (BEE) was the largest trade & cultural exhibition staged in Britain and 56 countries participated. The exhibition covered an area of 216 acres, cost some £12 million and attracted over 27 million paying visitors. The venue was Wembley near London and opened to the public from the 23rd April to the 1st November 1924.