The History of the Branch logo

In 1974, the South Wales Branch of the RSCDS launched its Branch badge, made of metal and featuring the Branch logo. It was sold for the princely sum of 35p!

I am indebted to Jan Proudfoot for that gem of information. She also tells me that as Branch Secretary at the time she reported to the Branch AGM in September 1974 that at the Jubilee Ball in February of that year “the hall looked very nice, decorated with […] the Branch shield which the Chairman (Ron Hewinson) had made, incorporating the design of the Branch badge”.

The context is that Exeter Branch of the RSCDS had already had a badge made by a local company. The same company designed and produced one for us, incorporating the so-called “Cadwaladr (or Cadwallader) Dragon” against a background of the Saltire (St Andrew’s Cross). (The Cadwaladr dragon is the one that features on the Welsh flag.)

That logo design was ratified beforehand by RSCDS HQ for our use. The badge includes the dragon, but – at that stage – no crown. It was subsequently replicated for us by a manufacturer in the South Wales Valleys and was sold in the Branch Shop. A number of members still have the badge and wear it on jackets or sashes.

Later, possibly around the time when the RSCDS adopted the crown of ghillies as part of their emblem, the crown was also incorporated into our Branch logo. Jo Reed is known to many of you as one of our current members, and it was her late husband, Pete, a graphic artist, who produced the artwork for this South Wales Branch version. When garments were subsequently added to our range of goods in the shop (polo shirts, sweatshirts etc.), however, the crown was not included in the embroidered image.

So there have been a few previous versions of our logo over the years. Alongside this article you can see some examples of the range of colours and designs that have featured.

As many of you are aware, more recently the RSCDS decided to try to standardise the logo used by Branches on publications, documents, fliers etc. It subsequently came to our attention that we had featured on the 2019 “naughty list” of Branches who weren’t conforming! The sin highlighted by the RSCDS was that the “logo modified our old crown symbol”. The new logo was recommended in its place.

In the meantime, we had in any event been exploring different options, and we had taken advice, including consulting RSCDS. This led to the use of the new simpler logo which you can see at the top of our website. Our Branch decision to adopt the new logo for formal purposes (official documents, fliers, etc.) was then ratified at our Branch AGM on 21 June 2025. At that time we had some feedback from members that they liked the clean modern lines of the current version.

At the same time, however, many members felt that the dragon logo still has some significance for us, particularly given its history and its Welsh identity. Arguably, there is no reason not to include it in a creative manner on any our publications. A small working group is looking at the best ways of doing this. We have already tried it as a decorative border on one of our most recent fliers.

We would welcome comments and suggestions from members. A small working group will look at ideas and make recommendations to the Committee.

In putting together this information I am grateful not only to Jan, but also to Irene Williams and Fran Smith for their memories and research. Thank you, all.

Alison Jackson, Membership Secretary, September 2025