This shoulder-belt plate is from the Thomson Roddick Callan Auctioneers website, although no precise date is given. Its design incorporates elements found on the officer’s shako plate, suggesting a likely date of c1832 to 1840. It was superseded by the Rococo shield pattern plate around 1840. The plate is entirely gilt, with an eight‑pointed hobnail star forming the base of the design.
The centre contains two ovals. One displays the Castle of Edinburgh, a badge authorised for the regiment on 8 March 1832, with the motto ‘Nisi Dominus Frustra’ inscribed around it. The other oval bears the running White Horse of Hanover with the motto ‘Nec Aspera Terrent’. At the top of the star is the Royal Crest, granted to the 25th Regiment in 1805.
Beneath the Royal Crest is the motto ‘In Veritate Religionis Confido’. Below the ovals appear the Roman numeral XXV and the title ‘The King’s Own Borderers’, and beneath these is the Sphinx on a blank tablet. Two battle honours emanate from the upper part of the design: EGMONT‑OP‑ZEE and MARTINIQUE; and from the lower part: EGYPT and MINDEN.
The battle honour for Namur does not appear on this belt plate, although it is present on the shako plate of 1829. The regiment had taken part in the siege in 1695, suffering 200 casualties, but they—along with thirteen other regiments—were not authorised to emblazon the honour until it was retrospectively approved by King Edward VII in February 1910.
