This badge was likely worn by staff members of the Raffles Library and Museum. The two sections of the institution had badges which run from no. 1 to 19, with badge no. 20 being larger and made of a different material, probably indicating a more prominent role such as the Director. The Raffles Library and Museum was instituted in 1874 but had a brief interregnum as the Syonan Library and Museum during World War Two, and reopened in the post-war period on 1 December 1945. M.W.F. Tweedie, the institution's director before the Japanese Occupation, returned to his post in 1946. The Raffles Library and Museum played a significant role in the cultural rebuilding efforts of post-war Singapore. Notably, in replenishing and expanding both the library and museum's collections through purchases and donations, as substantial numbers of books and objects had been lost during the war. The building also acted as temporary homes for independent cultural institutions like the British Council established in 1947.
