Republic of Fiji Military Forces – Fiji Infantry Regiment (FIR) Embroidered Patch Collection, possibly a full set ?.
A rare collection of twelve original embroidered cloth badges of the Fiji Infantry Regiment (FIR), spanning one of the most remarkable chapters in modern peacekeeping history.
The Fiji Infantry Regiment has been one of the world’s most consistently deployed peacekeeping forces since 1978. Despite Fiji being a small Pacific island nation with a military of only around 3,500 active personnel, the FIR has maintained continuous frontline peacekeeping commitments in some of the world’s most dangerous regions for nearly five decades.
This collection comprises twelve original badges, all sharing the regiment’s distinctive design of a royal crown, crossed swords, and laurel wreath – the classic British Commonwealth regimental tradition inherited from Fiji’s colonial military history. Each badge is produced in a different colour combination, reflecting the regimental practice of issuing distinct colour variants to different companies or rotation contingents.
Nine of the badges carry the number 2 and the designation FIR, identifying them as belonging to the 2nd Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment (2FIR), which has been continuously deployed with the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, since 1982. The MFO was established following the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, and 2FIR has served every annual rotation – known sequentially as Batt 1 through to Batt 43 and beyond – without interruption to the present day. Several of the badges carry the battalion’s proud motto, “Lions of the Desert.”
One badge has in on its reverse,  handwritten “UNIFIL 1978–1996 South Lebanon” – recording personal service with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).  Fijian soldiers have served continuously in southern Lebanon through some of the most violent periods of the Lebanese Civil War, including the Battle of At Tiri in 1980 and the Qana incident of 1996. Thirty-five Fijian soldiers lost their lives serving in Lebanon. This annotation gives the badge direct personal provenance and connects it to nearly two decades of frontline service.
The collection possibly spans what is effectively the full operational history of Fiji’s peacekeeping commitment, from the earliest Lebanon deployments of 1978 through to the long-running Sinai mission. Original FIR regimental patches – particularly in multiple colour variants and with personal provenance – very rarely appear on the open market. They were produced for issue to soldiers, not for commercial sale, and were brought home as personal mementos of service.
Twelve badges in total. All original. All embroidered cloth. Approximately 80mm diameter.