A nice original 1st pattern gilded brass coat of arms cap badge for the Walsall County Borough Fire Brigade 1948 to 1974 era. This 1st pattern cap badge in gilded brass was also issued to bus drivers & council employee's in uniform making originals hard to find because the varied collectors of Transport Cap Badges etc as well as fire brigade collectors snap them up !
Walsall, a small county borough fire brigade with 2 fire stations covering 14 square miles of area boasted 4 patterns of cap badge during its 26 year lifespan post ww2. Formed in 1948 after the N.F.S ( National Fire Service 1941 to 1947 ) handed back fire control to regional county & smaller county borough fire brigades, merging into West Midlands Fire Service in 1974. 
So with 4 different patterns to collect make each variation relatively hard to obtain in original condition, the enamel crown being the last pattern. In between these 2 patterns you have the chrome variation of the brass coat of arms & then the gilt enamel coat of arms with gilt crown.  I believe the 1st enamel cap badges with the new enamelled title scroll came in the mid to late 1950's, no information available on exact date it was first issued to firefighters. But again collectors have to understand that for a small cash strapped county borough fire brigade, not many specific firefighters cap badges were ordered making originals sought after by eager collectors.
Collecting these fire brigade cap badges since 1980 & attaining the largest & rarest British Fire Brigade Cap Badge collection currently known in the U.K in either private or public hands.... confirmed in 2021, i can tell you that the harder badges to obtain in original condition are in fact the 1st 2 plain brass & chrome cap badges ! 
This Walsall Fire Brigade 1948 to 1974 1st pattern gilt original cap badge has the centre firmly attached to the standard issue economy issue, lined Home Office star & both cap fixing lugs intact to the rear of the cap badge