QVC 3rd West York Light Infantry Militia officer’s button

3rd West York Light Infantry Militia officer’s button, Victorian era.
The design matches exactly: a rose inside a tied bugle (without bow), with Queen Victoria’s Crown (QVC) above . The reference is HR 502 (Howard Ripley’s standard catalogue number). The backmark Firmin & Sons, London is consistent with an officer’s quality button of this period.
Dating: c.1853 to 1881
The regiment is interesting historically. It was originally raised in 1797 as the 5th West York Supplementary Militia, renumbered as the 3rd in 1799, and converted to Light Infantry status in 1852. So the bugle horn device (the universal light infantry emblem) only appears on their buttons from 1852 onwards, replacing the earlier “3 / WEST YORK” pattern. The Queen’s Crown dates it before 1901, and Firmin’s “London” address (without a street number) generally points to the mid-Victorian period through to about 1881 when the militia was absorbed into the regular regimental system under the Childers Reforms (becoming the 3rd Battalion, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry).