Brett Hendey

Sampo Thank you for showing more very impressive medal bars. I need to learn more about Dutch military history. Regards Brett

A great medal to add to your collection! Thank you for a very interesting story that is very well told. It was all new to me. Regards Brett

I echo Gordon's comments. I have never seen anything like them before. Regards Brett

A great story well told to go with a hard-won group of medals. Regards Brett

John, congratulations on a most unusual find, and thank you for sharing it. I expect that might be the 'jewel in the crown' of your collection of POW badges. Regards Brett

The SAC was raised during the Boer War, and, in spite of their name, they functioned as mounted infantry, hence the use of 'Trooper' for the lowest rank. Even in peacetime in South Africa, there was a need for mounted police, and many of the SAC men deployed in the Orange Free State and Transvaal were mounted. The same applied to the police in the Cape Colony and Natal, and the tradition of using 'Trooper' continued. In the case of Natal, 'Constable' referred to policemen employed in court duties, and their rank was equivalent to that of Sergeant in other branches of the force. Brett

An interesting group indeed! Thank you for showing it. What are the two clasps on the GSM? Regards Brett

All I can tell you offhand is that the C prefix to the service number means that the man was "Coloured", which in South Africa's racial classification means he was of mixed race. His service papers will be in the military archives in Pretoria. Some of these archives are inaccessible at present. GMIC member 'Aud' (Audrey Portman of Rhino Research) should be able to help. Brett

That is a very interesting collecting area. Thank you for sharing with us. Regards Brett

Thank you for pointing out my mistake, Zob. I should not be going over the Limpopo River into unfamiliar territory! Regards Brett

His name was Neville Fischer. He gave me his flying helmet that he wore when he bailed out of his burning Spitfire over Italy. It was left with the family who helped him after he landed, and he retrieved it from them after the war. His 'Golden Caterpillar' was given to a relative in the United States. He never claimed his WWII medals, but wore a set of miniatures while an active member of the SAAF Association. His widows claimed a late issue of the medals after his death. Brett I meant to mention that Neville's brother who served in the RAF was Flight Lieutenant Sydney Adnil Fischer, 90 Squadron, who was killed on 9 January 1942. As I remember it, he was test flying one of the first B17's to arrive in England when it crashed. Brett

An amazing find, John. Congratulations! I hope that the missing WWI pair turn up. Regards Brett

John Thank you for sharing another, and rather unusual POW story. Bailey's 14/15 Star was a most fortunate find. Such isolated medals are often overlooked in the untold numbers that come onto the market, so well spotted! Regards Brett

Tony, thank you for sharing that with us. KAR is the King's African Rifles, an East African Regiment. Does the medal have the British reverse or the South African (bilingual) one? I would expect the former, but I have never seen a KAR medal before. Regards Brett

Many thanks for sharing this addition to your POW collection. I am pleased that you are still interested. Regards Brett