Tony

No I'm afraid not. Carter St. rings a bell though. My earliest memories of anything to do with the police in the area were the words 'George Davis is innocent' painted on many buildings especially down the Old Kent Rd. when walking from school to the library on the corner of Peckham Park Rd. Tony

Craig, I know Camberwell but don't remember the station - I grew up in Bermondsey. Nice photo Mervyn. I think I can see chains on some of the tunics as in your photo, if I can scan the card to show them I'll add it later. Tony

I'd have had a bid on that if I had seen it but wouldn't have been prepared to pay much for it. Well, not the same as the going rate for a non brooched casualty 14 Star. Brooched medals aren't seen every day but they are quite common. I have a brooched Victory medal to a man who survived the war so they obviously weren't only done by the families of men who didn't come home. I've also seen several Victorian medals brooched, especially the Crimea medal. Tony

Thanks again Mervyn and now that you mention it, I can remember seeing the chain being worn. Although I can't remember if I saw them on real policemen or on Dixon of Dock Green. Tony

Thanks very much for the detailed explanation. I actually made a mistake with the year, this photo is from 1907. On a number of the men there is something long and white hanging next to their buttons, on the left as we look at the photo. Could they be whistle chains? I'm embarrassed to say I have no idea where a policeman kept his whistle but would have thought in his top left brest pocket. Tony

A photo of the police of Camberwell station taken in the late 1890s. This card came with some others I bought recently and apart from a MKII Brodie policeman's helmet it's the only police related item I have. The quality isn't very good I'm afraid, many are wearing a pair of medals that I can't identify and some only one medal. 3 men in civvies are standing behind a table that has what looks like two mantle clocks on it and another civilian is seated next to the table. Does anyone have any idea as to why they have clocks on the table and why men in civvies are in the centre? Tony

Thanks for that Mervyn, I always thought it was for the back. I have seen British issue helmets with the holes too, it'd be good if the Brodie had a front or back marked inside. Stuart, I agree, I'd have thought they'd have used coloured patches back then as opposed to a kangaroo or boomerang. And it sold for 100 € Tony

Have a look at these for references to Commonwealth MKII helmets http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/10938-question-about-british-helmets/page__hl__brodie http://www.nyc-techwriters.com/militaria/british_helmets3.htm http://www.cascoscoleccion.com/granbret/gbk2.htm http://www.gostak.demon.co.uk/helmets/unitedkingdom.htm I'm afraid I didn't find anything on Australian unit insignia. Tony

I'm always wary of any helmet with insignia on it especially one that's been through a war and is still in great condition. The seller mentions Africa, I always thought Commonwealth troops in N. Africa wore sand coloured helmets, many with 3 holes, 1 punched each side of the brim and one at the back. I'm no expert though, just don't believe everything I see. Apart from that I wouldn't have thought there'd be anything wrong with the helmet itself although I thought the chinstrap had a buckle and was elasticated for the first couple of inches each side of the bales, maybe a later model strap? There's a good site called digger history (or similar) but I can't seem to access it at the moment. All kinds of Australian insignia and information is available there. I'll try to find some British helmet examples and will add the links. Tony

I had no luck either. 8 on ancestry and 12 on the NA site, the majority serving in the British army. I was hoping to find he was a spy, let's hope someone else can find his MIC. Tony

I don't collect to the police but I always enjoy reading the posts and seeing such photos Thanks Mervyn. Tony P.S.: I just bought some postcards dating to the late 19th/early 20th century and one of the cards shows the police outside Camberwell station, I'll have to scan it when it arrives.

These are great. Please post more if you have any. The time between sending and receiving is an age but probably quite quick under the circumstances. I bet they wanted to write much more than just a few lines. Tony

Dan, If you're not sure which type you want just buy the first one you like, then another, then another and then another There are so many different kinds although I'd say the KO marked crosses are far more common. I like the between the wars issues, some are made with copper (I think) cores but most are steel. There are of course the expensive pillow back crosses and those with hook attachments but it wouldn't surprise me if they're faked so you have to know what you're looking for. I think my favourite striking is marked LV, it's actually a 2nd class and I think my best 1st class strike just has a square mark on it. It's in great condition with its case and cardboard box but unfortunately I can't read the name as it's too faded. Tony

Now let's see, I have: postcards loads of 1st and 2nd class crosses with and without their issue boxes, a few of them named trench art (driving band bracelets, lockets containing photos and a lock of hair, driving band letter openers, letter openers from shell splinters) an old jam tin paperweight some, well only a few documents allied propaganda crosses and much more Saying all that, I haven't bought anything iron cross for a very long time. Does anyone have an original piece of canvas from an aeroplane showing the cross? Tony

This is what you need to keep your eyes peeled for https://www.ostmann.de/shop/pommes-frites-wuerzer.html Tony

Commercially packaged mixed spices (pommes frites würzer) from Germany Mervyn, for putting on chips, all totally legal and even entered on the customs form. I can't find anything similar here. Those dogs are very good so there's no point hiding anything from them. My son had a container that had had a banana in it 2 days previously and had been washed out but the dog could still smell it. Tony

Don't think members of the AIF were shot for desertion in the Great War even though many were probably English born or 1st generation Australians. About sniffer dogs though, one of them kept my birthday present from January until last Wednesday. It left a note inside saying opened by customs K9. The clever little bugger put everything back, taped it up and eventually when he got bored with it, sent it on. Tony

Ln may be Parc d'Artillerie de Place de Lyon which makes the case French, they did like their quick firing 75. There is a place in France called Dives only it's a tiny village on the Somme. Apart from that I have no idea. Tony

Chris, I see his name is Johannis but is Doyer a Dutch name? It doesn't sound particularly Dutch or English to me. Tony

Unfortunately not Paul. He was released by the Russians in 1945 (so I was told), walking about 450km home and when he arrived every thing was put on the fire. He was riddled with lice apparently and his uniform was in shreds. Tony

I took in two temporarily homeless refugees for a couple of weeks until their home was returned to its pre flood state. Does this mean I'm a candidate? Seriously though it's no doubt meant for the emergency services and rangers who are constantly working during floods and bush fires. Tony

That's very interesting Gordon. A relative of my wife was in some kind of penal battalion, unfortunately I don't know which one, I do know the land he bought to build a house on in the 1930s was seized, he spent time in various prisons, then a concentration camp and in 1944 was sent to a penal battalion. I do know he was a member of the SPD and refused to do the Hitler gruss. Doesn't sound bad to me but it obviously must have been during the 33-45 period. I posted his post war ID card somewhere on the forum quite a while ago, it had been issued by the British, stated he had been politically persecuted and was also noted holders of these ID cards should be offered the chance of employment before any former German soldiers who towed the line. Tony

Can you tell how many buttons/button holes he has on his uniform? I can't see to well on the screen (the optician reckons I need glasses). I don't know much about gas masks, could he be Belgian in a late war uniform? Tony

Here's one of mine I actually bought from the great grandson. This soldier survived the war. Tony

Well I've finally got round to buying a bronze issue BWM. It's an example issued to a member of the SANLC and named to Pte. S Mabula. The BWM was his only entitlement according to his index card. Coloured soldiers of the SANLC didn't receive the Victory medal whether from one of the High Commission Territories or not. After reading only very few BWMs were actually issued to this unit they must be rarer than the usual Chinese LC and Maltese Mule Corps examples I've seen. A lucky find for me. One to the Fijian Labour Corps would be a nice find too. Can anyone tell me if Mabula is a common name or where in southern Africa it comes from? He attested in Bloemfontain but the issue of his BWM means he must have come from Swaziland, Bechuanaland or Basutoland. The latter territory being nearer to Bloemfontain I believe. He arrived in France in 1916, was fined 10 shillings for disobeying an order in early 1917 and was shipped back to Africa later that year. His discharge is noted as OS, does anyone know the meaning of that? Tony