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

According to Howard Williamson's book (Collector and Researchers Guide to the Great War) the RNZA had the prefix 2. Kiwi prefixes ranged from 1 (Samoan Advance Force) to 26 (4th Batt. NZ Rifle Brigade). As Michael mentions, there could well be other possibilities. Is it possible that Kiwi's kept their original number? E.g. transferring from the NZASC to the RNZA maybe the soldier kept his '5' prefix. Tony

Hello swl, The correct oil bottle for a No. 1 MK III Enfield should be brass, the weight on the pull through is brass too. I think plastic oilers were first used with the SLR. The sling as far as I can remember is the same as those found on SLRs but with brass fittings. I think the newer SLR slings had green painted aluminium fittings. Old slings can usually be found easily on ebay or at least they were in the past. Some slings are dated and have a crows foot, many don't. Tony

Just found this regarding who was given what and the numbers involved http://greatwarforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=britcommonwealth&action=display&thread=653 18018 writing cases were purchased, I've only ever seen two. Tony

That's the cheap end of the scale. The ones with sterling stamped on the tip go for more but if you search and search and search and search you can sometimes get them a little cheaper. Although I haven't bought anything like that for ages, you need to be in England to find the good bargains I think. That's very interesting Mike. I know of the biscuit, boiled sweets and spices but only ever come across the standard 1914 cigarettes or New Year 1915 pencil set. Please keep us posted regarding them being published. Tony

My money's on John J Cocks of the Grenadier Guards, later RE. He landed in France on 6.10.14 so was entitled to the 14 Star trio and clasp. He lived in Camden Town during the 20s, did you buy the tin in that area? The other man (James J Cocks) was only entitled to the BWM and therefore didn't see service in a theatre of war. I have around 11 tins, all with various contents but only a few are complete. I've only ever seen them with a name scratched into the tin, usually inside the lid, but never properly engraved. A very nice find indeed, all you have to do now is find his medals and some contents for the tin. Tony

Are only Bavarian records available? I have a number of ID tags I wouldn't mind looking up. I can only access UK, Australian and US records. Apparently I need to upgrade the membership for German records, being transferred to ancestry.de if I look up anything German on .com, uk or au. Tony

I think errors were made quite often and believe it was up to the serviceman to apply/send the medals for a correction. I bought a pair of medals once with death scroll and condolence slip etc. all contained in the cardboard tube addressed to the soldier's wife. His name was Albert Benjamin Evans but his medals and all paper work were to Albert Evans, eventually a plaque to Albert Evans turned up and although I'll never know if it was actually his plaque, it now resides with his medals and paperwork. Tony

Chet, There's a James Gray whose number is 18401 instead of 14801. He served in the KOSB and then the Somerset LI with the number 54040, his medals according to the MIC, are named to 18401 Pte. J. Gray K.O.S.B. If this is him they may have mixed up the numbers 8 and 4 when stamping them. Tony

Ok found him but the membership doesn't cover ancestry.de, sorry. Tony

I can get on ancestry but have never looked at anything other than English census records or British army papers. Let me know how to find the German stuff and I'll check him out. Tony

I also have one from 1947, it's a job reference for a Feldwebel from Feldlazarett Bad Rothenfelde which finally closed in that year. I'm afraid I don't have a scan and I gave it to my son a few years ago. Tony

Ed & Mervyn, I always have a look at the truncheons and sticks posted but have no clue about what was used when and who by, I simply find them interesting especially the older ones. If rosewood was used for truncheons in the 60s, what kinds of wood were used before? I've been tempted to buy a Victorian truncheon in the past but as I mentioned I don't know anything about them and with the prices they sell for I won't be chancing it as I'm sure they will be copied too. Looking forward to seeing more of these and hopefully learning a little bit. Tony

Mervyn, I googled Australian WWI concentration camps and found the following link at the NA where they refer to them as internment camps http://www.naa.gov.au/whats-on/online/feature-exhibits/internment-camps/WWI/index.aspx There's a photo of a camp I think you may know of or at least heard of during your time as a serviceman, it's titled Military Concentration Camp Enoggera 1915. Tony

Hmmmmmm, I was born in Stepney but have no idea. Hope there are some guesses as I'd be interested in knowing. The arches would be railway arches I'd have thought. Tony

I agree entirely and I'd say it's something my wife wouldn't mind having. Tony

A great looking pistol Mervyn, I wish I knew even the slightest about these old weapons but I don't. Would a lady keep it cocked, is there any danger of it going off unexpectedly and where did you find it? Tony

I never knew that Michael. A medal well worth the research and a check in the war diary if a researcher comes up with any dates. Tony

Timo, Your English is better than many who were born in England. The theatre entry is always on the bottom left of the MIC so I'm afraid it must refer to the medal roll. Maybe someone with more knowledge on the subject can prove me wrong. Tony

Timo, Here's a list of the theatres of war http://www.1914-1918.net/grandad/theatres.htm I believe MMG/103 B4 gives reference to his entry into the medal rolls. It's a shame that 9 out 10 (if not all) MICs after 1915 didn't state the date or theatre entered. Tony

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Thanks very much for that Mike. The other surviving pages of his record all say Edinburgh, Caithness and googling it didn't turn up anything either. Googling it again turned up Parish, Station and Caithness so I wonder what went wrong the first time I did it. Thanks again. Tony

Ta Chris. Tony

Hello, Does anyone know the meaning of the abbreviation OLRIG? It's possibly something to do the the soldier's civilian profession as an art teacher going by the scan below. Tony