mickey

many thanks cassie for the hat id and the photos which are the first i have seen showing the sarp on the border the red trucks with the mine proof cabs are also new to me trying to find any info on the sarp is very difficult, again thanks

hi rob if you go to this www.samilitaryhistory.org/vol1086ig.html there is a very interesting article on south African pows on the long marches 1944/45 mainly from the camps in Poland westwards as noted in the article attempted escapes started almost immediately the site is run by the south African military history society and has some very good info if you have not already seen it

if the link doesn't work go to the south African military society website and look for volume 8 no 6 December 1991

took a while but wanted to find one that was military related with a case "dai Nippon celebration of victorious return commemorative. banzai to army and navy", Suzuki manufacture.i was surprised how small these medals are and so well made thanks to rich catalano for translation

hi just thought to add this very common red cross medal but with its original receipt for a 25 yen donation made by a gentleman to the Hiroshima branch in april 1945 very thin paper I would imagine not many receipts are still around it has a perforated edge were it was removed from the receipt book , only a few months before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima the receipt was folded neatly in the box always nice to get a date

hi Brandon a bit of info for you a large number of police and military assegais were made by 2 manufacturers (don't know who) in the uk around 1915 they were either marked with a broad arrow or a u for the union of south Africa defence force the groove near the butt end is for the thumb  so they are carried at the same angle on parade the black south African prisons guards carried them into the 70s I believe, im wondering if the hide binding was added later by the users as they were made with a knurled steel binding or of course maybe made by a manufacturer closer to home at a later stage

hi Brandon nice spears fyi in 1939 at the anc annual conference they passed a resolution to support the union govt only on the condition that African soldiers were armed the union govt was prepared to use African soldiers only in a non combatant role ie drivers mechanics stretcher bearers etc etc interestingly Africans from british protectorates were promised arms but when they arrived in the western desert they were given knobkerries and spears so as to not upset Africans from the union of south Africa this seems to follow the reluctance to arm native troops from the early days I believe that during the Zulu wars only 1 in 10 native troops had a rifle and were issued with only 4 rounds of ammunition I can still remember in Rhodesia in the 70s black guard force members armed with 303 lee enfields and the trusty spear

hi 0cpd 71i had a talk to my brother who spent all of the 80s and 90s serving with the sap he remembers members of the  flying squad wearing the grey blue uniforms, and they were quit commonly worn by sap guys when he was based at john Vorster square in the later 80s they may have been a production variation to tone down the blue but he is not sure hope this helps

couple of russo Japanese war related saki cups

hi all the Japanese muslim organisation/association was established in 1953 its second president umar mita was the first post war Japanese to visit mecca for the hajj he converted to islam while serving on the manshu railway in china a number of Islamic societies existed in japan after 1900 but had very few members so perhaps badges only exist for the later society

thanks to rich catalano on confirming this is indeed a kempetai item although dated 1929 rather than 1933 for a barracks opening in tokyo

hi all a table medal which I think is military police related (I lost the translation) for a barracks opening in akasaka Tokyo in 1933 if I remember correctly. I believe handguns are pretty rare on Japanese items army star and a dress sword rather than the usual gunto as well

thanks for the info nick I had some doubts about the case so thanks for the confirmation, yes same makers mark under the pin cheers

hi all I have not seen a case with this badge before just wanted to ask if this case is possibly a commanders badge case wear on the pad corresponds with the badge reverse so its been in there for a while, no inscription on lid just a manufacturers sticker some characters on side of lid, the badge does have a mark under the pin thanks

hi it has the second pattern support unit badge which was worn from 1978 to 1980 , section officer rank epaulettes,the support unit was a purely counter insurgency police unit made up companies ie golf, juliet ,Charlie etc if I remember correctly the different companies wore different colour lanyards my brother served with the unit during the 1970s I never saw him wearing this type of uniform only cammoflage very nice cheers

hi doc rich catalanos saki cup site is dai Nippon saki cups and bottles probably the best resource on the subject for sure and dan kings book is japan military sake cups 1894 1945 cheers

hi gary another north of south Africa piece these 2 or 3 piece items are usually ceremonial although this looks more practical looking at the blade, I have attached a couple of photos of a 3 piece ceremonial  spear from Kenya given to me as a wedding present from a family friend who had a curio business in Kenya possibly masai who shortened the blade for ceremonial duties genuine leopard hand guard smaller than the length of day to day use spears a prized possession

hi gary looks very much like a Sudanese dagger late 1800 s the swelling of the blade before the point is typical, designed purely for stabbing and  normally carried in a leather sheath like this very interesting as these were carried by the followers of the Mahdi but with African traditional weapons exact id is difficult sometimes northern designed items did head south

just my 2 cents worth re flag mounting I have a number of Japanese flags that I have framed if you only want one side displayed use an acid free backing as to glass as les recommends use what they call museum quality glass this is uv reflective and the latest version is so good that you really have to look twice to see the glass is actually there  it is really amazing expensive yes but well worth it

hi all fairly common medal with its harder to find medal award document and permission to wear it document from japan to the same soldier  army special duty sgt major fujisawa genshichi dated march 1934 thanks to rich catalano for translation

many thanks for the reply mike much appreciated

hi all I purchased this qsa some time ago to a pte p Hennessey Lancashire fusiliers 9431 mounted broach style I know this unit was involved in the battle of spion kop the only info I have found is that he served with the 6th battalion (anglo boer war web site) I did read that men who were involved in this battle should have the relief of ladysmith clasp but I am sure I saw his name on the roll of men present at spion kop just cant remember were I saw it a bit outside my collecting area any info appreciated

felix luckner is a bit of a legend in new Zealand maritime history captured in the pacific during ww1 while raiding on  his ship the seeadler  spent some time as a pow in new Zealand which included a daring escape and recapture pics of the seeadler, felix during ww1 and the ships flag which is on display in the Auckland war museum

hi peter the pick was a significant part of the Rhodesian national coat of arms in recognition of the importance of the mining industry to the rhodesian economy I am not sure why it appears on the army badge but is fairly common on Rhodesian items I have attached a pic of the old Rhodesian coat of arms

hi all this is a Rhodesian army arm patch worn on the right arm by all army personnel period 1965 to 1980 the patch was worn on both arms by army headquarters staff, special air service and selous scouts only, also only worn on the army green uniforms not the combat camouflage uniform hope this helps

one of new zealands most famous ship wrecks the rms Niagara sunk by a mine laid by the german raider orion in june 1940 off the northland coast the only casualty the ships cat but carrying 8 tons of gold and half of the new zealands army ammunition sank in 400 ft of water the gold was recovered in a daring salvage for the time 5 bars still remain I have been fishing over the site and oil still appears on the surface