coldstream

Michael Firstly welcome to this excellent forum. One of the major benefits of our shared hobby for me is the chance to constantly find new and undiscovered aspects of military history. Having been actively collecting for nearly thirty years I have to admit to never having heard of or seen an example of the 'Jedburgh wing' and so thank you for bringing this subject to our attention. Having had a chance to look through the net I found this site to be informative regarding the inception, wear and description of these wings.My link Do you have any examples of this rare piece of insignia or indeed further photographs of it being worn? Best regards Simon

Mervyn, I see it as 'from your loving brother Frank' on the back of the card. Also the last picture shows more medal ribbons being worn but impossible to tell exactly what from the scan. Simon

Mervyn The man in post one does indeed appear to be from a Rifle Regiment but difficult to say exactly without a badge close up.He also appears to me to be Soldier of Private rank with three good conduct chevrons to his lower left cuff. A close up of the medal ribbon would also be helpful. Cheers Simon

Rick Many thanks for that, it certainly looks to be the same piece. I have tried to improve the scan quality on my card to no avail, so I'm awaiting technical assistance from my other half! (she has better computer skills you see!) I picked up my card at a flea market in Dorset about two weeks ago and finding another image at least shows someone thought the gun posistion was important enough to photograph a number of times. Thanks again Rick, a German gun posistion it is Regards Simon

Harvey The chain does look to lead straight out of the barrel as you say. I'll try to improve the quality of the scan and repost it to see if it helps. RegardsmonSi

Many thanks Rick, thanks for all your help Simon

Thanks for that Mervyn. Rick is going to circulate the image among some Artillery buffs so with luck we may get a few more theories to discuss, Simon

Rick Thats the only logical theory so far and does make sense. Many thanks Simon :cheers:

Many thanks for that Rick, A round exploding before leaving the barrel must be a spectacular and very dangerous experience I think this card will have to go back in the unidentified pile !!!!!! Best regards Simon

Jens Many thanks, I now see the significance of this document. Very nice indeed. A great addition to any EK collection. Best regards Simon

Jens Please excuse my ignorance but could we have a translation of this document to help explain its significance Regards Simon

Rick and Harvey Many thanks for your replies. Being an ex infantryman I know very little about the gunners art however could this be some attempt to spike a gun prior to being overrun. I have heard of breech blocks being smashed and various parts of the weapon being buried and have also seen those pictures where the gun;s muzzle is splayed open although I have no idea how this is achieved. Could this be a photograph taken by a successful assault unit having captured the gun before it could be destroyed? Best regards Simon

Harvey A good thought, perhaps one of our ex gunners could tell us if chains are used in this way. My only thought on this would be that if the gun crew were in the process of pulling through the barrel for the photo they would be shown smiling happily for the camera, the chain appears taught and so must be attached to something. Thanks again Simon :cheers:

Rick Many thanks for that, it is indeed a strange one. Regarding the chain, I too thought that it could be an optical illusion with the chain being used as some form of brace for the bunker construction but under a glass it definately disappears into the muzzle. I wondered if this bunker could have been captured and the chain was being used to pull the gun out of the bunker but then why anchor it in the barrel and not on some other part of the gun? I too would say German though. Best regards Simon

The gun muzzle and chain.

Ladies and Gentlemen I recently picked up this postcard thinking it was an entrenched piece of field artillery with the hope that I could identify it, however the more I look the more questions arise. The gun is emplaced in a well constructed wood and earth fortification with the gun dug into the ground with a narrow guage railway line running in front of it. The large metal disc shaped object may be part of the gun but why is it outside, it certainly does nothing to aid the camouflage of the emplacement. When looking closely there is a chain running from inside the muzzle of the gun and out of sight to the left of the card! Also the chain is pulled taught, so what is it attached to? The rear of the card is plain with no writing or makers mark although the general construction indicates a continental Europe maker. I feel that the location and time frame are Western front in the Great War but have nothing to back that up. Any ideas anyone please? Best regards Simon

Many thanks for that Naxos :cheers:

Many thanks Kev and Mike :cheers:

Kev Yes I did. is tht what you think?

The name.

The inside.

A side view.

I obtained this Imperial German cap recently and am having no luck identifying the unit this belongs to. I have researched as much as I can using the information on 'The Kaisers Bunker' web site but am none the wiser. The colours in the images are pretty close to the real thing and as can be seen the inside bears the name of the original owner. I assume that another cockade would have been worn above the other and there is a very faint mark where this would have been. This cap is in pretty good condition with a couple of small moth holes but otherwise in good order. So, Ladies and Gentlemen any help as to identifying the unit (if indeed its military!) would be grestly appreciated. Best regards Simon :cheers:

A close up.

I have had this postcard for some time now and am still struggling to positively identify the Regiment of the man shown. To my untrained eye the man wears a uniform similar to that of the German Hussars however his cuff braid appears to lack the small loops I have seen on other Hussar tunics and I have been unable to identify his shoulder straps. His cap appears to bear only the Prussian cockade and his sword does not look like a Cavalry issued weapon.(I'm no expert though!) To make matters worse the postcard is English made stating the postage cost as 'a halfpenny inland, one penny foreign'! and is completely blank having never been used. My other thought was that he was wearing a self designed Attila type tunic whilst abroad in England? Any ideas please Ladies and Gentlemen. :cheers: