coldstream

Robin

As Peter say's does not appear to be British, where do you keep turning these mysterious skulls up from?

Simon

Superb, thanks for showing us and making me insanely jealous!!!

Simon

Robin,

British skulls not stylish enough for you now ????Suppose the cloth black one's are more interesting!

Simon

Some great photos, thanks Jock.

Regards Simon

Robin

Have been reading through some older threads and found this one again........any new additions since 2011!!!!!!!!!!!

Simon

Come on the Naxos, your turn!!!!!!!

Simon

Surrey Police have a small museum which is located at Mount Browne, Police Headquarters in Guildford, Surrey, Surely this is the obvious place for the smaller County Forces as running costs are kept to a minimum. When I joined an ex Officer also housed his collection there which was a bonus.

I was impressed when I visited Snow Hill in the City on a mutual aid attachment for the VE day celebrations, C of L tunics and helmets all over the place.

A museum for the Met in London is long overdue in my opinion.

Simon.

Chris.

I'm excited, keep your chin up and keep tempting us!

Simon

Paul

A well worn example of a Guardsmans tunic to the Coldstream Guards, as we said in your message it is difficult to accurately date such items due to the general style and insignia remaining virtually the same however there are a number of reasons why I would say that this example does have some age:-

Obviously the brass buttons predate the staybite buttons now in use.

The shape of the epaulettes is slightly different from current issue, they appear to be broader at the base with a tapered shape towards the point.( though this could just be the angle of the photograph)

The cloth used in manufacture also appears to be of a coarser type with less nap than the modern issue.

Its a pity we have no tailors label but I would imagine this to be from the inter war or just post WW2 period, perhaps Glenn J could shed some light on this tunic?

Regards Simon.

Paul

The khaki coloured beret you have purports to be for a Non commissioned rank of the Scots Guards and dates from the mid 80s up to the present day. A few things that worry me regarding this beret are the extremely shoddy way that the blue, red, blue badge backing has been sewn onto the beret, no Guards Regiment would allow this standard of tailoring, The Scots Guards cap badge does not show wear in line with the wear on the inside of the beret which I know does not mean much but could indicate that this has been put together for a quick sale.

Most issued berets would also have maker and size stamps on the inside but if this a privately purchased example that may well not be the case. Guardsman would often want a beret with a leather band as opposed to a cloth one and so this could be a commercially made beret bought for that reason.

Hope this helps and best regards Simon

Cant tell from the scan if there is anything above the chevrons, a crown would indicate a Colour Sergeant. The pascal Lamb collar badges obviously associates him with the County of Surrey. Does the back of the card have any studio details? Possibly a Volunteer Rifle Regiment from Surrey.

Regards Simon.

Mike,

A stunning display, you know how to make people jealous!!! I would imagine that collecting examples with all the bars would be a very difficult and expensive task now?

Regards Simon.

^Brad,

^{My mistake, please accept my apologies.}

^Simon.

Brad

Regimentals have a pretty good reputation (guessing this is the same cap they had listed?) so that's a good start.

Would like to see the cap with the badge removed, some of the staining seems larger than the badge and would be interesting to see if there are any id marks within the folded part of the cap liner.

Think you will have to wait until it arrives for a definite answer.

Regards Simon.

Arthur,

Many thanks for that information.

Simon.

Mervyn. many thanks for the additional information.

Regards Simon.

Paul,

Many thanks for your reply, I thought this would be the case with such a Unit. Couldn't resist the medal though!

Regards Simon.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I was recently lucky enough to obtain a Queens South Africa Medal in a local auction awarded to Private 28928 Robert Thiwell of the Rand Rifles.

The medal has no battles clasps as I believe that this Unit was generally employed in guarding the area of Johannesburg and the local mines.

Would anyone know of any published histories surrounding this Unit and its activities during the war please?

Regards Simon.

John

My opinion would be that its some form of sweetheart jewellery item based on the hallmarked back plate which resembles a horseshoe, a well known good luck symbol in the UK.

Regards Simon.

Hello JH,

A nice tunic, could you point out what has given you the date range 1895 - 1902? Is it just the 'WD' stamps or something else?

Regards Simon.

Matt,

I wonder if the B stands for burns, ie a first aid bag with contents purely for burn victims as against shell dressings for bullet and shrapnel wounds.

Regards Simon

Robin

Would be fascinating to find out if these were indeed official issue to Police at this time however I wouldn't know where to start with Scottish Police research.

Do you think re-posting this thread in the Police section would help!

Regards Simon.

I thought saw back bayonets were against the Geneva Convention!!!

Robin

As we both know British Police Forces have always been slow in equipping Officers with adequate protective clothing, remember seeing dustbin lids, short wooden truncheons and tall helmets in the late 70s early 80s in riot situations! I would imagine things were much the same in 1926, perhaps your Grandfather found his old helmet and thought 'that would be useful'!

Even if military style helmets were officially issued I doubt it would have been the rare 'Cruise' helmet.

Simon

Robin, a rare photo, we just need to find one being worn by a Police Officer! (hens teeth perhaps!)

Simon.