Jerry B

My small collection of patriotic/commemorative ceramics from the Boer war period. Two plates from during the war, and also a jug, from the end of the war.

It is the scroll that accompanied the memorial plaque (death penny) for those who fell in the Great War. I do not know its value, it depends on his unit, if he had any other medals etc. A good item and let me know if you find a valuation for it as I might be interested in buying it.

Thanks very much Mike for all the detailed information, greatly appreciated. I like all the iconography on it, the representation of the different forces involved.

Boer war period medallion with the legend Transvaal Souvenir 1899-1900. I assume it was a private purchase item for those serving or visiting South Africa at the time.

Graham, I am happy to agree that your sources are likely to be more accurate than the site I linked to, or that it does not tell the whole story. The lack of interest in these earlier documents is a shame, but hopefully over time more attention will be given to them and the information they contain. Interesting that it is for an OR, as I don't think much survives of this type for a soldier such as this from this period. He certainly got around when he was with the 76th and even married when he was stationed in the America's/Nova Scotia.

not sure if you have seen this site on the Malta forces Graham, it seems pretty good. http://www.maltaramc.com/regmltgar/76th.html http://www.maltaramc.com/regmltgar/41st.html Hopefully the links will work.

Not sure what they are doing to it, but it is a PZmkIV. A good album and good to see it has not been split as so often happens.

Thanks Graham, The service on Malta in the 1850's was with his previous regiment the 76th. Some of the pages have duplicate numbers and it appears to be two documents, both since tucked into a single cover.

They are not too pricey, relative to the equivalent German items I guess. Some of them are more expensive than others, it depends on the mark of tank, the maker and the town crest upon them. Some of the other types, such as submarines, airplanes can be quite pricey, again the twon crest etc makes a difference. I used to collect to the other side, but only buy British these days, Welsh items in the main.

And a few more, including a very rare French example for Verdun.

Glad to oblige Tony. Some more from my collection. I have a couple more pieces to add. I also have a few of Boer war date, though not sure if they belong here.

Hi Tony, private purchase as far as I know, as was all officer equipment and uniforms. I assume it was all down to how rich the officer was as to how high a quality his insignia was, though with prestigious regiments only the best was accetable and I think the lancers were one of those posh units and the same applied to all the cavalry. It has been suggested that the motto was probably a regimental or family heirloom, handed down through the generations. That certainly seems likely in this case, as otherwise it is hard to understand how a circa 1900 item of insignia ended up on a circa 1950's officers cap. I think that they were more common with the posher regiments with long traditions, whilst the newer units did not go in for this as much.

One from my collection. I'll add more if there is any interest. An early piece with the date 1914 and the early war allies on one side and a floral decoration on the other, suggesting perhaps it was very quickly converted from an item allready in production.

There is a series of books on the Pals BN's, I am not sure how many were covered but I have two, for Carmarthen and Swansea pals. Both are very comprehensive with detailed accounts of their formation, the actions they took part in and lists of those who fell. Also full of images of recruting posters and newspaper clippings. Well worth getting if they completed volumes for the areas in which you are interested IMO.

A seemingly brilliant idea for boosting recruitement, but as the article points out, it often caused devastation for whole communities. Pal's battalion insignia is highly collectable and often expensive and as such there are many fakes about.

The official movements of the 41st at this time.

The rest of the pages. Interestingly his recorded service does not match that recorded for the regiment during the period, rather it is appears to be slightly out of sinc, though that of itself is not an issue, as for the period units were quite often widely scattered. I'll show the official recorded movements of the regiment in the next post.

An interesting survival of an OR's service papers from 1860, covering his service with the 41st regiment and also mentions his previous service with the 76th regiment. Part of it is missing and it appears to be from two documents/service books, though it contains a lot of interesting information. It will take two posts to show all the pages.

Marked stirling Silver on the reverse, with clear signs that an upper lug has been removed. It came to me mounted on a circa 1950's officers service dress cap with regimental buttons, though the markings and removed lug show that it was from an earlier period and probably started life on a sunhelmet. It also has been repaired near the end of one of the long bones during its life. The cap is for the 17th/21st Lancers from its date, but the motto would have originaly been for the 17th Lancers.

Hi, I am glad you did not mind my adding to your thread. The Malta is a great badge and the annotation on the reverse really adds to it, besides it being a rare badge. The pennant is another of my favorites in my collection, if only it could tell its story.

My example is a size 7 Tony.

hi Tony, I think they were home made. The plaque/penny is very worn and must have been polished a lot during its time. A shame in the end they had become neglected and suffered from that. When I visited his family plot on which he is commemorated to take a photo of it, his grand niece and her husband who had sold them were there tending the grave and said that they had ended up in a drawer for years.

Thanks Larry Thanks Martin. Good to see another friend here.

I have a few RA badges to add to this thread, which I assume is OK to do. I have two of the printed WWII period cloth arm badges used on a field made pennant.

Some good examples of the police helmet. Here is my example, which I have shown in my headgear collection. Interesting that both examples you have shown Jock have the same pattern of the word POLICE as my example which I have been told by MKII helmet collectors is for female police officers. It would be interesting if anyone has any thoughts or knowledge of this.