Brian Wolfe

All in all a very nice lamp. I like it as it has some differences and an added feature (match strike strip), that other lack. Thanks for posting it. Regards Brian

Interesting, I'm not sure if mine is maked on the back or not. At the moment it is in a display case behind a mountain of odds and ends that are temporarily stored in the office so I can't check. Yours looks like the lamp designed by Phillip Bicknell, former Chief Constable of Lincolnshire at the turn of the 20th century; one of my personal favourite specimens in my collection. I just remembered that my Cresent Lamp is shown on page 3 of this post and upon checking the photos I see that mine in, in fact, not marked like yours. I wonder if this is the accountability number that would be recorded in connection with the PC it was issued to that particular night's duty? Regards Brian

Thanks for your comments Mervyn. I’ve always held to the 16th century French philosopher Rene Descartes' observation of “Cogito ergo sum” (lit. “I think therefore I am”) though I prefer “I am thinking therefore I exist”. I always hope that my blogs will stir the “grey matter” of those who read them (or “gray matter” for our American readers). Regards Brian

Hi Draklantern, Very nice examples, thanks for posting them. From what I understand from Mervyn, and I stand to be corrected, not all lanterns used by the different police forces were marked. Therefore quite often we have to be content to accept a certain specimen on the faith that it was indeed at least the "type" used by the police. It is always a bonus when the specimen you have just added to your collection has the markings of the issuing police department . I hope Mervyn will weigh in on this point to satisfy that I am correct or at least to add to my knowledge with a correction. Regards Brian

Sadly anything you might try will probably result in what is an interesting object becoming a piece of trash, good for the kids to play with or as a standard for the support of your tomatoes to grow. Some have tried 4 Zero (0000) steel wool and a light machine oil such as "3 in 1" and lightly rubed the rusted surface. This may remove any scale rust but will also leave a surface that will look like it has had a clear coat applied. This shinny dark look is not considered desirable by almost any collector. and is seen as being "over cleaned" I would simply see if any loose rust can be removed using somthing that will not scratch such as one of those bread-bag plastic tags and lightly see if the loose rust can be lifted off. When I say loose rust I mean and rust that is almost ready to fall off on its own. Other than that do yourself and the artifact a favour and do nothing. If you can't stand having it around in that condition then send it to me and I'll do nothing with it except appreciate it for what istis (I'll pay postage). I am only joking about sending it to me; keep it as it is and see it for what it is, an artifact of a time long past and an era surrounded by the myth of the romance and glory of battle. Regards Brian

Hi Tomas, Thanks for posting your sword, one that no doubt that helped forge the British Empire. Ah, the stories it could tell. Regards Brian

Good stuff! It's always nice when a combined effort brings about the desired results. Well done everyone. Regards Brian

Hi Tomas, Would you have a picture of a British 1861 Army Hospital Corps sword you could post? None of my books seems to have one, though my library is no where complete. Regards Brian

Hi Juan, Thank you for the complement, it is greatly appreciated by me and I am sure by all the other members, now including you, who have helped to build this post. I had the same problem in findng a forum that dealt with British Police lanterns so I figured I'd post my collection and research here with the hope others would join in, as this indeed did. Regards Brian

Thanks for posting this second photo. Now I am completely at a loss to identify the sword but with some luck perhaps another member will be able to held. I am leaning toward Gremany as a country of origin but that is more guess rather than an educated opinion. Good luck Hippy. Regards Brian

Hello Hippy, Welcome to the forum. Nothing is rubbish when it comes to original swords, even ones that have been neglected or "lost" to the weather for years. I can't really identify this particular sword at the moment from your photo but it is worthwhile keeping. Do not attempt to clean this sword as any use of an abrasive will ruin it further. It is at a point where it has probably stabilized and any attempt to restore it will cause it further damage to the point where it may actually end up being rubbish. Any chance of a photo of the whole sword? It may help in the identification. Perhaps one of the other members will recognize the handle and hand guard but a photo of the whole sword will tell us much more. Thanks for posting this interesting specimen. Regards Brian

There is a police secton under the Special Interest area that might be a better choice to post lanterns from other countries. This area is mainly for British Police and the other section may be seen by more people with interest in lanterns but not necessarily British Lanterns. Regards Brian

Once in a while a couple items come along that both just need to be secured for your collection. This may well be one of those times. If not then it sounds like the St. Henry is the wisest choice. Regards Brian

Hi UEL, Welcome to the forum and thank you for the additional information. We have visited Perth several times since and other than the occasional verbal duel with my mother-in-law while there we never seem to have the time to re-visit the museum with the hope of getting a closer look. The last time we were there we looked for Robert Lyon's headstone in the cemetary where he is burried and the stone seems to be missing. Have you heard anything of it's disappearence in your area on the province; no one we spoke to in Perth or Smith's Falls knew anything about it. I hope to hear more from you here on the forum, it's also good to have another Canadian to moan about the weather to. Regards Brian

Hello Juan, Your English is very good, no problems. I should be sorry for the way I use English since it is my mother language. Your collection is fantastic and I really liked the way you photographed the first lantern in the post above, very nice effect. It has been a while since I have added to my lantern collection but who knows what will come my way tomorrow, I just need to be calm and wait. Regards Brian

Hello Darklantern, Welcome to the forum, it is good to see a fellow lantern collector. Your collection is magnificent and I hope you will continue to post information and articles of what both Mervyn and I consider a most interesting topic. Mervyn was the inspiration for me starting to collect police lamps. Regards Brian

Hi Jock, A nice helmet indeed and it is a shame about the defacing. As if that will make what occured in the past never happen again. Regards Brian

Hi Hugh, That's very good and now you mention it I have heard that regarding weighing of the anchor, however I had forgotten it completely. I like keeping both feet firmly planted on solid ground. Thanks for your comments. Regards Brian

Seriously? No, really...seriously? A dry dusty street in the Middle East, a group of soldiers is milling around and suddenly one soldier shouts, “RPG! Take cover!” Just then a rocket propelled grenade steaks past, leaving a smoke trail behind, to explode on a vehicle completely destroying it. Typical movie scene and total garbage. From what I can tell a fired RPG travels at around 15 feet every 1/10 of a second, which makes the 3 some odd seconds for the soldier (actor) to deliver his line more than a little ridiculous. Not being a military man I can only go by videos of the firing of a live RPG and in my eyes it would seem the weapon’s trigger is depressed and seemingly instantaneously the target explodes. The other thing most movies and documentaries miss the mark with it the smoke trail. Movie rockets are fired, many times, attached to a wire, strung from the supposed location of the shooter to the target. The weight of the rocket deflects the wire and the resulting, so very important, smoke trail dips toward the ground then rises up just prior to striking the target. Details such as these, or rather the lack of attention to details drives me insane (I know, it was a short trip). Another thing that really gets my goat (ok, I don’t have a goat, possibly because something already “got it”) is the need for documentaries to explain the length or weight in relation to other objects. “The rocket was as tall as three Empire State Buildings stacked one on top of the other”; quite a common comparison. I really doesn’t do much for me, not having ever visited the Empire State Building. Besides, the Empire State Building is 381 M tall; or is it? Yes, it could be said that it is 381 m tall unless you are measuring to the very tallest tip then it is 443 m tall; a difference of 61m. And if the rocket in question is as tall as three Empire State Buildings then which measurement were they referring to; it could vary by 183m.! You could argue that the documentary was written for American audiences and that all American know how tall the Empire State Building is. However, if it were written for a Canadian audience and they said the rocket was a tall as three CN Towers (located in Toronto) then that would make all the difference. No, not really as I don’t know how tall the CN Tower is while I sit on my couch avoiding any form of exercise other than having yet another coffee. The CN Tower by the way is 553m tall, and if you were to have enough coffees then your heart rate would increase giving you a cardio vascular workout without ever finding the need to travel to Toronto to check out the tower; I’m just saying... Supposing I am standing at either the Empire State Building or the CN Tower, or even the Eiffel Tower (at 301m. tall) the idea of two additional structures one on top of the other is pretty well unimaginable. I don’t even think you could see the top of a “pile” of Empire State Building as it would be 1,143m. In height... or would that be 1,329m.? Either of which would give King Kong a nose bleed. Another ridiculous measurement is those given in the number of elephants. What the hell does that even mean? African elephants or Asian elephants? African elephants weight an average of 1,048kg. more than Asia elephants. If ten elephants of weight can vary by 10,048kg. this means the weight measurement could vary by two extra elephants! I mean, it is difficult enough to locate and get ten elephants together on some giant weigh scale and now, according to the potential for variance, I will need an extra two elephants standing by just in case I need them? This is as mindless as simply saying, “Gee Jimmy that (object) is really, really heavy; a lot more than your Daddy can lift, that’s for sure”. Just give the height or the weight, any other means of description is pointless and makes me wonder if the documentary producers even know the correct measurement in the first place; unlike me I guess they don’t have the internet. I was watching a documentary about an American air craft carrier the other evening and the commentator said that the ship was so many football fields in length. Yep, here we go again. American football fields are 91.4m long and Canadian ones are 100m. Wait a minute, what about those who will confuse “real” football with soccer. The length of a football pitch according to FIFA is 100-110m. Just to be clear the documentary was about the Nimitz-class carrier which is 333m long (1,092 feet). Just how many elephants it weights I don’t know. Regards Brian

Hi Tony, Interesting results and a process that is well worth keeping in mind for other members to attempt in the future. Thanks for posting the outcome of your experiment. Regards Brian

Excellent communications equipment find, congratulations and thanks for sharing it with us. Most interesting. Regards Brian

Thnaks Mervyn. Regards Brian

That's a healthy attitude, perhaps on several levels. As has been lamented, far too often a young man's money is spent on slow horses and fast women. Regards Brian

Hi Paul, I would have to agree with you as far as these rare cases, however, is doubling your money in 15 years really a good investment. I ask this as an honest question and not a "round-about" statement. I think such military collectables, like fine art, probably holds its value and even increases with time if one can figure which ones will do well and won't do well. I've heard many collectors much older than me say that if they had known even what German helmets of either war would be bringing today they would have a warehouse full. To my way of thinking an investment should have the potential of providing a living for the investor or at least a part of one's living expenses, in time. The problem with any collectable is that you must sell it in order to realize a profit, and that is a one time, per item, prospect. If only collectables would pay annual dividends I would be one very happy camper. Regads Brian

Hi Chris, Thanks for an insightful comment, one that to which I wish I was in opposition; however I do fear you are correct. I believe I have mentioned that I attend two different types of shows, “Gun Shows” and “Militaria Shows”. The gun shows have a large percentage of sporting weapons with a smattering of militaria and the militaria shows are exclusively military themed. There seems to be a good number of young people at the gun shows but if you pay attention there is little being purchased by them or anyone in fact. This has gotten so prevalent that this year the number of these types of shows has been cut by the organizer. Militaria shows seem to have the majority of attendees in the over 50 generation. Everything, even collecting trends, evolve and it looks like collecting militaria could well be in danger of extinction. Hi Paul, A good friend of mine, who lives and collects in the Punjab, tells me that it seems that the once prolific supply of British Campaign medals named to Indians (of course) has just about dried up. What is still available has been priced out of reach of sane collectors. I suppose this was to be expected since dealers used to travel to small and remote villages purchasing any medals they could, from the veterans and their families, mainly for the Western market. We’ve all heard the horror stories of the unscrupulous buyers taking advantage of these villagers and the shady families who will sell a named group and then claim it had been stolen. Once they get it back they will sell it again and pull the same scam. I had heard of one family that got away with this three times before they were charged with fraud. Thanks to both of you for your comments. Regards Brian