Brian Wolfe

Hi Snoopy, It's solid. Brian

Hello Cam and welcome to the forum. Always good to see a fellow Canadian who's well armed. A very nice collection. Cheers from Ontario Brian

Here is the end of the shell casing showing the date and British broad arrow. Brian

Hi Snoopy, Thanks for showing the 20mm shell. Here is one from my collection tht was given to me by a Canadian Airman many years ago. The casing is from a fired round and the round itself was put on later they are British. They are both dated 1941. The round is marked with these markings. M M D 356 5 / 41 Cheers Brian

Hi Snoopy, Thanks for sharing the Mp 40 and your aircraft ammo in the other post. I really enjoyed seeing them. Cheers Brian

Hi Blitz, A very nice collection, thanks for showing them. Cheers Brian

Thanks Ed, I'll make a notation with a sticky note on the inside of the book's cover. Cheers Brian

Here is another shot of Lancers from the same regiment. I would guess theses lancers are in parade uniform. The photo in the book is titled "Native lancers, Secunderabad, 1905". I had to leave some people out of the posted photo due to the size of the original so I chose to leave out the English "natives". Cheers Brian

Hello Everone. When I was a kid there was a televison show "Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers" which ran from 1956 to 57. The Bengal Lancers were a real unit but I believe the 77th was made up for the story. I was absolutely enthralled by these made-for T.V. adventures and that childhood amazement and admiration for the Indian Lancers has never left me. While I was skulking through a used book store a few months ago I came upon a book entitled "Princely India", this is a book of the photographs by Raja Lala Deen Dayal, the Court photographer (1884 - 1910) of the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, published by Hamish Hamilton of London. This book is filled with images of the Royal Families as well as other related subjects. The photo that drew my attention was of the lancer show here. I was particularly interested in his equipment, something usually neglected in photos. I hope you like the photo and the unknown gentleman. It is a shame that the only thing mentioned about him is the caption "Native lancer and equipment, Secunderabad, 1905. Cheers Brian

I forgot to add the photo of the box and the outside of the Order's book. Cheers Brian

Hi Rick, That is a coincidence. There is no photo in the Orders book I have. For the price (assuming yours cost the same) you couldn't go wrong. I'm looking forward to seeing yours when it arrives. Cheers Brian

Here is the document that came with the Order. Thanks for your help. Cheers Brian

Here is the reverse.

Hello Everyone, Some time ago I purchased this medal and I was informed it was the Order for People's Freedom 2nd class of Bulgaria. I was told it was awarded to person's who took part in the partisan's movement in Bulgaria from 1941 to 1944. Could anyone verify that this is what I have? I purchased this medal because I really liked the look of it, I think it has pretty good enamel and it is quite heavy. If this is authentic, when was it actually instituted?? It came with the original box and papers. I hope you like it and if anyone can add any imformation it would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Brian

This is my only example. Cheers Brian

Hello Gentlemen, I have been following this thread with interest. Having been born just after the end of the Second World War I have no first-hand knowledge of what had gone on. Of course I also had no first-hand knowledge of any propaganda that we may or may not have been fed. I have read a lot of material on this subject and there are so many opinions written that the more I study the subject the less I seem to know. Or at least that I can accept as truth. As a child I thought as I was told, that "we" were on the side of right and "they" were totally evil. Now even my father who flew bombing missions over Hamburg has his doubts that they were doing the right thing. He flew in the last Canadian mission of the war in Europe and bombed the small island of Helgoland. There was a small air base situated on the island but there was no fuel left for the fighters stationed there. My father said that they dropped so many bombs on that island that it should have been blown below the waterline (sunk so-to-speak). He has always said that they murdered those poor German Airmen for no reason what so ever. I guess we can all second guess ourselves about the past. Cheers And thanks for an interesting post. Brian

A very interesting artifact. Thank you for showing it. Cheers Brian

There are a lot of questions about Pakistan and even Indian medals and awards that may never be answered. Unlike researching Canadian and British medals there is just too little information available and the opportunity for the average collector to do first-hand research is even more unlikely. Maybe some day more research material will surface and be made available. I for one can hardly wait. I have just purchased a second identical group of medals to the one I first posted here that are from the same regiment (R.P.A.) and also to a Niak. They are swing mounted and have the military tailor's label on the back. I bought them because of the similarities and they are also mounted in the same order. There is something about these groups that were earned starting during WW II and British rule, then Indian Independence followed by Partition and Pakistan's Independence. What a piece of history if only they could tell their own stories. Cheers Brian

Thanks Ed, I know I can be a pain in the ... and I worry things to death. Cheers Brian

Hello Everyone, I know this will probably show my igorance but it is my understanding that many of the medals in my mount were issed well after the fact, especially the WW II medals. That being the case and the soldier was now a member of the Pakistan military would that not mean the the British and India Independence medals would, in fact, be foreign medals in Pakistan? I would think this alone would dictate that they would be worn after the Pakistan Independence Medal. Please set me straight on this assumption. Cheers Brian

Hi Miguel, Looks like this fellow mounted his medals to the best of his financial abilities. Still, I am sure he wore them with pride. Cheers Brian

When I was much younger I used a WW I .303 Lee Enfield for deer and moose hunting. It worked well, of course, but was a bit too heavy to lug around all day. How did they do it back when? I've also used the .303 Lee Enfield WW II version and the .303 Jungle Carbine. The short light carbine kicks way too hard as far as I am concerned. I only used these due to economical reasons and as time went buy and the income grew I went over to the sporting rifles. I once purchased a .303 Lewis Gun from a fellow who was forced to sell his collection of 3 because he was caught by the Game Warden with them set up on the "stand" awaiting the deer that the "drivers" would be sending their way. That was 40 years ago, now they would be grabbed up by the law and you would probably get free room and board for your trouble. The Lewis has since moved on to another collector's care. Cheers (but never mixed with guns) Brian

Thanks David and Ed. Cheers Brian

Here is the back, not much to look at but I thought I'd show it anyway. Cheers Brian

Hello Everyone, For a long time now I have wanted to try my hand at court mounting a group of medals. My first project is a group of medals named to 1220812 NK. TALIB HUSSAIN R.P.A.. The group included the Pakistan Independence Medal, 1939-45 Star, the Burma Star and the India Service Medal. These were all named. The 1939-45 Medal was missing when I purchased them. There were some naming problems with this group and it was felt over on the SAGONGS web site that this was probably due to them being self-named during the period (not long after the fact for the e$cam). You can check out the discussion on SAGONGS if you are interested but the general consensus was that this was a genuine group issued to the recipient named. As far as I am concerned that is good enough for this collector. If anyone is intetrested in the method of mounting, I used three pieces of buckram glued together for the "base" covered with black broad cloth. Buckram is a stiff material used for curtain backing and to stiffen things like collars etc. You can get it where they sell curtain and fabric materials. I used the black material as it covers the exposed ends of the white buckram that would show after the medals were mounted. I didn't like the idea of using black marker and the black material also hides any spaces between the ribbons, if there were any that would show. A white line of material exposed between the medal ribbons would look terrible. You can buy black buchram but I couldn't find any in our area. The exta material of the black cloth also makes the mount a bit stiffer. Once the medals were mounted I sewed them down using "Invisable" thread made of nylon. Sewing through four layers of cloth was not very easy but I think easier than trying to shove a needle through cardboard or plastic. The back is covered with a piece of red felt. I didn't try to affix a pin device as the mount will reside in my medals cabinet and, of course, never be worn. As I said this was my first attempt at court mounting and I hope you like it. Cheers Brian