Brian Wolfe

Super photos, many thanks for sharing them with us. Cheers Brian

Nice "bring back" items Greg. While I collect mostly medals I do like to see the everyday items the soldiers carried, wore and used. Sometimes we (or more likely just me) tend to forget that there is as much and perhaps more history in the equipment especially if a medal is unnamed. Medals don't fight or win (or lose) a war. Thanks for your posts. Cheers Brian

WOW! What agreat collection Laurence. Thanks for sharing it. Cheers Brian

Hi Peter, Yes I usually iron the ribbon before attempting to put it on the medal. The yellow ribbon in the photo was just folded for the photo and was not ironed as I would like to store it flat. I have a while to wait before the Pakistan ribbon arrives so I can obsess over this for a couple more weeks. Anything to drive my wife crazy! Cheers Brian

In this photo I am trying to show the, more or less, finished ribbons of the two styles of folds. The paper "stand in" is not evenly folded but this is only meant as an example. If I can get this mount looking good I have a few others that I would like to attempt. Thanks again for any assistance you can give me. Cheers Brian

The last photo showed how I think some mounts with stars have been done. This photo I have tried to show how I fold the ribbon when I add a ribbon to a medal or star's ring. This leaves a rather bulky area over the folds and I would think it may not look as good with the other medals in the mount.

Hello Everyone, I hope I have posted this in the correct area. I have, today, ordered some Pakistan Independence Medal ribbon from a fellow in the UK. Getting this ribbon has been quite the adventure in itself. Apparently it is hard to find at the moment (political unrest?). I am going to attempt to court mount a group of medals which includes, the Pakistan Independence, 1939-45 Star, Burma Star, 1939-45 War Medal and the WW II India war Service Medal. These are all named to the same soldier which makes this a scarce group. The question I have is, how is the best way to court mount the stars? I want the "V" shaped folds to be even and uniform. When I am adding a ribbon to a single star I usually roll the ribbon into a tube shape, incert it through the ring and then unfold the ribbon to get the angle I need on both sides of the ring. It takes a little fiddling around but I can usually get a fairly good looking fold. This I usually "touch" with a hot iron. I cover the ribbon with a piece of white cloth, spray a little distilled water on the cloth and the iron produces a little steam when it touches the cloth giving the ribbon a crisp "pressed-looking" edge. When I look at some groups with stars it looks like the ribbon was cut and then glued in place just after the ribbon passes through the star's ring. When I look at the area where the ribbon goes through the ring there seems to be a "shadow" or imprint of the folded ribbon beneath showing through the ribbon above. I have posted some photos of what I am talking about. The ribbon is paper as I don't want to cut into my ribbons, yet. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Cheers Brian

My wife was given an old book titled "Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth Century Glimpses of an Ontario County" by Howard Morton Brown. This book was published by the Corporation of the County of Lanark to celebrate the 1984 Ontario Bicentennial. Knowing I had posted photos of the cannons on this forum she drew my attention to a passage from this book dealing with these very cannon. Here is the passage. "Now something for the antiquaries. On the green sward in front of the Court House are two brass field pieces, three pounders, to which there is quite a history attached. The little 'barkers' were originally taken from the French by the Duke of York, in Flanders, and did service for the British in the American war, then they were taken from Gen. Burgoyne at the battle of Saratoga. They were retaken from the Americans by the British at the Battle of Crysler's Farm, on the 11th November, 1813, which affair Mr. Manion's father took part in, and Mr. Manion himself, then only a youngster of about seven years old, was an eye-witness. The two guns alluded to have still the original trails and axles, and they bear the inscription on the breech, 'J. & R. Verburggen, fecerunt 1775 and 1776', showing by the name of their maker that they were either of Flemish or Belgian manufacture. They were taken to Perth when peace was declared, and presented to the town, and are now used for saluting purposes on high days and holidays." I don't know who Mr. Manion was and I don't think it is very important to this post in general. A lot of local histories make the assumption that the reader will know who this person is or that person was. Just as a matter of record. These cannon are plugged and are no longer used to salute high days and holidays. Cheers Brian Be sure to visit the Court House if you are ever in the Perth area and check out their museum. It well worth your time.

Finally! Something about Indian medals! Thanks for the information on the OP Vijay obverse Ed. I had mine displayed reverse side up. It is now being displayed correctly. Nice medals Laurence. I like the Punjab Police medal, (my appologies to Ed), I have two Police Special Duty medals in my collection. Actually the Punjab bar is in the collection and the Nagaland State bar is on its way at this time from India. It is interesting that so many medals are now made privately rather than by the government mints. I have several specimens that were privately made and the difference in quality is very obvious. Still, compaired to some of the newer medals from other parts of the world they are not too bad. Even some of the newer Canadian medals look cheap. Unlike the silver medals of WW I and WW II some of the new ones look like they passed through an automotive chrome plating factory. Countries that can afford to award well designed and made medals to their soldiers should be too embarrassed not to do so. It's a small token of gratitude when you think of what is far too often given up by our soldiers. Sorry, I'm geting preachy and Thanks again for posting your medals Laurence, and thanks for the information Ed. Cheers to you both. Brian

Here's mine. It's not numbered. Cheers Brian

I've sold all of mine except the one that belonged to my father. I did keep a book titled "Fighting Knives" by Frederick J Stephens with some good examples of F-S knives. It is hard to tell from your photos but there are examples in the book that look a lot like yours. There were many manufacturers of these knives and once they satisfied the government contracts they sold them on the commercial market. Most have wooden handles that were sold commercially but I would not be surprised to find out that some metal handled specimens found their way to the shops. A nice knife and well worth some more research. Anyone have an idea of the value for Paul? I know I would gladly buy back the ones I've sold for double what I got for them 20 years ago. I'm not suggesting.... Cheers Brian

Hi Leigh, It's an escape map. My father still has one of his as well as photos of himself taken by the RCAF and carried by the airmen in case they were shot down and managed to contact the underground. The photo would then be used for a fake I.D. or passport. Very nice item. Cheers Brian

Hi cabbell2207, I agree with Laurence. I've dealt with both gentlemen and can highly recommend both. "Vimy" does not offer the large number of medals as "Articmedals" but what he has is top notch. I've dealt with Usrual as well, no problems there either. Now for a good source of South Asian gongs. Cheers Brian

Almost any Canadian can say, "Been there, done that". Looks 100% original to me and more than believable considering the steel on the toe and heel of the boots. Cheers Brian

Here's my Order of the Red Star that I just got from a dealer here in Canada. It's numbered 998667 on the back. I didn't show the back as I have mounted it, as I do all such pieces, on two pieces of cardboard covered with felt. The back of the bottom piece is cut out for the attachment "washer" so the the piece sets flat in my medal drawers. I don't like specimens sitting on angles and if I ever want to remove I just need to unscrew it as you would if it was on a uniform. Cheers Brian

Mad Jack Chirchill had an amazining career almost too amazing. The article reads like a comic book story suited to be fodder for yet another Rambo movie. I'm not saying that it is a load of dung, just to be clear and save a lot of posts defending the man. I am saying that it is one amazing story. Arrows flying, sword bleaming in the night, all the while leading his men to victory. I wonder how many of his men lost their lives following him from one Miltary Cross to another? Brian

Hi Dave, This one seems to be made of a hard plastic-like material, perhaps Bakelite?. I'll probably take the whole assembly off as it is held on with three screws and try WD40 on it. Also I wouldn't want to get WD on the face or dials of the radio. WD40 and duct tape should be on our nation's flag! I pity any society were there is no WD40 and duct tape. I have some parts to find in order to restore the radio. I'm missing one of the antennas, one microphone is missing and a couple of cables coverings have gone gooey over the years. I may not be able to restore it to working condition but at least it will look complete. I've included a photo of the watch mount and I'm sure it must be the type that is threaded. I didn't want to use too much pressure on attempting to unscrew it for fear it might crack. I may have a source for the grill and the canvas cover that protected the radio in use. There is a fellow who bought a lot of military surplus in the 1960s and he lives about 20 miles from me. I can hardly wait to check out his stock. Cheers Brian

Hi Dave, How would you fit the watch in place? I tried to take the front of the watch holder off thinking that it may be threaded but had no luck. It may just be so dirty that it needs a lot of cleaning. I see that the watch stem protruded through this mount. Brian

Hi Dave, Thanks for the information. I would like to get the set up and running but I may not be able to do that as a fellow in the office told me that I would probably require a license to operate an SW unit. The hardest piece to find will probably be an authentic pocket watch which mounts on the front of the radio. For those who don't know it is that round black disc-shaped object in the front of the larger unit in the earlier pohoto I've posted. The watch fit in the bracket with the stem passing through the top of the bracket. I saw one on the internet (not for sale) with Canadian WD markings on the back. What I wouldn't give for one of those. Thanks again for the info. Cheers Brian

The range on my set is currently as far as you can shout! These were designed for tank to tank communcations though they were fitted into the Universal Carrier (Bren Gun Carrier), armored vehicles and communications trucks etc. The range was, 10 miles (HF), 15 (CW) and 1000 yards (VHF). I understand from my research the "CW" refers to the morse code transmission. My radio has a morse key in the spare parts box. Some clubs here in Canada have actually managed trans Atlantic communications with these sets. In their day they were state of the art. By the way what was the range of the radios in the tanks you served in? Cheers Brian

Thanks Lorenzo. I have a line on some of the missing parts so I hope to have it cleaned and displayed soon. It would be great to get it working again and from what I've read it is quite possible. Cheers Brian

Hello Dave, Oh course. I should have thought of that but I guess I was thinking only about the European theater. Thanks for the additional history. Cheers Brian

Hi Paul, That's a nice find even if you don't actually collect Dutch items. They will look great mounted. It's always good to hear that I am not alone in what you called the "magpie instinct". Cheers Brian

HI Dave, That is interesting thanks for the additional information. I have just started reading about these and I hope to clean it up, add a few missing items and display it with my collection. The English and Russian writing I can understand because of the Lend Lease policy but why Chinese? Now that Rick has uncovered our secret spy ring up here in the frozen North I may have to relocate to avoid capture by moose and shvirrel! Cheers Brian

Hi Rick, So...perhaps I should have posted this under "Soviet:CCCP:Other Militaria"? One of the things I have always found humorous was the term "Lend Lease". Did they not know what war materials were going to be used for and the beating they would take? I know the reason for the term (political) but I still find it funny. No, no I don't want it back comrade, just throw it away when your done. As to your comment about the spy ring. There will be a rather robust gentleman coming over to your house this evening to discuss this matter.... By the way, did you ever read back in the 1960s that the Soviets were claiming that the Premier of the USSR was not allowed to visit Disney Land because it was in reality a secret missile base? Man I miss the Cold War era, there was some funny claims in the news at times, (some not so funny as well). Cheers Brian