Brian Wolfe

I'll add my two cents worth and agree. The badge on these, and I've seen a few in my time, are always in better condition. In my opinion the bugle would have been better off with no badge at all. Sorry to have to agree with bad news. Regards Brian

Hi Chris, Your post has triggered a memory of back in the days when I was seriously interested in paleontology and geology. We used to mark specimens with a small dab of white acrylic paint (titanium white I believe) and once dry a number would be written on with a straight pen dipped in India Black ink. This was sometimes covered with clear finger nail polish. This can be removed with nail polish remover if needed. This paint comes in tubes and is sold at artists supply stores. My question to you is whether something like this could be done on the backs of the EKI with the recipients name and other information. Failing this perhaps a type of tape could be employed instead and used for the same purpose. The smooth back of the EKI should allow for easy removal if needed. You could test it out on one of your wifes kitchen knives to see if it would work for you, and also test if it could be removed easily enough. If it fails your expectations you have the option of throwing the knife out and tell the missus that it was probably tossed out with the garbage while cleaning off a plate. It happens. If this sounds like a crazy idea then perhaps it will start you thinking about other alternatives; about the information on the back of the EKI not about explaining the missing knife, youre on your own with that. Regards Brian

I agree that if France had withdrawn from the War the British would have had no choice other than to also withdraw. The line of defense was too long for one of the Allies to hold and the loss of France would have left huge gaps for the Germans to exploit. I think, given time, the colonial forces may have filled the gaps, thinking that the Indian Army had not been used as efficiently as possible. However I doubt there would have been time to re-think the whole thing. Here the First World War is seen as a British/German thing by many of the public with a few Frenchmen thrown in for good measure. Of course the facts do not support that misconception. The War was started by Russia declairing war on Austria, then Germany supported Austria, France supported her ally, Russia, and the British threw in with France. It would probably be more accurate to see it as a Russian/Austrian conflict or even a French/German war that drew in the rest of the world. The one thing we can all agree on is that it was a blood bath. It makes me wonder if the "old Gods" are not still with us and getting their blood sacrifice though the stupidity of mankind rather than from the old religious rituals. Regards Brian

With all due respect Ulsterman, are we talking about the same war? From what I have read the German fleet had been pretty well defeated at the Battle of Jutland, or at least bottled up. Both sides were at the point of exhaustion and I woud conced that one side would have won over the other but I think it would have led to peace talks by 1919. I'm not basing this on books and other's fine and indisputable research but from conversations with WWI Veterans from both sides. To quote an old Prussian soldier I knew well and hunted with for many years, "We had cabbages and carrots, cabbages and carrots; I got to hate those cabbages and carrots. By the end of the war we would have welcomed either cabbages or carrots but got little to eat". The allies still had resources from her Empires such as Canada and the U.S.A. would have still been what could be construed as war profiteering even if sales of material had to be done on credit. Perhaps if America had not joined the war, (this is where I am obligated to state my "thanks be to God for America"), and German had still lost, the U.S.A would have owned all of Europe through the financial debt owed to them. I won't get drawn into a long debate on this because I fear it would only make me appear to be anti-American, which is something I am anything but. Regards Brian

Thanks Larry. Regards Brian

I have held the above opinon for a long time and research supports it. America shortened the War drastically however my opinion in no way deminishes their contributions. Regards Brian

Very nice start, and with that the obsession started. Well done and thanks for posting them. Regards Brian

Thank you Michael, and it is obvious as to why it would have been dropped by 1971. It is these small details that are clues to the history that many never realize. Yet one more benifit of belonging to the GMIC (shamless promotion). Regards Brian

Pakistan’s Combat Stars and War Medals Pakistan and India fought two major wars, one in 1965 and another in 1971. These were not long and drawn out affairs though the seeds of the conflicts had been sown decades before; I will not get into those here. It would be simplifying the causes of the wars to say that they were merely ideological differences (Islam verses Hindu). However these differences certainly could be cited as the reason the fighting on both sides was so intense. India gained independence in 1947 and simultaneously Pakistan formed its own independent state resulting in what is known as “Partition”. The two countries were never on good terms and border disagreements were bound to erupt. In 1965 India and Pakistan went to war over such a boundary dispute in the Region of Kashmir. The War was fought from April to September of 1965 and while, as stated, the War was not a protracted one it did generate a good number of military casualties. India suffered 3,000 KIA while Pakistan sustained 3,800 KIA. In 1971 India supported East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the East Pakistan Liberation War. Fighting between the forces of the then West Pakistan and India broke out on India’s Eastern border in what is called the world’s shortest war; lasting from December 3rd to 16th. Even though the war was restricted to such a short time span it generated 194 KIA for India while Pakistan was 1,900 KIA. Civilian losses for both of the above wars are not figured into the totals. The 1965 War generated the first of Pakistan’s two Combat Stars and accompanying War Medals. To clarify, the Combat Star was awarded to those actually serving in an area of combat activity while the War Medal was awarded to those who were serving anywhere during the conflict. The combat star is always accompanied by the war medal for the particular war they were awarded for. However the war medal can be found in groups alone. In the case of the 1965 combat star you will find most of these officially named on the reverse. The war medals were not named for either war unless it was undertaken privately. The 1971 War produced another pair of these combat stars and war medals. The combat star in this case is never officially named as is the war medal and again neither was the 1971 war medal. As has been said many times, there is always an exception to any rule. In this case the 1971 War medal shown the recipient had his medal privately (unofficially) named. The Sitara-i-Harb 1965 and 1971 (combat stars) The correct names of the combat stars is, the Sitara-i-Harb 1965 and the Sitara-i-Harb 1971. At a resent show I attended I overheard a dealer tell a customer that the only difference between the two was the different ribbons. For me this was one of those jaw dropping moments brought on by an overwhelming feeling of disbelief in that statement. True they both have ribbons with a black field with the 1965 star having one red stripe while the 1971 star sports two red stripes. Beyond differences in the red strips on a black field and that they are both stars there is a world of difference, at least to the educated collector. The medal suspension bars differ as does the method of affixing the star to the bar. The 1965 star is suspended so that two points of the star are horizontal while the 1971 is suspended by the tip of the star’s point. We have already discussed that the reverse of the 1965 star was officially named while the 1971 was not. That’s seems easy enough but let’s take a look at the obverse of the two stars. While I cannot translate the writing one can plainly see there is a vast difference. The Tamgha-i-Jang 1965and 1971 (War Medals) The obverse of the 1965 and 1971 war medals is virtually identical so when viewed in a group, especially when the combat star is absent, the difference in this case is indeed the ribbons. There is a vast difference when it comes to the reverses however. The 1965 has script in the center surrounded by script around the outer edge. However the centre of the 1971 is blank with the date written at the bottom. If you look closely at the 1965 I believe the script at the bottom is in Hindi while the balance of the script is possibly Urdu, Islamic or Arabic calligraphy. I apologize for my lack of knowledge in this area. The 1971 war star is missing the Hindi. As may be noted in the examples below the recipient of the 1971 medal has utilized the blank space to have the medal unofficially named, English lettering. As mentioned above the star and the medal for each war are found either in pairs or within groups of medals. The medal can be found by itself in a group but the star is always, or should always be accompanied by the circular medal. The first example of a group containing a medal without its star is shown below. The star and medal are for the 1971 War yet the recipient was serving during the 1965 War yet NOT within a combat zone, therefore the medal appears alone. The reason for the seemingly missing Hijri Tamgha Medal (Gold ribbon with Black stripe) is that often we see this when the recipient had yet to actually receive the medal yet needs to show the place on the medal bar. This is quite common with Indian Medals as well. The last example is of a very nice original group showing both 1965 and 1971 combat stars and their accompanying war medals. This group has quite the personal attachment for me. My brother and his wife were visiting her family in China one year. He had offered to keep watch for Chinese medals while there and I asked him not to due to the many fakes that abound. In our conversation I mentioned that I collected Indian and Pakistan medals. A street vender had this group of medals off to the side. I should call them a “glob” of medals as they were strung together on a wire so I had to mount them. My sister-in-law speaks the official language of Chinese street venders’; it’s called “negotiation” which led my brother to later confess that he only had to pay the equivalent of $5.00 American for the whole group. For those who have yet not noticed the Tamgha –i- Jang 1971 is mounted with the ribbon on backwards. Oops. Regards Brian

Police Lanterns and the Comic Post Card One of the favourite targets of publications such as Punch, among many others, was the London and Metropolitan Police almost from the first day they were formed. One of these mediums of satire, or humour, is the countless number of post cards that were available to the public at that time. The first example is not as crewel as many and simply uses a double meaning of the statement “I see I’m in time”. Considering the minimal “background” light, compared with what we experience today from electrical street lights and illuminated signs, the low light level of the old lantern was probably as bright as shown in this post card. Of the humorous post cards that are offered for sale to the collector today I think the ones having a “go” at the Special Constables is the most prolific. However, we’ll stay with the PC and leave the SC topic to its proper section. The two examples below concerns what is probably the most common “adventure” the police runs into, even today. A couple out on their own confronting a police constable; who hasn’t had this happen to them? Next we’ll take a look at some early battery powered “torches”, or as known on this side of the pond, “flashlights”. In the mean time, if you have any post cards or illustrations involving the British Police please feel free to post them here. I’ll wait for a couple of weeks before I proceed with the next installment of this post to give you time to post them. Regards Brian

Hi Dave, Good eyes, I can see it now but even so only because you could read it, so I'm using some imagination along with my old eyes. Thanks very much for the additional information, I will be sure to record it for other near-sighted collectors of the future. Regards Brian

Great weapons, thanks for posting them. Regards Brian

A beautiful sword indeed, Thanks for posting it. Regards Brian

While there are a lot of reproductions on the market today I do like what I am seeing. Nice piece. Regards Brian

Thanks for that information Mike and thanks too for your attached photo. I believe you started a post a while back on these but darned if I could find it; I was intending to use my post in the form of a reply to yours. Sometimes there is just so much information to sift through that posts seem "lost", even with the search option. Thanks again. Regards Brian

Cadbury Brothers A short while ago a friend and I were talking about different periods in history and what had taken place. My friend is an intellectual fellow and well read so conversations with him are anything but trite. Something that he brought up and a subject that has been on my mind for some time as well is how do we know what we read as historical fact is indeed so. It’s all fine and well to read something in a book, accept it as accurate, then relating it to bored friends and family as historic fact. Naturally my friend was not suggesting that everything we know or think we know requires original documentation to be in our possession. However, once in a while this actually happens, though in the case I am writing about perhaps a rather a trivial bit of history. While attending a show just prior to Christmas, 2013, I was about to leave empty handed, which as any collector will agree is a crying shame. On my way out a dealer was just opening a small cardboard box of odds and ends and removed a candy box from the Boer War era. These are getting harder and harder to find and even though I would have liked the condition to have been better I decided that I was not going home empty handed this day. The box was not the best part of the transaction as inside there had been a letter which verified a story about the supplier of the chocolate that was in the original boxes to be gifted to the soldiers in South Africa. The dealer was aware of the letter’s significance and since I didn’t barter on the price of the box handed over the communication, which he had taken out moments before displaying the box for sale. For years I have heard and read that George Cadbury had second thoughts about supplying the chocolate for the gift boxes based on religious grounds. I have never doubted this but as my friend’s earlier observations pointed out there were no documents in my possession to support the story. I have attached a photo of this letter, from Cadbury Brothers, to a fellow, Mr. Vincent Pollard, living in Pakistan at the time in answer to a question about the boxes themselves. While this was written after the fact it is from an official of the Cadbury Brothers Company outlining the story which has become legend and it is certainly is a one of a kind document in its own right. I hope you find it as interesting as I did. First is a view of the box that was the subject of the letter from Mr. Pollard to the Cadbury Company. Two views of the letter, the first of the whole letter and then a closer view so that it can be read more easily. Regards Brian

That is indeed a nice find, you're a lucky fellow. Regards Brian

I would have to agree with Chris regarding the manufacturing process would indicate an earlier specimen. Ersatz cheap then...not so much so now, collecting-wise. Regards Brian

The Desert Rangers Several years ago I purchased several Sitara-i-Harb 1965 known as the combat star for the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. These were all named, as most of the 1965 stars are, and the regiment noted on the reverse was simply given as D.R. After doing as much searching as I could for the meaning of D.R. I contacted the members of another forum I belonged to at the time for assistance. There were some suggestions such as Dogra Regiment but these were all eliminated by other members leaving me no further along in discovering the regiments name. I suppose that is not a fair statement as in any research the elimination of possibilities can be an important part of the process and I do not want to diminish those members efforts, which were appreciated. Not too long ago one of our fellow members and a long time friend, Ehjaz, made it possible for me to purchase a two medal Pakistan group consisting of the Sitara-i-Hard 1965 and accompanying Tamgha-i-Jang 1965 (the 1965 War Medal). The star was named to a member of the D.R. While the pair was a welcomed addition the best part was that Ehjaz had also answered my long standing question as to what D.R. stood for. Pakistans Desert Rangers In 1958 the West Pakistan Rangers (WPR) was formed. This group comprised of, . Sutlej Rangers (Punjab Border Police) HQ: Lahore . Desert Rangers (Bahawalpur Border Police) HQ: Bahawalpur . Indus Rangers (Kharipur Military Police and Sindh Border Police) HQ: Hyderabad The WPR was changed to the Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) in 1972. According to the Pakistan Army web page the roles of the Pakistan Ranger (Punjab) are as follows. . Protection of persons and proper tint he border areas. . Apprehension of persons unlawfully entering into Pakistan or going out of Pakistan territory. . Prevention of smuggling. . Provision of assistance to police to detect and prevent crime in the border area. . Reinforcing police for the maintenance of law and order, primarily in the border area. . Collection of intelligence and provision of early warning about smugglers movements /enemy concentrations. . Be under command of the Army during war/escalation. According to the web site the major responsibilities assigned to the Pakistan Ranger (Punjab) is to prevent smuggling. Gold, narcotics and drugs are smuggled from Pakistan and liquor and acetic anhydride are smuggled into Pakistan from India. [Acetic anhydride is used in the synthesis of heroin by the diacetylation of morphine.] The Rangers fought shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan Army in the past two wars [against India in 1965 and 1971]. The Rangers suffered 168 dead and 66 wounded in the 1965 War and in 1971 causalities were 65 with 10 wounded. Regards Brian

The Police Lantern as an Icon for British Police If you were to ask the membership what comes to their minds when asked for iconic symbols of their country’s or local police you might have a wide range of possibilities offered up. Here in Canada one might suggest the dress uniform or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, so reminiscent of the British red uniforms of the Victorian era’s red military uniforms. Certainly there are many examples of iconic items for the Victorian/Edwardian police of the mid Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century’s as shown in the display below. Of course for the purposes of this long running article we are looking at the police lantern as one of the iconic symbols. In addition to the recognizable Bobby’s helmet the police lantern was commonly featured in the past. The first example is on an Honour Roll commemorating the members the Metropolitan Special Constabulary who gave their lives serving their country during the Great War. As may be seen along the left hand border is a collection of equipment used by the Special Constabulary during that period. Among the different items there are two police lanterns. Another area where the police lantern was used was in advertising. Not advertisements regarding the sale of the lanterns themselves but ads that used the iconic symbols of the police officer and his lantern to help sell the product. In the case below these are used to fortify the high degree of safety and security of the locks being “hawked”. Popular crime stories and news stories involving police investigations also show not only the policemen but, due to the night-time activities preferred by criminals, the ever present lantern. I’ll look further into the popular use of images of police lantern in the next post. Regards Brian

Thanks Spasm, It sounds like you may be in for some heating before trying to bend out the folds. There is a book press at another antiques mall from the one I purchased the small press from. It measures well over 12 inches on the plates and I have been wanting to purchase it ever since it came up for sale. It's priced as if it were a rare antique so I've left it there. I just keep thinking that someday I'll wish I'd bought it. Good luck on the Me109 piece, please keep us posted on your progress and techniques you use to get the folds out. Regards Brian

Now for the corrections. The photo of the press should have been earlier in the post but no matter, it's there. The missing photo is of a couple of different woodworking clamps that could be used, though there is an endless choice of types. I would NOT recommend the "Quick Clamps" that require squeezing a pistol grip and you really can't get enough pressure produced with this type of clamp for what we are doing here. Here's the missing photo. Regards Brian

Getting the Wrinkles Out One of the areas I collect is Japanese decorations, medals and related items; of the “related items” door badges rank high on my “wants list”. Door badges are plates, or plaques, that are affixed to the doorway of a home to indicate that the inhabitants are members of a specific association or organization. In the past these were made of wood, ceramic, metal and pressed paper fibre, the practice continues today but the badges are now often an adhesive strip. The badge that just arrived and is the subject of this post is made of a thin malleable, non ferrous metal which is very easily distorted. The association’s badge, in this case The Greater Japan Wounded Veteran’s Association, is a separate piece attached by bent tabs; the badges are usually painted on. This badge arrived in a bent condition with several “wrinkles” in the metal caused by its removal from the doorway. I was fortunate in that the bends were not severe and there were no creases. It had been affixed to the doorway with two nails, one at the top the other at the bottom. The nails had caused the metal to be pushed out at the back leaving small cone-shaped protrusions. This particular door badge is one of the scarce examples and any decision to “improve it” had to be considered seriously. I could have simply placed it in the collection as it was when it arrived or take the chance, as small as that may be, to actually make it even more collectable by restoration. Of course I chose restoration otherwise this post would have absolutely no point at all. I apologize that somehow I managed to delete the “before” photos so please accept my description of the piece in its original condition. The first thing I did was to smooth out the small cones left by the use of nails that were too large for the holes provided. This I did easily with a large, and therefore heavier, hammer on a piece of railroad iron I keep as an anvil. Light taps was all that was necessary to produce a smooth, back to original, surface. My first concern was for the separate badge, a prominent and important feature of this door badge. Normally when restoring antiques, whether furniture or muskets (the topic of a future post) you need to disassemble the whole item prior to commencing work. In this case I was worried that the soft metal tabs on the badge itself might break off if I tried to straighten them, and then bend them down when I reattached it. So how to straighten out the wrinkles with the badge attached without damage to the badge? If you have ever worked with metal you’ll know that beating it with a hammer on an anvil (railroad iron in my case) will produce a nice rolled piece of material when done. Not what we are looking for here. Also the edges tend to flair out when struck by a hammer so a gentler means is needed. I decided to use a press I have in the shop and if you’ve followed any of my other restoration posts you’ve seen it before. This is actually a dental press that I purchased at an antiques mall several years ago and has come in handy on more than one occasion. The next thing I did was to find a couple of pieces of smooth hard wood in the scrap bin. In this case the wood was hard maple. In order to protect the badge I drilled out a space to fit the badge shape fairly closely, fine tuning the space sides with chisels. Once the hole was the correct size to protect the badge I used masking tape and affixed the plate to the first block of wood with the badge in the hole. Then the flat piece of wood was placed against the back of the door badge and taped to the first board. In this way nothing moves and the badge is protected. In addition to this you won’t need three pairs of hands to hold everything in place while you proceed. After inserting this “sandwich” into the press and applying pressure the result is a completely smooth plate with the badge undamaged. One of the things I really dislike about a lot of these so-called do-it-yourself articles is when some well meaning hobbyist working at a professional level tells you that you can do this yourself then lists what you will need. His list can include anything from a Mig welder and 2000 pound hydraulic press to a milling machine and a plasma cutter. This always leaves me thinking that I could hire the work done or purchase another example of the item, in need of restoration, in mint condition a lot cheaper than fixing the item in question. With this in mind, there are alternatives to a dental press. You can use almost any clamp from woodworking clamps (shown in photograph) to large “C” clamps. Even a good sized vise would work well. Failing that a good sized hammer could be applied to the wooden blocks. I have pictured a larger weighted mallet that I often use to set dowelled pieces together; I call it my “coaxer”. I think the heavier the hammer the better and no need to slam the thing down like you are driving railroad spikes; let the weight of the hammer/mallet do the work. While I like to use hardwood for such projects I don’t think a soft wood such as pine would present a problem except any serious issues might tend to imprint into the soft wood rather than being ”ironed” out. “Ok, smart guy, I don’t have a shop” might be your thoughts at this time. Fair enough, but you can possibly do what some of my friends do. If you have a friend who has a shop then ask them to help. Most of us with shops really like these challenges and would be more than happy to help. My point , as always, is not to just put a damaged item in your collection without at least considering taking on some restorations yourself. Regards Brian

I can add nothing but my congratulations on your acquisition. The first piece seems to be a mix of cultures, as you noted, but the workmanship is superb. Regards Brian

Thanks for your comments, Rick and Mervyn. Regards Brian