bigjarofwasps

Cheers Barry, this is smashing. The Caldecott`s certainly took a whopping didn`t they. I wonder what happened to Augustus, imagines a guy with a long beard and one leg sitting on a porch come to mind.

Am I right in thinking that Francis was killed in action or died of wounds or disease, or some such fate?

Soldier dies after Iraq accident

Sgt Stansfield's family were at his bedside when he died

A British soldier has died following a forklift truck accident in Iraq.

Mark Stansfield, 32, of Oxfordshire, who was soon to be a father, had been flown to a Birmingham hospital after Wednesday's Basra Air Station accident.

Sgt Stansfield, of 32 Close Support Squadron, UK Logistic Battalion, was described as "a first class soldier" with a "bright career ahead".

Defence officials said he was carrying out security checks at a supply point to the base when the accident happened.

Operation

Doctors operated on him at the base's field hospital before he was flown the following day to Selly Oak Hospital, in Birmingham, for further treatment.

His condition deteriorated soon after his arrival and he died with his family at his bedside on Friday.

He was admired by the soldiers he led and respected by everyone

Lt Col David Roberts

Sgt Stansfield joined the Army at the age of 17 and trained to become a driver.

He went on to serve in the Balkans, Northern Ireland and Iraq.

As a keen footballer, he helped set up an army football team while in Iraq and had been in Basra almost four months.

'Respected and admired'

Lt Col David Roberts, Sgt Stansfield's commanding officer in Iraq, said: "He was a first-class soldier and a very fine senior non-commissioned officer, with an extremely bright career ahead of him.

"He was admired by the soldiers he led and respected by everyone."

His squadron commander in Iraq, Maj Dave Poole, described Sgt Stansfield as "a diligent man, who never accepted second best" and said he had been looking forward to returning home to his pregnant wife Joanne, whom he married last Christmas.

Defence Secretary Des Browne said Sgt Stansfield had been a "hugely brave, dedicated and ambitious soldier" who would be "sorely missed".

He added: "My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this incredibly difficult time."

Sgt Stansfield's death takes the total number of UK troops killed in operations in Iraq to 170 since the US-led invasion of 2003.

The badge of the Mercian Regt.

Graham.

Cheers Graham,

The new badge is very similar to the RMLY cap badge, to which the old Cheshire Yeomany are now part of...

Another angle to try on these guys is to google the units and see whether there is a re-enacting group who portrays one or more of them. These groups often have a lot of info on the units and individuals they portray. I've done this for one unit and got nominal rolls (on line) of the whole unit. Worth a shot, anyway! Good luck.

Peter

Cheers Peter, I`ll give that a try.

Charles H Caldecott

Cheers Bear, have sent you a PM. Just out of interest, where did this documeny come from. Are more detailed service papers available?

Gordon.

Can anyone recommend any books on the history of the USS Wisconsin?

And this one along the same lines.....

Hi Guys,

Found this thought it might be of interest, has anyone seen or got any others, to share with us?

One Troy ounce USS WISCONSIN BB 64 DECOMMISSIONING COMMEMORATIVE .999 FINE SILVER. Obverse shows the Wisconsin, the reverse states "47 years of Military service USS Wisconsin BB 64 Decommissioning" in the center flanked by two rope and anchor's are the words "Navy WWII 1944-1948, Korean War 1951-1958, Persian Gulf 1988-1991, and 1943-1991"

Gordon.

Gotcha, so basically there along the same lines of battle honours....

Cheers Guys,

So basically if she`d been a person she`d have won 6 Bronze Stars?

Thought this picture of her rather poignant.....

Above from this webpage..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wisconsin_(BB-64)

Have a read of the Gulf War service, its mad to think that this ship fought the Japs in WW2, the Koreans & the Iraqi`s during her service!!

Hi Guys,

Was surfing the net when I found this....

USS Wisconsin (BB-64) ("Wisky" or "WisKy") is an Iowa-class battleship, the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched on 7 December 1943.

During her career, Wisconsin served in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and screened United States aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the Korean War, Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet." She was reactivated 1 August 1986 and modernized as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and participated in the 1991 Gulf War.

Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991, having earned a total of six battle stars for service in World War II and Korea, and a Navy Unit Commendation for service during the 1991 Gulf War, and currently functions as a museum ship operated by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum at Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Wisconsin was struck from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) 17 March 2006, and is currently awaiting donation for permanent use as a museum ship.

Can anyone tell me what the criteria is for a Battle Star & or a Unit Commendation?

Gordon,

I'm certain though that when I was in from 1986 - 2000 that the doubling rule was still included as we had some members who had served in Northern Ireland and 1st Gulf War, who also received the G.S.M. and Gulf Medals, but also doubled their service for it.

Graham.

Thats really is interesting. I know any time spent on tour counts towards your bounty & that the MATTS (old ITD`s) you do prior to deploying also counts towards your bounty..

Gordon.

Bigjar,

I think the only way that they could end up wearing two medals, of exactly the same purpose is because the bar is no longer available for the T.E.M., as it's now obsolete. To get the V.S.M., they would have to put in an additional ten years efficient service on top of the previous twelve years for the T.E.M., so in effect they must have had twenty two years T.A. service.

However there used to be a ruling whereby if you actually did 'active service' as a member of the T.A., your 'active service' time would be doubled towards your T.A. service. For instance if you did a six months or one years active service with the regulars, then you would infact have accumulated 1 & 2 years T.A. service respectively.

This same system was used during both the Great War and WWII, so that a T.F. lad surving the fours years carnage on the Western Front would in effect have done eight years accumulated service.

Confusing eh?

Graham.

Graham,

One of the guys, in my squadron has served 35 years in the TA!!!!!!! I think he`s the longest serving guy in the Regiment.

Re the double time thing, yes I`d heard of that, but I don`t think its used any more is it? I wonder where this idea came from in the first place? Any ideas?

Gordon.

Yes the above two are the ones, these guys were wearing. I must admit to the untrained eye it looked like this guys were old campaigners when the golden jubilee was added. I`m not dissing them in any way, if I had two LSGCs and was allowed to wear them together I would.

I`m told.....

"The reeded edges around the quarter you can see is all the same color of silver matching the reverse and obverse of the quarter. On the clad you can see the alloy, ( it may be copper ) in the reeded edges of the quarter. This is the simplest way to tell, but there are others."

I`ll attempt to find out what the other ways are & get back to you.

In the mean time, here are a few more links...

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_p...ction=factsheet

http://www.coinfacts.com/quarter_dollars/5...es_quarters.htm

I put my money were my mouth is (pardon the pun), and checked up on this advice, and am pleased to say, that it panned out, its obvious the difference between a clad and a solid silver coin...

Phew, didn`t want to be giving out duff gen did I!!!!

Those are horrible... I dont like the obverse.

Paul if you mean the 1 oz type, yes I totally agree naff with a capital N!!!! There more along the lines of bullion as apposed to a coin. If they`d made them just like a quarter except bigger, they`d be a cracking thing to collect!!

I can only assume that there made by someone like the Franklin mint as apposed to the US mint?

Bit of useless information here, I joined the TA about 18 months or so ago. We recently had new colours given to us, by the Queen. It was during this parade that I noticed several of the old & bolds of the Regiment had two TA LSGC medals, I`m curious to know how this could happen, and not a bar be issued instead. Can anyone shine any light on this for me?

Two Wisconsin soldiers were killed and a third was injured by shrapnel when a roadside bomb exploded as they drove past in Iraq.

Killed were Michael Wendling, 20, of Mayville, and Andy Wallace 25, of Oshkosh, who were members of Fond du Lac-based Charlie Co. of the Wisconsin National Guard 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry. Injured in the explosion was a high school friend of Wendling - Jeremy Roskopf, who suffered shrapnel wounds in his legs.

Roskopf and Wendling signed up for the National Guard together while they were still in high school.

Families were notified Monday. Wendling's father, Randy, was at work at Michaels Corp. when two military members showed up to tell him of his son's death.

Wendling, who was a student on the Dean's List at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee when his unit was activated, frequently kept in touch with his family via e-mail and talked about what it was like to drive the large, heavy Humvees in Kuwait and Iraq.

"He said they don't go very fast but he seemed pretty excited about what he was doing," Randy Wendling said in a phone interview this morning.

Wallace taught physical education at Cook Elementary School in Oshkosh and at Oshkosh North High School, where he was an assistant wrestling coach and part-time physical education teacher for cognitively disabled students.

Staff members at Cook gasped in shock after being notified of Wallace's death at a Monday meeting called by the principal.

"He was a kind, wonderful, positive man," said third-grade teacher Tracy Zangl. "He wanted students to be healthy in every sense of the word, physically, mentally and in attitude."

The U.S. Department of Defense had not confirmed the deaths Tuesday.

The 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry is based in Appleton and spent a couple of months training at Camp Shelby, Miss. The unit moved to Kuwait in mid-August and has been based in northern Kuwait to provide security to convoys traveling from Kuwait into Iraq, said Wisconsin National Guard Lt. Col. Tim Donovan.

Wendling's father said the roadside bomb hit his son's Humvee near Basra. Wendling was the driver, Roskopf was the gunner who stands up in the middle of the vehicle and Wallace was the team leader who normally sits in the front passenger seat.

Randy Wendling said he saw his son shortly before the unit deployed in August. He spent his home leave going to Brewers games, visiting with family and friends and golfing. Wendling was a member of Mayville High School's golf team.

Randy Wendling said his son was upbeat about going to Iraq and enjoyed serving in the Wisconsin National Guard.

In his e-mails, Wendling sent photos and wrote about missions and what the countryside looked like.

"He talked about where they were based and what it was like, what they were going to be doing, how hot it was there," said Randy Wendling.

Wallace was described as "an exceptional teacher and an outstanding young man" by Oshkosh North Principal Jim Hoffman.

Wallace maintained contact through e-mails with his Oshkosh North colleagues, and he recently requested athletic jerseys and copies of the school's newspaper, The North Star, Hoffman said.

Wallace's wife, Angie, is a child-care provider for a number of staff members in the district who were notified that they should pick up their children early on Monday once the news of his death spread, said Superintendent Ronald Heilmann. The superintendent said Wallace made an impact on many students during his short career and that his death sent "ripples" throughout the district.

Para killed during Iraq mission

A British soldier serving with the Parachute Regiment has been killed during an operation in central Iraq.

The MoD said the soldier died on Wednesday during an operation "in support of ongoing coalition activity".

It has been reported that he was on a special forces mission and was a member of the Special Air Service (SAS).

The soldier has not been named, but next-of-kin have been informed. Forty-two soldiers have died in Iraq this year.

Further details are expected on Saturday.

The death brings to 169 the number of UK armed forces personnel or MoD civilians who have died in Iraq since the start of the campaign in March 2003.

Manchester Evening News

16/10/2006

A PARATROOPER from Manchester has been nominated for the Victoria Cross for saving the life of a wounded American soldier while under fire from the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Private Peter McKinley, 21, could become only the second living serviceman in 40 years to be awarded Britain's highest military honour.

He endured a 15-minute barrage of grenades and machine-gun fire as he treated the US serviceman during one of the fiercest battles of the current campaign fought by the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment.

Army chiefs are now putting his name forward for a VC for the "massive act of bravery". Pte McKinley was one of 100 Paras sent from their base to rescue an American supply convoy ambushed by Taliban fighters at Sangin in northern Helmand province.

The Paras formed a defensive cordon around the Americans, but as night descended, dozens of Taliban, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, launched a blistering attack. Two American soldiers were badly wounded when grenades tore into the jeep where they were sheltering.

First-aider Pte McKinley heard their desperate screams for help and ran across open ground to the vehicle as enemy rounds whistled overhead.

He found the American sergeant had suffered serious facial injuries and other wounds including a broken arm, a neck injury, and fragments in his legs.

Pte McKinley said: "They were still firing at us when I ran back to the Humvee. The sergeant was in a pretty bad way but my training just kicked in and I spent about 15 minutes looking after his wounds, stemming the blood and keeping his airway clear."

Major Will Pike, the commander of A Company, described the soldier's actions as "massively impressive". He added: "He was very brave while completely disregarding his own safety. He also treated the American soldier beyond the level that as team medic he is expected to perform. We have a lot of private soldiers who are very young and just out of training but have proved very steady under fire."

To earn the VC soldiers have to display conspicuous bravery or daring or perform a prominent "act of valour or self-sacrifice in the face of the enemy".

An MoD spokesman said: "We can confirm Pte McKinley provided medical treatment to a US soldier whilst under sustained attack."

"On the 15 December 2006 the Operational Honours and Awards List was released and my son Peter McKinley was awarded The Military Cross (MC). Our family is so proud of him, and all the men and women who daily put their lives on the line for us. Keep supporting our troops".

Jo McKinley (A Hero's Mum), Manchester

17/12/2006

Cheers Taz,

I maybe talking out of turn here, but I feel that if this guy didn`t get the VC, then its unlikely that the two Poachers will either.

The Medic, Peter McKinley, may have been put up for the VC but was, instead, awarded the Military Cross in the December 2006 Operational Honours and Awards List.

Thats very interesting! Have you got any further details?

The question I have is how you tell the difference between the proof & the silver given that they both have the `S` mint mark? Does anyone know? Have seen alledged silver ones on ebay, but they look exactly the same as the none silver ones to me?

I`m told.....

"The reeded edges around the quarter you can see is all the same color of silver matching the reverse and obverse of the quarter. On the clad you can see the alloy, ( it may be copper ) in the reeded edges of the quarter. This is the simplest way to tell, but there are others."

I`ll attempt to find out what the other ways are & get back to you.

In the mean time, here are a few more links...

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_p...ction=factsheet

http://www.coinfacts.com/quarter_dollars/5...es_quarters.htm

In addition to my last, have you seen these?

.999 silver 1 oz, just a shame about the reverse. Would have been nicer if they`d been an exact copy, maybe in 1 dollar format?

As silver bullion, I suppose there okey, like collecting 1 oz bars, I would imagine. But as a coin, I think there a bit naff.....sorry.