leigh kitchen

He has served in operations outside Britain, he has the France & Germany Star. There isn't an overseas bar or clasp to the British War Medal.

Oh yes, love that M15, if you ever want to part with it............. I have a few bits & pieces including a pen knfe cartridge the same as the one in the photo with the M15. I'll try to dig them out.

I always get confused as to which house is which - which one is the old commandants house? I've been inside the large building which now has an art gallery n its grounds, lovely, like a multi level maze. The current location of the memorial at Norman Cross is hardly perfect but at least it gets seen & the eagle's less likely to get nicked again than if it was in its original location. I saw the TV programme "Moments in Time - Napoleon's Lost Army" (ora at least I assume that's what I saw a year or two ago. Very interesting. There were even the reamains cantonieres found as I recall?

I have an Irish Vickers lid with similar looking rivets or pins (I'm not suggesting that the helmet portrayed is Irish). One or two holes at the front? I have a relic lid picked up in Bosnia, it has two small holes & it has been suggested that it is a Serb helmet minus it's attached double headed eagle front badge.

Guards Independent Para Comapny brassard I believe, disbanded 1975, about the time that those chevrons came into use. One of theuir sergeants was the tallest man in the British army at about that time.

Slider's are ok on St. Edwards Crown staybrites, I don't know what the score is re the KIngs Crown version though - still have'nt got one of those.

Top left cap badge looks a definite, top right a probable to me. The black on red wings are in the colours worn by 2nd Ghurkas, I'm not sure but possibly by Junior Solders too - certainly back in the 70's they ("The Junior Mafia") used to wear black on red rank chevrons, presumably to prevent the more mature looking kiddies messing adult squaddies about by trying to pull rank & give orders. I've sussed it now - the KRRC wore black on red (I always mix up their colours with those of the Rifle Bde).

The red on blue wings are worn by RM on the wooly pully I think - I got some from a Commando unit in NI years ago, & I think a pair from a RM Commando (a Falklands MM winner from the Arctic & Mountain Cadre or whatever it was called & whose sister was at uni with the ex mrs).

Don't think so, the old vouchers were outlawed some while ago. Just think of all the effort that must have been put in to finding that elusive card that little Johnny needed to complete the set & at what cost to health.

Conquest, occupation, liberation.........but "reconstruction" just does'nt sound right for a medal. Ugly too. What the heck - more bottle tops & fruit salad for the old uniform. Forgot - & for the old not uniform.

Catchy little title, suppose it would'nt be called the Irag Occupation Medal though would it? Rhodium plated cupro-nickel, it would'been a nice idea to produce it in silver, but I suppose cupro nickel is'nt too bad when compared to the multitude of "antiqued" base metal or compressed cardboard or whatever that's awarded under the auspices of the UN, NATO etc.

These were sold as souvenirs, produced during WWI by firms such as "Goss" & "Arcadia". Prior to WWI these ornaments had been produced in a multitude of non-military subjects, they were the sort of thing that you'd buy as a souvenir of a holiday, with the city or town coat of arms on. During the Anglo-Boer War representations of cannon shells etc were produced. Amongst the many other military items produced were machine gunners, busts of Lord Kitchener, & I think grenades. Tanks are amongst the most popular subjects nowadays, but as with all of these souvenir ceramics condition is paramount, & value & desirability to a collector also depends on the manufacturer & the coat of arms displayed on the piece. I have a book on these somewhere, I have'nt seen it for years, I think it's called "Take Me Back To Blighty". If I can find it we can find out more about this specific tank.

Some of the few things I've let go of once I've got them are my Israeli badges which I collected on a couple of leaves 1978 - 80. I had loads of cap & other insignia in metal, the only cloth I had were rank slides. I got rid of them years ago, traded for 3 old British fusilier busbies, all I have left now are some berets - paras, infantry, Golani, navy & aitforce. My only reference, still around somewhere were a couple of the "Born in Battle" series of books.

I like the cloth patches a couple of the old fellows are wearing. One wears the cap badge of the Royal Army Service Corps (or possibly one of the commonwealth equivalents).

Are the collar numbers & shield chromed rather than of white metal which needs polishing - if they're chromed then they're going to be post WWII items...........

Thanks fellahs, I'll be keeping a fair amount of new threads & additions to existing threads rolling - but not for a week or so as I'll be on holiday in a hot sunny touristy place whose saving grace will be cool shady sleazy little bars - the perfect surroundings to lay down & top up my prison pallor. My main collecting fields have always been British infantry cap badges & WWI photos of British squaddies - I tend to know a fair bit about the badges & a little about a load of other subjetcs. I have "collections" of items from various fields of miltaria ranging through British insignia, WWII era German wehrpas & soldbuch, Polish WWII & communist era medal & document groupings, "old" Serbian, Polish & German miltary photos, British army Victorian, Edwardian & WWI christmas & regimental cards, Brtish & other medals, miltary paper "scraps", military cigarette cards & printed & Victorian & Edwardian embossed miltary crests from regimental letter paper & envelopes. Basically I'm a miltary magpie or "anorak" as my wife prefers. I tend to be a thread killer - try to watch out for threads which show me as the last contributer & post something on them please as I often seem to be the kiss of death, getting the last word in & condemning them to oblivion. And of course, I don't want to just create threads which are basically "one mans' collection", just photos of my stuff without input from others to add to or correct or challenge what I post. See you later..............

I've just bought my first Condor Legion wehrpas: Oberwachtmeister Anton G?dda, Spanish Cross in Silver, Medala de la campana , cruz roja , KvK II & another award I can't read. And for some reason I can't post more photos re. units & awards. I'll try later.

Mounted INfantry? LIfe GUards of the 1880's? I don't know which unit this scrap represents, it's about 7" tall.

15th Hussars, Victorian, about 6" tall.

The Despatch Orderlies (21st Lancers) passing Marlborough House. A Raphael Tuck & Sons "Military In London" Series III card, by Harry Payne.

Boers & Scottish troops & a slightly oversized shell - I think it's fairly safe to conclude that the British produced these scraps during the Anglo-Boer War. The Boer with the white flag's about 2 1/4 inches tall including the flag.

"Our Bobs" About 2 1/2 inches tall.