GRA

Hello Farrar! Regiments.org has been down for quite some time, but you can try this link to one of the last versions of that website before it disappeared. You might want to try a dedicated unit history though, since Regiments.org doesn't contain any detailed information as to which battalions went where in this case. The Royal fusiliers in the great war might provide some more detailed information on the Royal Fusiliers. /Jonas

I was just surprised that there was a whole Scandinavian unit organised, I thought that any Scandinavian contribution would have amounted to the occasional "tourist", and a handful of individual "thrill seekers" fighting as individuals for one or the other side. /Jonas

Thanks Mervyn, but remember it was quite easy for me, since I could actually understand what I read, and only had to pick whatever popped up after some Finland-related Swedish Volunteer Corps were eliminated (I actually suspected the Swedish Volunteers in Northern Finland during the Winter War for a short while). I barely knew there were a Scandinavian element fighting in the Boer War at all! /Jonas

Hello Mike! Just an observation, it seems like all but one of the Finns were of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland (Korhenen/Korhonen being the exception), it would be interesting to know if one of the Finnish members of the forum had an inkling as to why? Were they recruited from a certain geographic area, or a certain social/professional group? A nice (and rare, I guess, given the small number of the Scandinavian Corps) plaque from the well-known Swedish maker Sporrong. /Jonas

Hello Jens! Would the 1st Brandenburg Dragoons fit the bill? From a quick glance, there also seems to be a connection to the 6. Kavallerie-Regiment. I can honestly confess that I don't know very much about this badge, so I'm very curious too. /Jonas

Hello Jens! Isn't that a Schwedter-adler, worn as a tradition badge by assorted cavalry units in WW2 (Kavallerie-Regiment Mitte?)? Which specific unit it commemorates has slipped out of my mind at the moment though. /Jonas

Has it some connection with 1er Régiment de Spahis Algeriens? (see link 1er Régiment de Spahis Algériens) /Jonas

Hello! Nice catch AlecH! Were these worn on uniform or is it intended for "civvy wear"? I've seen the Reservisten metal badge worn on a leather fob on the right pocket, but always together with a standard Bundeswehr corps/division/brigade etc patch on the left sleeve of the dress uniform. /Jonas

Hello Hugh! Huzaren Prins Alexander - red trimming left-right Huzaren van Boreel - dark blue trimming, recce units with swallow tail cut and the trimming top-bottom Huzaren van Prins van Oranje - orange trimming left-right Huzaren van Sytzama - white trimming left-right All have the same beret badge / collar badge, but different regimental trimming (collar badges are trimmed all around). /Jonas

Sorry Kim, but I only have officers biographic information up to 1921 ("Kungl Livregementets till häst historia I-VI", the biographic part published in 1922). I also did a quick check of "K1 1928-2000 I-II", but nothing there either. /Jonas

It's an interesting thought Veteran, as he most probably belongs to a regiment of the Stockholm area - geographically close enough to the king, and those units were regarded as "high-status" (=more than their fair share of nobility and royal princes among their officers compared to their counterparts "in the countryside"). What level of decoration would a French President's medal be? Is it something awarded solely to junior ranks, or is it a decoration regardless of rank (I assume orders aren't out of the question for senior ranking potentates)? /Jonas

Hello Kim! Sorry, no luck with T.G. Lundquist, my rolls should be accurate up to 1921, but he could very well have transfered into K2 in the early 1920's (and certainly before the amalgamation of 1928). I didn't find him listed at Kungl Livregementets husarer or Kungl Norrlands dragonregemente either (considering the transfer possibility, but my K8 information is somewhat unreliable in this case). Trevlig midsommar! /Jonas

Well, it looks like a dragoon uniform, but isn't there three crowns only on the buttons? If I recall correctly, Kungl Skånska dragonregementet had three crowns on some sort of "sunray" under a royal crown on their buttons (and looking almost similar to the Army Service Corps button). Kungl Norrlands dragonregemente had a plain button. One of the heavy cavalry regiments in the Stockholm area such as Kungl Livgardet till häst or Kungl Livregementets dragoner probably fits the bill better, as they all had three crowns only on the buttons. Kim, what's the story of that photo? If you have a name and if he's from Livregementets dragoner I might have some information on him. /Jonas

Hello Tomas! Nice pictures of Djuramåsa! When I was there just after they opened the museum, they only had some of the heavy ordnance and Swedish WW2-related displays. The small arms display is impressive, but having seen pskott m/68 and m/86 (AT4) on the pictures, I have to say I miss the dear old grg m/48 (Carl Gustaf RCL)! /Jonas

Hello AlecH! O.-A. = Officer Candidate, thus Officer Candidate's School (or something along those lines). As you can see on the photo, the man is an NCO, presumably an officer cadet. To my knowledge, the OA abbreviation is still used in the Bundeswehr to denote an Officer Candidate, the NCO Candidate of equal rank is an UA. /Jonas

Hello Noor! You might want to take a look at The Long Long Trail, and more specifically Theatres of war - Salonika. There are plenty of Irish regiments listed in the order of battle of the 10th (Irish) Division, including three battalions of the Royal Irish Fusiliers (2nd, 5th and 6th). /Jonas

Hello Farrar! I'm not saying that he transferred out of the regiment, but by your story and the postings of the 20th Hussars, it's plausible. You might want to post your grandfather's personal information here, as there are several forum members who might help you looking into the registers. It seems like you have an interesting story to unveil! /Jonas

After having raided the book-shelves again, I also took a look at some old notes, which yielded some more information on the 20th Hussars, as well as the 14th Hussars (which seems to be of some relevance for the topic at hand): 20th Hussars postings; -1896 England (last station Colchester) 1896-1902 India (Mhow) (1901-1902 South Africa) 1903 Egypt (Abbasia Barracks, Cairo) 1904-1906 England (Brighton, det. in Canterbury) 1906-1908 England (Shorncliffe Camp, relieving 14th Hussars and providing a draft of 72 enlisted men for them) 1908-1911 Ireland (The Curragh) 1911-1914 England (Colchester) 1914-1919 WW1 (Western Front only) 1919 England 1919 Egypt 1920 Turkey 1920-1922 Egypt (?) 1922 England 14th Hussars postings; 1903-1904 England (Aldershot) 1904-1906 England (Shorncliff Camp) 1906-1911 India (Bangalore) 1911-1914 India (Mhow) 1914-1915 India (Meerut) 1915-1919 WW1 (Mesopotamia 1915-1918, Persia 1918, Mesopotamia 1919) 1919-1920 England (Tidworth, providing a draft of 378 enlisted men for the 20th Hussars) 1920-1922 Germany (Cologne, Düsseldorf, Silesia) 1922 England The 20th Hussars went to France in 1914 with 24 officers (+ MO and Veterinary Officer) and 519 OR (I have seen war establishment figures amounting to 26 officers and 523 OR). (Sources: The Ramnuggur Boys 14th/20th King's Hussars 1715-1992, John Pharo-Tomlin + own notes and collections) /Jonas

No, the 20th Hussars left for France with RHQ, A Sqn, B Sqn and C Sqn, which was made up from the peace-time regiment and reservists. Some individuals were left behind to make up the regimental depot, and some individuals were on extra-regimental postings such as serving with yeomanry units or on staff positiions. It was about as much as a British regular cavalry regiment could field, some yeomanry regiments had duplicate units, and the Household Cavalry was a little more complex. /Jonas

Hello Farrar! The 20th Hussars went to France from Colchester, where they had been stationed since 1911, together with the Royal Scots Greys and the 12th Royal Lancers they made up the 5th Cavalry Brigade. As Paul says, they went to France on August 18th 1914, landing at Le Havre. It seems like the 20th Hussars and the Greys were brigaded together in the 1908 manoeuvres, and considering that the Royal Scots Greys didn't go overseas on a peace-time posting until 1920, the 20th Hussars might have spent their time "at home" already in 1908, instead of in India. (Source: 20th Hussars in the Great War, Major J.C. Darling DSO) The Mhow Brigade (part of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division) was made up of the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) and 38th King George's Own Central India Horse, leaving for Europe in 1914. The other British regiments in India returning to Europe in 1914 were 1st King's Dragoon Guards (Lucknow Bde), 7th Dragoon Guards (Secunderabad Bde), 8th Hussars (Ambala Bde), 13th Hussars (Meerut Bde) and 17th Lancers (Sialkot Bde). (Source: A History of the British Cavalry vol. 7, The Marquess of Anglesey) If I recall correctly, the 14th Hussars fought in Mesopotamia during WW1. /Jonas

Hello Veteran! There certainly was a regiment called The Central India Horse, an 1921 amalgamation of the 38th and the 39th King George's Own Central India Horse respectively. Both these predecessor units were known as "Prince of Wales's Own" 1906-1910, which might have generated a badge combining the Prince of Wales's feathers and the "CIH". The regiment became a part of the Indian army in 1947. /Jonas

Hello Kevin! It's the medal commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. On August 29th 1944 different factions rose against the Germans, the fighting continued for around two months, thereafter the uprising transformed into guerrilla warfare until the liberation. /Jonas

You're welcome Noor! Coming to think of things, a more probable date for this cockade would be 1941- m/41 - which means it was used with the m/39 uniforms (I somehow seem to recall there was also an enamelled version, an earlier make?) as well as the m/52 uniforms. /Jonas

Hello Noor! I think it is a national cockade m/51 (not sure about the year, it could have been the company/squadron badge that was m/51, they were worn together), it was in any case used with the m/60 and m/87 dress uniforms until recently, before the garrison cap gave way to the beret. They were worn up to the rank of corporal, after that there was a three-piece combination without enamel (in different colours and designs for NCOs, officers, generals and certain regiments). Some years ago you could pick these up by the dozen, and always new and unissued. /Jonas

Only enough to get me a beer, I'm afraid, but I've been working on my Czech skills since last summer when I moved here! /Jonas