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Reference Lt. G K G Kerr - the following is from The Times of 8 Aug 1916, Page 2, Column G: Gunner 1

Doug wrote: "Do you have any information on Krasnookii, Mikhail Danilovich, a senior lieutenant in the 32nd IASP during the war? From some of the research I've been able to dig up, it appears he shot down 9 German aircraft - all in the last 4 months of the war. He flew Yak-1 and Yak-3's. His awards included a Red Banner, Patriotic War 2nd Class, two Red Stars, a 1985 Patriotic War 2nd Class, and a combat service medal (long service). He was a major by 1953 assigned to unit 23587. I'd be much abliged for any info you have on him. A photo of him would be fantastic." Doug: I would be very interested to know where you have found reference to this man. Do you have his papers? I have nothing on him and he is not listed in any Soviet source that I have, nor is he on any Soviet "ace" list of which I am aware. The surname is not a typical Russian name and my first thought was that it was an error of transliteration but I have identified over 1900 Soviet aces and not one of them is named "Mikhail Danilovich" Regards. Gunner 1

Rick Research wrote: "have you got anything that could verify whether Shevtsov above had anything to do with Red China in the 1950s? All of the Soviet ribbons here match, but I cannot place him for the Korean War and later period for the last two Sino-Soviet Friendship Medals." Colonel Aleksandr Grigor'evich Shetsov commanded the 97th IAD at Andong in China in 1952. Gunner 1

Rusty wrote: "Is it possible for you to scan that book? I'd love to see what they wrote since I'm building a database of types and variations on another forum." Rusty: I would be quite willing to do that and to also post photos of some of the items in my collection, but my understanding is that I cannot post photos until I am declared a regular member of the forum. Regards. Gunner 1

The best book for a beginning collector of British medals and decorations is "Collecting Medals and Decorations" by Alec A. Purves. It is available in bookstores and on the Internet in paperback editions for less that $20.00. It covers just about anything a beginner needs to know to collect these medals. Once one gets somewhat more advanced then "British Battles and Medals," which is supposedly coming out in a new edition shortly, and "British Gallantry Awards" are a must. I would recommend the following dealers, all of whom are on the Internet: Chris Dixon: http://www.dixonsmedals.co.uk/ Gary Neate: http://www.neatemedals.co.uk/ Peter Sheen: http://www.military-medals-online.com/ Philip Burman: http://www.military-medals.co.uk/ and there are many others too numerous to mention. Gunner 1

Hendrick wrote: "A pinback of some sorts as you can see from the picture ... S/N reads 26682 and there's some other mark there as well (manufacturer's ? The small house shaped mark is indeed a manufacturer's mark. If you look at it with a good hand lens you will see that it is actually an outline of a building with the letters IKOM inside. Gunner 1

Rusty wrote: "I don't know. There is no good reference like McDaniel to go by and the info is scarce at best." The best book I have found is "Katalog, Odlikovanja Jugoslavije" published by Fila Hobby M&M. I have two editions, one published in 1990 and the other in 1999. They 24 pages in length with rather poor, photocopied, photos but with good descriptions of the various subtypes. For instance for the Order of National Merit 2nd and 3rd Class there are six subtypes indicated for each class. The are written in Serbo-Croat with no English subtitles, but with a good dictionary you should be able to figure out most of the text. Regards. Gunner 1

Hendrick wrote: "Royal Yugoslav Commemorative War Cross - Originally instituted on 6 September 1943 (the King's birthday) by King Peter II in exile for award to those who had fought against the Germans in Yugoslavia and to those that had rendered distinguished services to the king during his exile in Britain. The obverse bears the head of the king whereas the reverse shows General Mihailovitch. Production and actual awards of this decoration only took place after the war had end" "The Medal Collector," Vol. 18, No. 1, Jan 1967 has an article on "The Royal Jugoslav Commemorative War Cross, 1941-45" by Joseph Arner, that illustrates the cross and photos of the certificate accompanying the award (one side in Serbo-Croat and the other in English). The certificate indicates that the cross was promulgated by "the Royal Decision of September 6th, 1943" and the illustrated certificate has an issue date of 3 January 1967. The article that the award was for sale to veterans and collectors upon application to the Royal Fund of Saint Andrew, 16 West 46th Street, New York, NY. A further article with the same title by Wilson Van Dusen in the same journal Vol. 38, No. 12, Dec 1987 states that the cross could be obtained from Colonel H. Harding Isaacson, 7 East 85th Street, NY 10028 who "was chosen to represent the King in matters of the War Cross in 1966." It further indicates that the regulation cross was $25.00 postpaid and the miniature cross $20.00 postpaid. If one bought both a certificate was issued. In a follow-up article in "The Medal Collector", Vol. 39, No. 4, April 1988, Richard Plank illustrates the certificate issued to him, which is one-sided, in English, and significantly different than the one illustrated by Joseph Arner in the first-mentioned article. Plank states that the signature of Peter II was actually signed for him by Col. Isaacson. Regards. Gunner 1

On 7 December Hendrik wrote: "Thanks for that info but, as a result (and no doubt you saw this one coming ), I need to rephrase my earlier question into : when approximately did the changeover from type 2 to type 3 occur ?" The three types of the Partisan Commemorative Decoration are: Type I was manufactured in the USSR in April 1944 and is a screw-back award that was issued during the latter part of the war. It features an oval wreath on a red-enameled star with a soldier and the date 1941. It is made of stamped brass. 12,430 were issued. I have one that is in the post and if I ever get permission to post photos I will post it. Type II is the more common silver star with the partisan and the small date 1941 at the bottom. It was manufactured by IKOM and is screwback. It was first issued in 1946. Type III is the most common and is similar to Type III except it has the fish-hook pinback. I do not know the issue date of this type but would suggest that it must be relatively late because they are generally numbered in the 20000s. I have recently seen two for sale that were numbered 28,2XX and 28,6XX. Gunner 1

Photo to accompany my earlier posting on Bronze Stars to British officers.

To give some idea of what the Bronze Star was awarded for in World War II to British Officers, I offer the following citation that accompanied the award of a Bronze Star to a Captain in the Royal Artillery: "For meritorious service in action during the period 30 July 1944 to 29 August 1944 in the North Burma Campaign. As a staff member of the Artillery Group, Captain Buchanan rendered outstanding service to the Allied cause by his untiring effort, technical skill, and spirit of cooperation in the coordination of British and Chinese elements of the Artillery Group. His efficiency and devotion to duty contributed greatly to the successful operation of the Artillery Group." I have attached a photo of his medal group. Gunner 1

To the best of my knowledge, it is currently illegal to sell a Medal of Honor in the US, but it is not illegal to buy or possess one in the US. There is a proposed admendment to that law in Congress now, that, if passed, would make it illegal to buy or own a Medal of Honor. Gunner 1

"Services of British Army Officers &cc 1939-1945" only lists war services for regular officers. Woodward was not a regular officer, he was in the Reserve of Officers. Gunner 1

1 Antrim (Ballymoney) Bn LCol V Unsworth, MC 2 Antrim (Ballymena) Bn, LCol A O Chichester, OBE, MC 3 Antrim (Carricfergus) Bn, LCol J A McFerran 4 Antrim (Antrim) Bn, LCol A C Herdman, OBE 1 Armagh (Lurgan) Bn, LCol J Morton 2 Armagh (Portadown) Bn, LCol A Walls 3 Armagh (Bessbrook) Bn, LCol H A Whiteside 4 Armagh (Armagh) Bn, LCol R J Tamplin, DSO 2 Belfast (East) Bn, LCol J D Nicholl, OBE, MC 3 Belfast Bn, LCol R S Drean, MC 4 Belfast Bn, LCol LCol J N Fulton, OBE 5 Belfast Bn, LCol the Rt Hon HGH Mulholland, MP 1 Down (Newtonards) Bn, LCol J Bagwell, MVO, MC 2 Down (Downpatrick) Bn, LCol J A Jaye 3 Down (Newry) Bn, LCol A Turkington 4 Down (Banbridge) Bn, LCol M W Edmunds, OBE, TD 1 Fermanagh (Irvinestown) Bn, LCol R J Clifford 2 Fermanagh (Linaskea) Bn, LCol H C Butler, MBE 3 Fermanagh (Enniskillen) Bn, LCol G E Liddle, OBE 1 County Londonberry (Limavady) Bn, LCol FSN Macrory, DSO 2 County Londonberry (Garvagh) Bn, LCol W Murland 3 County Londonberry (magherafelt) Bn, LCol W L Lenox-Conyngham 1 Londonberry City Bn, LCol RBW Irwin, OBE, MC 2 Londonberry City Bn, LCol J I Mclaughlin 1 Tyrone (Castlederg) Bn, LCol R H Todd, MBE 2 Tyrone (Omagh) Bn, LCol W H Fyffe, MBE 3 Tyrone (Cookstown) Bn, LCol RRA Darling 4 Tyrone (Dungannon) Bn, LCol W J Hall, MM 5 Tyrone (Augher) Bn, LCol W A McKay N HAA Troop, Ulster Home Guard (B Co, 2 Belfast Bn), Maj J Kerr, MBE O HAA Troop, Ulster Home Guard (A Co, 4 Belfast Bn), Maj S P Beggs P HAA Troop, Ulster Home Guard (D Co, 1 Down Bn), Maj A E McConnell Q HAA Troop, Ulster Home Guard (C Co, 2 Belfast Bn), Maj W R White, MC R HAA Troop, Ulster Home Guard (E Co, 3 Belfast Bn), Maj G E Wainwright S HAA Troop, Ulster Home Guard (E Co, 5 Belfast Bn, Maj T J Marshall T HAA Troop, Ulster Home Guard (F Co, 3 Antrim Bn), Maj A E Holmes Source: Stand Down, Orders of Battle for the Units of the Home Guard of the United Kingdom, Nov 1944 Regards. Gunner 1

The King's Royal Rifle Corps in the Great War was often referred to as the "Kaiser's Own" Gunner 1

Angel: Actually, he could have been in either section since both had Gunners. Gunner 1

Tony wrote: "I don't supose your extensive library includes Brit soldiers too does it?" Tony: If you are looking for information on WWI or WW2 British officers I may be able to help. Gunner I

I cannot find him in the October 1943 Army List. Gunner 1

From "Debrett's Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, 1951": Winward, Lt-Col Frederick George, CBE, MBE Born 1893, son of the late Herbert Hudson Winward Has been Director of Supplies, Sierra Leone since 1944 European War 1914-1918 European War, 1939-45, as Lt Col General List Married, 1918 Mary Elizabeth, daughter of George Robertson Edward Created CBE (Civil), 1947 Created MBE (Mil)1934 Address in 1951 was c/o Secretariat, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Member of the Naval and Military Club From "Quarterly Army List" October 1943: Quartermaster (Lieutenant), Regular Army Reserve of Officers, Officers of Local Forces, Class II with date of rank of 5 Apr 1928 War Substantive Captain, 2 Feb 41 Temp. Major, 2 Feb 41 Acting Lt. Col, 1 Mar 43 "Monthly Army List", February 1933: Lieutenant, Quartermaster, Reserve of Officers (Local Captain), Sierra Leone Battalion, RWAFF, 5 Apr 1928 Regards. Gunner 1

Below is the medal group of a Major in the Royal Artillery who was seconded to the Armed Forces of the Sultan of Oman from September 1972 to July 1974. The medals from left to right are the British General Service Medal (1962) with clasps South Arabia and Northern Ireland; The Omani General Service Medal with clasp Dhofar and a Sultan's Commendation device; The Sultan's Commendation Medal; and the Omani As Samood Medal. British personnel seconded to the Armed Forces of the Sultan of Oman did not receive the Dhofar clasp to the British General Service Medal, receiving instead the Omani General Service Medal with Dhofar clasp. Gunner 1

The personnel of one section (without guns) of 445th Siege Battery, RGA went to the Western Front on 23 Sept 1917 and on 30 Sept 1917 were posted to 308th Siege Battery, RGA in First Army. All the guns and the rest of the personnel of 445th Siege Battery, RGA went to Egypt on 24 Sept 1917 via France and Italy. It arrived at Alexandria on 20 Oct 17 and remained at Gabrari Camp until 23 Dec 17. It then moved to Sidi Bishr until returning to Alexandria on 1 Jan 18. On 23 Feb 18 the Right Section of the Battery (personnel only) joined XX Corps Heavy Artillery and were split up with A Subsection attached to 383rd Siege Battery, RGA and B Subsection attached to 10th Heavy Battery, RGA until 18 Mar 18. The Right Section then rejoined the Left Section that had remained at Alexandria and the complete Battery joined 61st Heavy Artillery Group (HAG) on 18 April 18. It moved to Salonika with 18 HAG. arriving on 16 May 18 and remained in that theater for the remainder of the war. The Battery's war diary is available at the National Archives; the portion for the period Sep 17 to Mar 18 is at WO95/4485 and the portion for the period May 18 to Jan 19 at WO95/4796. Regards. Gunner 1

If anyone needs help on researching Soviet fighter aces I have over 1000 books (in Russian) on HSUs, memoirs, unit histories etc. on that subject and a data base of over 1800 Soviet fighter aces with personal and shared kills, decorations and units. I also have the large book with photos and bios of recipients of all three classes of the Order of Glory. Gunner 1