Bill Dienna

Several years ago I reviewed all of the records of the Gold Star Pilgrimage that are contained within the United States National Archives. If there was ever a list of identification badge serial numbers it is not within those materials, except for the badges of a few women who apparently did not receive their badges before they sailed for Europe. The records indicated that they were given new badges (which did not have the engraved name plate at the top) and those few serial numbers were indeed recorded by Army personnel (there were U.S. Army personnel with each Pilgrimage cruise). Similarly, the cruise medals that were given to the women by the United States Lines were serial numbered on the edge by Tiffany & Company, and the women received a document for the medal that was named to them and which also bore the serial number of the medal that they had been given. For more information on the Pilgrimage you should read "That Knock at the Door: The History of the Gold Star Mothers in America" by Holly Fenelon. A superb book and it has some fascinating information about the Pilgrimage. Additionally, the famed movie director John Ford did a fictional film about the event in 1933 titled "Pilgrimage".

Unfortunately I do not have photos of the entire sword. At the moment I am simply trying to identify the maker.

Can anyone help me with the maker mark o this sword? I believe that it is French, circa 1800-1815. Many thanks!

What strikes me as odd is this: By virtue of the Normandy landings his medal bar displays the "France and Germany Star". If he subsequently served on minesweepers, should he have no received an "Atlantic" bar for that Star?

Mamy thanks, Michael !

I seem to be having no luck trying to find information on the internet about several ships of the Royal Canadian Navy in WW II as part of my research into one man's service. Any help would be much appreciated! The following appear in his service record: "Niobe", and "Cornwallis" I believe were RCN bases. He served on boards HMC LCI 295 during the invasion of Normandy, and I have some information on that vessel, but I would dearly love to find out what unit or units the LCI was responsible for taking ashore at Normandy. The current mysteries are "Peregrine" (in October of 1944), "Chaleur II" (March-September, 1945) and "Montcaln" (September-October, 1945). Thanks, Gentlemen!

Very impressive, and not at all silly, I think!

I think it's priced at about $700-$800. The pants, unfortunately, are quite moth damaged.

I'm not, actually, Paul. My interest was mostly academic, though if the tunic was not missing the large bullion grenade on one side, I would be tempted! One side of my family came from Ireland. My mother's uncle was killed in Belgium in 1916 while serving with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. As a result, I've always had an interest in the Irish aspects of the British military. But I once spoke with a very well regarding collector-dealer about focusing on Irish material. He replied "Well you won't find it very often, but you will pay a lot of money for it." That kind of cured me of the thought of pursuing that line of collecting!

Thank you, Odulf !

Thank you, Odulf ! It looks as though Chris was correct ! The"M" reflects the fact that this officer was a member of a "Militia Battalion" of the Royal Irish Fusiliers. The only question that I now have is: What was a "militia battalion" in the British Army ?

Alas, there is no name. Unfortunately, the right collar is missing the bullion grenade with eagle device. If anyone has one of those sitting in an "odds and ends" box, please do let me know!

Sorry, Chris, I don't have a good photo of the shoulder boards. Here is a photo of the complete set.

It's not terribly clear in this photograph, but the uniform is that of an officer of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, apparently a Lt. Colonel. At the end of each shoulder board is a bullion letter "M". Does anyone know what that means? Thanks!

What astonishing groups of medals, Chris. They are absolutely amazing in every respect! I suppose that if it was possible to find an American counterpart, it would be a group that included a Southern Cross of Honor, awarded to a former Confederate soldier of the Civil War, along with his United States Army Campaign medal for the Indian Wars or the Spanish American War, reflecting that the former Confederate went on to serve in the United States Army with his former adversaries. I know that there were indeed such men, but I have never seen a group such as I've described. The groups that you have posted are, without doubt, some of the most fascinating and historically significant that I have ever seen (and, without trying to sound self-important, over more than 40 years of collecting I have seen A LOT of groups!).

Just as further information: I was able to remove a few threads from the sash and give them the "burn test." The threads burned completely. There was no residue as would be found if there were any synthetic materials in the sash.

Thanks VERY much, gentlemen! I appreciate your thoughts and advice!

I appreciate the replies, but can you explain what you mean by "curious"? In other words, in what way is it different from what would be expected? Is it simply the way in which the ends of the sash were finished? In my experience, most of the sash orders that I have seen had the sash finished in exactly the same way. The zig-zag finishing of the ends of the sash kept the material from unraveling. As far as the age, I do know that it pre-dates the 1980's. I certainly am not trying to argue that this is an awarded example by any means. I was simply hoping that someone might have some more precise information, such as "That is one of the old collector copies made by ____ during the 19__'s, and you can tell because.....". Or "It looks to be identical to offical specimens that were made for award, particularly with respect to.....". But, in light of the limited extent of Anhalt material, I suppose that I was hoping for too much.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the "SDA" ?

Thanks, Chris. But this item is really far afield from my areas of experience, so any input at all is most appreciated!

I have no idea.

Well, Chris, I've never had much interest in Florida. I happen to like snow from time to time. And I've never been known for trying to squeeze every penny out of an item that I'm going to sell. But I do like to have at least some idea of what I'm talking about, though I'm sure that some of my posts would sugest otherwise!

I'm sorry for spreading these photos out in several posts, but even though all of the photos are the same size, when I tried to ost more than one at a time I received a message that the file was too large.

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