Ed_Haynes

Yes -- and on so many levels -- looks like a US ROTC crowd.

Certainly not English.

Thanks. No rush. This lovely thing (size?) has waited decades to be shown to an admiring mob, it can wait a little longer. And happy new year! You'll get there before most of us!!

Interesting Russifying reshaping os his name. I have seen this also with the names of Central Asian Muslims. Another lovely item , James.

Yes, very interesting. Thanks. And as Bob said, reverse please . . . .

Happened to me. Lost a LOT. Still weep. Plastic storage boxes.

Absolutely fascinating stuff! Thanks.

Bahut shukriya, Paulji! Many thanks Paul!

There are more and, if there is any interest, I can add more later.

4 - reverse Just this.

4 - obverse (Throughout, I have been cropping these, when possible, to the "core material".)

3 - Reverse blank.

2 - reverse On a separate sheet of paper.

2 - obverse

1 - reverse

1- Obverse

Unless then come with groups, I have never bothered much with the bottomless pit of znacki badges, especially as there are no English-language reference materials (that I have ever seen). However, as a firm believe in the research principle that we'll never understand these things unless we underatsnd how they came into being, I just couldn't pass up the chance to acquire a few original design drawings for various badges. These follow, for any available comment.

If a Canadian national, and therefore a Crown Subject, he couldn't wear this Iron Cross without permission of The Queen. Somehow, I doubt she would grant this permission, especially for an enemy award.

Another lovely group. Makes me wish (again) that I'd started collecting Soviet awards a few years (or even months) earlier!

Is there any indication of tampering with the suspension or clasp rivets? The roll is usually pretty authoritative.

An exiting group, James. Many questions to ask, much research to do. What have you done by way of research to date?

Lovely! This seems to be an interesting, and maybe incredibly important , group, though some confirming research does seem to be in order. Thanks for sharing.

Wow. Just "wow"! For those who are skeptical about research, this is the sort of amazing history that can emerge from a simple (dare I say "mundane"?) litte Red Star. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Paul. Most of my medal and ribbon shopping has taken place in Rawalpindi (though I like Lahore considerably more) and it was there that I saw and was offered a range of badges, both old ones and new ones and in tailors' shops. Even the worst badge from the nastiest tailor's shop in Delhi is better than these sad sand-cast badges. Look forward to seeing yours when you recover from the holidays. While I never got any badges in Pakistan, I still sometimes regret not getting the East Bengal Regiment badges I was offered.

Because the Pakistani armed forces remained much more British-influenced than those in India (long story there). According to John Gaylor's book, the Baluch Regiment was forrmed from a merget of the 8th Punjab, the old 10th Baluch Regiment, and the Bahawalpur Regiment in April 1956. It has somewhere between 21 and 59 battalions, sources are vague. If the second phase of Ashok Nath's work ever sees publication, much may be revealed.