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    Brett Hendey

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    Everything posted by Brett Hendey

    1. A great story well told to go with a hard-won group of medals. Regards Brett
    2. John, congratulations on a most unusual find, and thank you for sharing it. I expect that might be the 'jewel in the crown' of your collection of POW badges. Regards Brett
    3. The SAC was raised during the Boer War, and, in spite of their name, they functioned as mounted infantry, hence the use of 'Trooper' for the lowest rank. Even in peacetime in South Africa, there was a need for mounted police, and many of the SAC men deployed in the Orange Free State and Transvaal were mounted. The same applied to the police in the Cape Colony and Natal, and the tradition of using 'Trooper' continued. In the case of Natal, 'Constable' referred to policemen employed in court duties, and their rank was equivalent to that of Sergeant in other branches of the force. Brett
    4. An interesting group indeed! Thank you for showing it. What are the two clasps on the GSM? Regards Brett
    5. All I can tell you offhand is that the C prefix to the service number means that the man was "Coloured", which in South Africa's racial classification means he was of mixed race. His service papers will be in the military archives in Pretoria. Some of these archives are inaccessible at present. GMIC member 'Aud' (Audrey Portman of Rhino Research) should be able to help. Brett
    6. That is a very interesting collecting area. Thank you for sharing with us. Regards Brett
    7. Thank you for pointing out my mistake, Zob. I should not be going over the Limpopo River into unfamiliar territory! Regards Brett
    8. His name was Neville Fischer. He gave me his flying helmet that he wore when he bailed out of his burning Spitfire over Italy. It was left with the family who helped him after he landed, and he retrieved it from them after the war. His 'Golden Caterpillar' was given to a relative in the United States. He never claimed his WWII medals, but wore a set of miniatures while an active member of the SAAF Association. His widows claimed a late issue of the medals after his death. Brett I meant to mention that Neville's brother who served in the RAF was Flight Lieutenant Sydney Adnil Fischer, 90 Squadron, who was killed on 9 January 1942. As I remember it, he was test flying one of the first B17's to arrive in England when it crashed. Brett
    9. John Thank you for sharing another, and rather unusual POW story. Bailey's 14/15 Star was a most fortunate find. Such isolated medals are often overlooked in the untold numbers that come onto the market, so well spotted! Regards Brett
    10. Tony, thank you for sharing that with us. KAR is the King's African Rifles, an East African Regiment. Does the medal have the British reverse or the South African (bilingual) one? I would expect the former, but I have never seen a KAR medal before. Regards Brett
    11. Many thanks for sharing this addition to your POW collection. I am pleased that you are still interested. Regards Brett
    12. Thank you for a most interesting post. It introduced me to a person I had not come across before. This is one of the reasons I so appreciate the GMIC. Regards Brett
    13. Congratulations on acquiring another wonderful POW group, and also for the well told story behind it. This is evidence again of the importance of research to medal collectors. Regards Bret
    14. Bernhard Thank you for your service as a soldier. By sharing your memories here you inspire others to keep them alive. All honour to you! Kind regards Brett
    15. Do you have any of their medals and badges that you could show here? Regards Brett
    16. A wonderful medal group! Thank you for showing it. Regards Brett
    17. Thank you for a most interesting post. That is a wonderful example of a rare item that will be envied by collectors of Jubilee memorabilia. Regards Brett
    18. Anand Thank you for revealing more about the interesting history of what must be a very proud regiment. Regards Brett
    19. Jock Thank you for sharing this sad story with us. We know that the death of any soldier must be mourned by someone, somewhere, but in this instance the documentation makes it sadder still, since it reveals the circumstances so close to being discharged, and the names of his family who he left behind. Regards Brett
    20. Food for thought there, Michael. Thank you. Regards Brett
    21. Thank you for posting an interesting medal with a great story. It is such a pity that so many Indian medal groups are disassociated. Judging from records on another forum there are seldom, if ever, any re-unites. Regards Brett
    22. A very interesting story well told! I hope you find what you are looking for. Regards Brett
    23. Another amazing group, Herman. Congratulations! Regards Brett
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