Michael Johnson

Well, both the Northumberland Fusiliers and the Warwickshire Regiment served in the Sudan and the Northwest Frontier 1908. That QSA bar combination is not given in Gordon for either regiment, although the Warwicks are listed for Belfast. But if he was in a Mounted Infantry company he could have a very different combination.

Especially if my grandfather's company made it. Electro Metals Limited He's the Emile Darte mentioned. Anyone got an 18-pdr marked EML or something similar?

I'm away from my sources as well, but that combination says "Northumberland Fusiliers" to me. Any name for the stepfather? It could help if it matches someone on the medal rolls. I'd keep them as a group, even if they aren't named. Correct order should be Queen's Sudan, Queen's South Africa, King's South Africa, India General Service Medal 1908, Khedive's Sudan.

The only commonwealth badges with snakes are the Medical Corps (R.A.M.C., R.C.A.M.C., etc.) The caduceus staff is encircled by two snakes. But in this case the source is Greek mythology. I can see the origins of the snake clasp as being Saxon or Viking in origin. They liked to make utilitarian objects works of art.

It was used in Canada on the Oliver pattern leather equipment, which was modified for use in the First World War.

Here's the information! And here's an example of a casualty: Dvr. M. Cohen "PAL" could easily be abbreviated further to "P"

A PoW perhaps?

I think I need stronger glasses. I thought it said: Wilhelm the Weird

I would say that it would still be a good group to have. There aren't that many servicemen who have 32+ years of service, and the I.C.S.C. is a scarce medal, while the UNEF II isn't all that common. He may have served in Korea, got out for a short period, then re-enlisted. I've got similar groups with WWII service. His service papers would confirm his entitlement. You might ask the dealer if he will take a return if it isn't right. I notice that two buyers who specialize in this era are going for it (kapyong and pricklysob). There's a David Chiasson who is a Korea vet (Google search). Might be a relative. As I said, my gut reaction is that this is good. The odds of finding four named medals with the same name and initials (and three initials at that!), the same province of enlistment, and the proper rank progression would be unbelievably high. And if you were going to fake this, you'd never mount it backwards with duct tape! And you'd be tempted to gild the lily with a UNEF I and/or Cyprus.

Hanji! I imagine it's pretty rare in that or any other combination. Baltherwick gives 1550 awarded to 1981, and I douby any were awarded since then.

Hmm. I have a SF-78588 Pte LJ Chiasson RCASC, who got his CD in 1964. Could be a different man, or there could be a mistake on the Koreas, or he could have re-enlisted and somehow been given a new number - although 1964-12=1952, which looks like fairly unbroken service. RCASC tallies well with the UNEF II, and explains the lack of a UNFICYP. My ICSC plaque is to an RCOC man, so I don't see a problem there. The SF prefix signifies Nova Scotia, and there are lots of Acadians there. Without seeing his file, or finding a detailed obituary I can't give a definite on this one, but my gut reaction is that it's probably legit. I think that it is, as I said, a case of the old boy taking his set apart to slot in three new medals (and I'm sure that that's his original bar backing things up under the duct tape). Like most right-handed people he started from the left, and that's why they're overlapping the wrong way.

OK, it must be legit. The vet took the whole thing apart when he got his Peacekeeping Medal (and maybe his KVSM and SSM were mounted at the same time!). The fact that the I.C.S.C. is named is a point in this group's favour. An un-named one would be suspicious.

It's not so much that it's a foreign award, it's just that UN medals come after Canadian medals, but before Corontaions Jubilees and Long Services (which wouldn't be the case if they were "foreign". If you post the name I will run him on the CD list I have, and might be able to find further information. The only thing I find unusual is that he managed to avoid a tour in Cyprus in a 32 year career. If he was R.C.A.S.C. or R.C.O.C. the lack of a UNEF is a bit strange but far from impossible.

Christophe, I've collected Canadian, British, and Indian for many years, but I've come to love French medals (and my French is getting so much better since I started bidding on ebay.fr ). A lot of this comes from my family research (including Adjt. Antonin Gautier of SPA80). Now I find that if grandp?re had waited a couple of more months before taking Canadian citizenship, grandm?re would have been entitled to the M?daille de la Famille (bronze).

From the general shape, I suspect that it's Dutch. I don't speak Dutch, but I think it may be Signals. Here's a link to a page on Dutch badges Dutch badges Wikipedia lists the "Regiment Verbindings-troepen" as Signals.

It's a nightfighter (nachtsjager) squadron, but can't say more than that.

Could be a DCM, MM pair up, which would narrow the possibilities.

The C10 collars mean that they are definitely 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and the cap badges match for that regiment. The 10th served in the 1st Canadian Division, so the lower (divisional) patch would be red. The smaller red square above shows that they are the fourth unit in the Second Brigade of the 1st Division. See the excellent article at Canadiansoldier.com Canadiansoldier.com

The oak leaf represents a Mention in Despatches, so counts as a gallantry award. The rosette on the Canada Decoration represents a total of 22 years' service (12 for the medal and 10 for each bar [represented by a rosette on the ribbon bar]). If you have a name, you should be able to track down a Gazette entry.

Here it is, along with one to the King's Own Rifles of Canada. [attachmentid=38301]

I have a King's crown version in my collection - yard work permitting I'll try to get the scanner on it. I also have some earlier (pre-1914) blackened brass helmet plates. 49th Hastings Rifles and 38th Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles. Unfortunately someone cleaned my 20th Halton Rifles 1908 Star pattern HP centre.

The Rifle Brigade originated as the 95th Rifles during the Napoleonic Wars. At this point most British regiments had only one or two battalions. The 95th were taken out of the Line regiments in 1816 and re-titled "The Rifle Brigade" consisting of three battalions. Here is a short history The Rifle Brigade

Divisions, actually. Lots of famous Canadian regiments: Royal Canadian Regiment R 22e Regt Princess Patricia's Canadian Light infantry Hastings and Prince Edward Regt. (Read Farley Mowat's "And No Birds Sang") etc., etc. London, England. Spinks are probably the most famous British medallists.

You will need to find a researcher at the National Archives in England. Here's a list from the website: National Archives Researchers. You can also have the Archives do it, but the charge 15 pounds for 15 minutes.

It's hard to be sure, but I'd say that the Africa Star was added to the full-size group, and that the minis are the proper entitlement. The First Canadian Division and the Fifth Canadian Armoured Division would have qualified for this combination. The only Canadian soldiers who qualified for the Africa Star were a handful of officers and I believe a few NCOs who were attached to British units (Strome Galloway comes to mind).