IrishGunner

I'd say a horse race for British officers posted in India. See this: Simla Past and Present Chapter VII has some words about the races.

I'll have to see if I can't get a photo of my Irish Lights badge... You would really like it!

Those Irish Lights buttons are interesting. I have a cap badge for the Irish Lights Commission. One of my more attractive items.

Yea, I'd be surprised to see that in Dublin as well. But New York City, including a portion of Brooklyn, has a very long and deep Irish heritage. Perhaps a son of Erin returned home or some mementos were returned to a family, perhaps a mother.

This looks to me to be the post-1905 size collar insignia. It is indeed the 13th New York Artillery, but it's not the same 13th NY Heavy Artillery of the Civil War era. Also, branch insignia in the Civil War was worn on the front of the hat and were much larger. From 1900-1905, the 13th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment was designated in Brooklyn, New York. It would become the 13th Coast Artillery in 1906 and eventually would become the 245th Coast Artillery NY National Guard in 1924. Both field artillery and coast artillery units wore the same insignia until 1917; so, I date the above insignia between 1905-1917 for the 13th Coast Artillery New York National Guard. I'd value it around $20-30 US Dollars.

Peter, why would Free French soldiers wear an American uniform with US insignia, ribbon bar, and an overseas bar? It just doesn't seem logical. Can you show the US insignia and ribbon bar you said are with the jacket? I wouldn't say it's common to have a patch saying where one is posted, but the post-war stay-behind non-combat units had odd organizations. It could have been some type of military assistance or civil affairs unit working with re-establishing French governmental control in their liberated country. Having "France" on their shoulders would suggest they were "French" and not like occupation forces located in Germany or Austria. It was probably a more palatable way of having foreign troops - even allied troops - posted in France after having just been occupied. Remember, De Gaulle was very sensitive about this... COMMZ Europe - the support structure for all the US occupation troops was in France (this is not their patch - they had a different one - this I know for sure). Also SHAPE and the beginning of NATO were stationed in France; until De Gaulle ousted all foreign troops in 1966.

What is the reference for this? Not to be argumentative, but that makes no sense on jacket with US insignia, ribbon bar ... and especially an overseas bar. The additional regalia on this jacket seems to strongly suggest indicate it's a US military uniform. Not sure why French troops training in the US would wear an American uniform, insignia, ribbons, and have a US overseas bar...

There are so many of these obsolete National Guard medals out there that it would make a great book. I went through OMSA's image database for NJ state medals and didn't see this one... From my experience these types of medals were awarded by units to its members for attending drills - usually perfect attendance. I just picked up one to an artillery unit from the Pennsylvania National Guard (unfortunately my scanner is out of action). I also see what appears to be "C.A" and crossed cannons in the center medallion, which leads me to believe this is related to a Coast Artillery unit. Curiously, I found reference to a "Emmons, Winfield S. - 2nd Lieutenant, Company F, 2nd Infantry" serving in the NJ National Guard in 1916. No idea if that has any bearing on the topic. Although, I have seen NG attendance awards "named" to honor significant figures in state NG's. It's possible this is a later - 30s/40s - medal that somehow is related to Emmons in his later career. Ironically, NJ was one of the last states to set-up coast artillery units in its National Guard (in the 1920s I believe), despite being a coastal state with key ports. Again, no idea what that means - if anything - to your medal. Not bad for a fin in my opinion. I think it's worth that just for the fun of trying to find something out about the medal.

Actually, this ribbon appears with several different American Legion medals, including awards made to ROTC cadets for achievement. It is not unique to the anniversary medal noted above. Along with the American Defense Ribbon (for service on Wake Island?), the Legion ribbon on the bar in Post #117 could be from a Legion convention medal or a medal for a post officer position like the one below...

I tired to find a reference, but no luck. My guess would be that it was a patch for US Army personnel stationed in France after the war for some type of area command. I am not aware of any special uniform insignia for foreigners - French or otherwise - who joined the US Army.

My grasp of English may not be serviceable... I was asking for your French resources for myself... My French language ability is practically non-existent; I can only navigate a French bistro menu. So, I have to use an automated online translator. But I've found one that isn't too bad.

It is neither Supply nor Signals: Quartermaster (or supply) - Signal Corps - The dots are simply the background pattern. No significance. I've not see S.S before... I've seen RS for Recruiting Service. So, Selective Service is certainly a possibility.

"compairing Montgomery to Churchill is like compairing a cheerleader to a star quarterback." Brian, this is hitting the nail squarely on the head. Even The Churchill Centre's website lists his chief attributes as a leader as his ability to inspire people, his relentless passion, and his imperturbable personality. Churchill was clearly a man of the Finest Hour when Britain needed one most. The Centre also cites his "unique strategic insight" as a key attribute; although, the only example they can find seems to be his getting right the nature of the Soviet Union and Uncle Joe. Again, I am a fan of Churchill. For me, it's a toss up between him and Maggie Thatcher for the best British PM of the 20th Century. It might not be a stretch to compare Churchill to Ronald Reagan as US President. But I think it necessary to keep Winnie in perspective. The inter-war years are key I think. When one looks at a list of his accomplishments during this period - the word "failure" occurs more often than not. I also think some time spent on why he wasn't returned as PM in 1945 might reveal some interesting perspective. I hope you will touch upon this when you turn to Churchill as a war leader in the New Year. Oh, and yes, first and foremost a politician. I find it interesting to note he first entered Parliament in 1900 as a Conservative and then switched to the Liberal Party in 1904, returning to the Conservatives in 1924. In the post-war years, he was known to be a staunch support of Tory domestic policy, but advocated Labour's foreign policy. Some would say, he followed his conscious rather than the party line. Others might question his loyalty. Either way, following Churchill's motivations and miscues is a complex undertaking. PS: "compairing" must be in the same "correct English" dictionary as "harbour" because my colonial version has "comparing" along with "harbor."

How rare are those GA straps, Chip?

I always thought Churchill must have been Benny Hill's father...

Brian, an able tour d'horizon of the time. However, if I may, I'm a bit surprised at the lack of points to debate. Indeed, there can be no debating the factual events. But what of the role played by so-called leaders? Gallipoli was "all" Churchill, just as Munich was "all" Chamberlain. Scapegoat? I think not. Guilty as charged. He then spent six months "in the trenches" as a battalion commander before taking advantage of his privilege to return to Blighty to attend to his parliamentary duties (he was still a MP). While he was reportedly respected by his troops, his experience in France is hardly that of other future war leaders (Montgomery for example was wounded, won the DSO, and was at Passchendaele). I always have this nagging feeling that Chuchill's accounts of his "exploits" in the Boer War and the First World War are rather Hemingway-esque - I won't go so far as to say "mythic", but they seem more like great short stories, not truly authentic autobiography. So, what changed in Churchill during the inter-war years to make him a more able war leader? I'm a "Churchill fan" - don't take me too wrongly on this - but I'm left with a notion that Churchill was a product of events rather than a maker of events. Churchill couldn't criticize his fellow travelers who played huge roles in winning WWII, because the victory was not "all" Churchill. He was simply the face of Victory.

Peter, Vimy Ridge is certainly a point to look at in the later stages. Do you have any online resources in French? (I've a fairly decent translator.)

Les, thanks for the link! That's great.

Thanks for that link!

Christmas truce: British & German schools mark Centenary with joint memorial in Belgium

I was thinking this could be an opportunity for someone to corner the market. Really assemble a nice collection of krugs. But like you, I'm happy with one. Besides, display space would be an issue. Actually, I have two since my wife bought me a reproduction in Berlin when we lived there in 1984; it was our first Christmas as a married couple and she thought it was nice since it was German, beer related, and artillery. At that time, I wasn't into militaria; so, the idea of looking for an original never entered her pretty little head. We used to go to the flea market a lot - but I mostly collected coins at that time and spent my time in that area. Ahh, if we could only go back in time.

Hey, those are kind of cool. What do you do with all this stuff you find, Jock?

Actually, this is also an area where the "reproductions" have gotten quite good and one has to be careful.