Mervyn Mitton

OBE - Order of the British Empire. Also silver - as for the MBE - this version is lightly gilded. Unfortunately, with handling, this quickly wears off in many cases. With this example you can still see traces of the gilt. Reverse follows.

MBE with Womens' Bow. Reverse follows

MBE Military. Has the extra stripe in centre of ribbon. Reverse follows

A little lower down , SABRIGADE posted a nice group, which included a CBE (Commander of the British Empire). I thought I would include a set of MBE and OBE - I will not give a lot of details - others are more able to do that. However, a question I can't answer - did they change the name of the Order as they were talking about at one time ? I believe it was going to become The Order of British Excellence.

I think this print from the Illustrated London News of 1879 is interesting, in that it shows the appearance of the Zulus at that time and how their dress has been changed by contact with the British troops. Most of the Zulus are guides and scouts and they appear to have captured a 'spy' - who is being questioned by Gen. Newdigate. Whereas Zulu warriors carried their spears and knobkerrie in the shield hand - these are shown with quivers on their backs to hold the spears. There are two umbumbululu shields shown and several are carrying rifles - or, muskets.

TS - what a pity it wouldn't print - must have been a magnificent site to see her sailing. I don't know of any British historical warships that are still floating ?

That's why Thomas is doing the digging !!! I'm old - not stupid.....

Joe - superb condition and I think this pattern date is fairly rare. How do you keep all your bayonets in such a lovely state - is it TLC - or, do you 'cheat' and buff ??

I don't know why - but, I'd always thought they were much earlier than that. Would you have a picture of what they looked like - have they changed greatly over the years ? I've never had an interest in coins to collect - although I like the Kruger coins of the Boer Republic. Had a chap in the shop this morning - he said he has a big coin collection, but that dealers won't buy back and he can't sell any of them - he's turning to medals. He also, mentioned that he had an 1892 mint Boer Rep. 1d - that he had been offered ?600 for. Would it be that difficult to sell coins - and would it be worth that much ? Before the change of Govt. here , anyone who had to go overseas would buy valuable stamps to take out in their wallet - even if you got only 50% of what you paid, at least you had money out of the Country. I suppose gold coins are the same - although harder to hide ???

Not to teach ' my mother how to suck eggs' !! The spelling of Politie also shows the 1913-26 period - I was told it is High Dutch ? A nice old item. Peter - why don't you post some of the swords under that section - I'm sure members would be interested and it doesn't get a lot posted.

Does anyone have a picture of the ship - it would be interesting to see 'original' and 'now' status ?

Thomas - there were no great battles in the Cape - mostly it was storage and preparations for the Relief of Kimberley. Probably a depot and they 'lost' it. I wonder if you could go over the farm with a metal detector ? I've got a good one - but, you'll have to do the digging - they are of course illegal on any designated historical site.

Probably well over 100 years old, this is a Zulu meat platter. Traditionally, in a larger Kraal, the Induna or, chief, will be served his food separately - with perhaps his favourite wives serving him. However, for everyone else it was communal eating and meat was put into a platter - such as this - and you cut off as you needed. They didn't have potatoes, but there were plenty of greens and veggies. (Sth. African 'slang' for vegetables !) They also make a very good stew. Look at the bottom of this platter - you can see the years of knives cutting into it. The other pictures show the reverse and the traditional ' amazumpa' carving. This is called the 'wart' design - however, Zulus are part of the Nguni people who came down through Africa, and eventually settled in Natal (now called KwaZulu Natal). This wart design is probably something they picked-up hundreds of years ago and have forgotten it's origins. Many experts believe today, that it came originally from West Africa and represents the crocodile skin. Until quite recently many West Africans had this design as a facial tattoo.

Brett - with your wealth of knowledge on KwaZulu Natal, I was hoping you would be able to post something. Like the 'pointed' bayonet, the Zulus feared and respected the capabilities of the British swords - and tried to copy them. Yours is not the first I have seen, but is probably the most accurate in appearance , with the guard. We had one a few years ago that was identical to an Iklwa blade - but was 30 inches long ( 75cm) - the grip was an old Victorian chisel handle. I have also seen pointed metal fence posts turned into a sword - of sorts ! Value wise, it has to be high - there can't be many left after all these years. Interestingly, the one we had, also was in a well sewn leather sheath.

Will - these last few posts have been most interesting and have raised issues which have been buried for years. I don't know a lot on this subject, so am keeping clear - - however, there is a comparison with an earlier period. Mahatma Gandhi was the Sgt. Maj. to the Indian Hospital Bearers Corps. and had approx. 20 Indians with him who acted as officers/NCO's - the numbers of stretcher bearers was in excess of 700 men and they did great work - under difficult and dangerous circumstances. Only the few 'leaders' were granted the QSA - which needless to say is a most valuable item with their inscription. Do you perhaps have anything on them ?

This thread will require a lot more information and - hopefully - some good pictures. The USS CONSTITUTION is one of the great ships of the United States Navy - she was prominent in the 1812 war with Great Britain and was a great threat to our Navy. She has the nickname 'Old Ironsides' and I believe is still preserved. The following two cutout pictures were made on the Island of Mauritius and all tourists tend to come back with them - or, full models. My contribution - now over to the experts....

I've never seen this buckle, Will. Looks as if they may have used the cap badge. This is contemporary with Cape Prisons and Orange River Colony - I wonder if they had similar buckles ?

Peter - a surprise to see such a good buckle added after a long period. The Force was broken-up in 1922 with the Dissolution of Ireland, but your lovely Victorian example is a very sought after item. The officers carried a standard steel and black leather sword - which are also rare. I used to have two, but regret selling them now. Are you a police collector ?

Tom - I have no idea where your longer spear comes from - with a join at the head , it wouldn't have the strength of the Zulu one. The other thing to compare is how the Zulu's worked the head from either side - whilst holding it in the tongs. This always leaves a spine in the centre. What other ethnic treasures are you hiding away ??