peter monahan

Interesting indeed!

Interesting 'affiliation'! I wonder what the RCMP made of it?

I believe Italy also uses the marks '18c, 20c and 22c', with many Italians being rather disdainful of anything less than 20c.

Dom A very quick look shows two perhaps comparable groups: WWI Trio and Navy LSGC to K.19832 A. Gilson, L. Sto[ker], HMS Cumberland $350.00 WWI 1914 Mons Star Trio & LSGC Medal to MacKenzie RFA GBP L225.00 = $290 Presumably a bit of a premium for the extra rarity of the RN group. A site called medalsofengland.com seems to have a fair selection of RN groups if you wanted to check there. Perhaps a UK member could comment on that firm's prices and reliability. Good luck! Peter

Ah! That would make perfect sense. What a shame, though.

A traditional 'black sheep'? Perhaps even a reverse remittance man - sent off to the 'mother country' to expiate his sins and paid to stay there? Peter

It looks, even from this photo, to be a very elegant item indeed. Thank you for sharing, Duren, and welcome to the GMIC!

Good to know. Thanks, Paul.

The Commonwealth Air Training Plan was, of course, one of Canada's major contributions to WWII in the air, as we trained members of all the Commonwealth nations, as well as Norwegians and others, as pilots and air crew and, perhaps, air craftsmen too. So, perhaps your man did make it to Nova Scotia, but that would not have qualified him for the CVSM if he were not Canadian or at least serving in the RCAF, I don't think..

Interesting! Blank bronzes renamed or totally fabricated, Paul? I suppose anything gets faked these days, but that's a big step down from the infamous 'Light Brigade' Crimeas of the 1990s.

Well spotted, Bayern!

I am assuming that the 22nd badge is genuine, BTW, based on my sketchy knowledge of modern Cdn badges and the fact that they are common and inexpensive enough that I can't see there being a market for fakes. But I've been wrong before! BBF is your best bet.

Glengennie Welcome to the GMIC! Not an expert on badges but the 22nd - 'les Vandoos' - look ok. I assume it is missing a slider which would have been soldered to the back of the crown. There is a British Badge Forum with a large section on Canadian as well as British badges and many badge experts too. https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/. Peter

Thank you very much, Lone Wolf. A fine looking medal and, like the fine groups you've posted, clearly with someone who understands and values it.

Swagger sticks, as carried by all ranks in the British Army when 'walking out' in uniform - off duty and 'oot on the toon' as Cameronian might say - weer popular from the 1880s or so until WWI and many examples still exist. "The practice ceased with the outbreak of World War II. Uniforms are no longer worn by British army personnel when off-duty and the swagger stick has accordingly become obsolete.", according to Wikipedia, but I think it was not common by then, the Great War having taken the shine off the sight of uniformed soldiers in the pubs and theatres. Probably impossible to date any more closely than 1880-1918 or so [or just possibly from the 1920s-30s] unless there is something very distinctive about the badge on the end, or a maker's mark, either of which I presume you would have mentioned. Your Granfer may just have picked it up because it is a sharp looking souvenir!

Or enjoyed his shore leave a lot!

Excellent! Thank you for sharing this. Peter

Agreed. Many weapons designed for 'Asian' troops - Indians, Gurkhas et al - had smaller grips and occasionally were lighter in weight, so this is very likely a local modification done to suit the new users.

What a great image! Thanks.

Could well be, Duncan. I once bought a group of 8 to a Risaldar Major, Indian Cavalry out of a suitcase full of silver medals, smuggled out of India in defiance of the 'no exporting bullion' law. The irony is that the two non-silver gongs - 1914-15 Star and Victory Medal- had been thrown away by the picker who bought the group for the value of the metal. It may well be that the country has now banned all exports of military awards.

At one time the only way to get silver medals out of India was 'privately' - undeclared or by arrangement with an accommodating shipper, as Indian law forbid the export of gold and silver. Probably honoured more in the breech than in the observance, but that was the law twenty or so years ago when I was trying, with limited success, to collect silver medals to the Indian Army. So, it may be the case that a new law, or new enforcement of an existing regulation, has made the dealers stop advertising - because I'd be very surprised if they stopped actually selling - on easily monitored platforms such as ebay. Just a guess, however. Ed Haynes, who runs the 'SA Gongs' Fbook page, will know if there is such a reason, as he is a true specialist and travels regularly to the subcontinent. Or perhaps they've just found better ways to market. But I would be interested to hear, if you find an answer! Peter

Truly gorgeous objects, even if one ignores the medallic and historic importance. The book is good news too, Rusty! Good on ya, cobber! Peter

As usual, the experts come through! And this is why the GMIC is one of my favourite destinations on the Web!

The badges I've posted would have been worn from the 1910 re-naming until replaced by cloth titles sometime in the early '30s. Or until their disbandment? Michael, Gunner asked specifically about the 'KGO' S & M, and the illustrations seem clear - '61' = KGO. Or am I misunderstanding you? I can't explain the '61' but do believe that Ashok has it right. Here is the information from Wiki, sourced from the Corps of Engineers Museum. Gunner, I hope this helps. · 1803 1st company raised by Capt T Wood as Bengal Pioneers · 1851 became Corps of Bengal Sappers and Pioneers · 1903 became 1st Sappers and Miners · 1906 became 1st Prince of Wales's Own Sappers and Miners · 1910 became 1st King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners · 1923 became King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners · 1937 became King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners · 1941 became King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners Group of the Indian Engineers · 1946 became King George V's Group of the Royal Indian Engineers · 1947 half allocated to India on Partition and half to Pakistan Lord Kitchener's Reforms in 1903 saw it redesignated as the '1st Sappers and Miners' which was, again, altered in 1906 to '1st Prince of Wales's Own Sappers and Miners'. On the accession of George V to the throne in 1910 it was renamed '1st King George's Own Sappers and Miners' with the numerical nomination being dropped in 1923. In 1937 it was re-titled 'King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners'. In 1941 they became the 'King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners Group' of the Indian Engineers in 1946 the 'King George V's Group' of the Royal Indian Engineers. [The Royal Engineers Museum and Library “Corps History Part 10 - Indian Engineering Soldiers 1777-1947”;] https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Bengal_Sappers_and_Miners

MonsieurJ Welcome to the GMIC! I am in Canada and can only speak for the situation here, but between confidentiality rules and slow digitization of records - beginning with the oldest, for obvious reasons - I do know that WWII records are harder to research than WWI and 'between' and 'after' the 'Wars' quite tough. However I'm confident that some of our UK members will offer useful advice. Again, welcome, and good luck in your hunt! Peter