peter monahan

That might make sense too. Good thought!

I must confess I simply muttered 'Oh, those Gunners!' when I came across the fact that both ranks were used, but what you say makes senses! And, for what it's worth, here is Wiki's take on the question. Not sure it is a huge help! Bombardier (Bdr) and lance-bombardier (LBdr or L/Bdr) are used by the British Army in the Royal Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery... The Royal Canadian Artillery uses the ranks of master bombardier and bombardier, corresponding to master corporal and corporal. Originally, the Royal Artillery had corporals, but not lance-corporals. Unlike a lance-corporal, a bombardier held full non-commissioned rank and not an acting appointment. The rank was equivalent to second corporal in the Royal Engineers and Army Ordnance Corps. In 1920 corporals were abolished in the Royal Artillery; bombardiers became the equivalent and acquired the normal two chevrons.

Hasan An important point: that the Tamgha-e-Jang and Tangshan-e-Jang were issued unnamed. On the other hand, it is not too unusual to find privately named medals, especially to men of higher rank or those who served for long periods and felt this was worth the expense. Many years ago, when I persudaded my father-in-law to apply for his WWII medals, they came unnamed of course. I had them privately named and framed with some badges from the Ferry Command, the organization whith which he flew for 3 years during the war. So, in the unlikely event that those medals leave the family, they may puzzle someone in the future.

A formidable adversary at lance length from the enemy. I speak to hundreds of high school students every year about WWI, with a group that sets up at museums around southern Ontario. We man as many as 15 stations and one I have been doing lately is 'Lance Drill'. It gives me a chance to talk about how vital the horse was to war, before and even after WWI, for transport and how the 'arme blanche' was properly used - to scout and screen. The students practice some basic lance drill and 'tent pegging'. I also explain how frightening a cavalry charge would be , especially against unprpepared infantry in the open, most of who would have had single shot rifles. Finally, I pull out my 10 round SMLE and explain how many shorts I could get off in the time it took horsemen to cross 200 meteres of ground. They inveriably get the point: MGs turned cavalry charges into a complicated form of suicide!

Lovely that you've found your answers! And I suppose it's too late to claim that I thought I remembered the RA having 'Corprorals' at some popint, isn't it? Peter

Intriguing indeed. It is sounding less likely that India is part of the answer, though misspelled words are a staple of engraving work from that part of the world. Curiouser and curiouser, to quote Alice.

Well spotted, Coldstream! I do love this group and the depth and breadth of knowledge it's members share!

"Peter, I did find reference to a Frontier Force Royal Artillery yesterday however," My apologies, Tony, I didn't understand your point there. There certainly were RA units attached to the Indian Army and thus, of course, to the Frontier Force and it would be interesting to find a reference to such on a lovely artifact like this!

Absent strong evidence to the contrary, I'd say 'R.A.' is 'Royal Artillery', so that leaves the 'F/t' to puzzle out. Perhaps 'From the R.A.'? Looking at a very extensive list of military abbreviations doesn't suggest anything more likely than 'Royal Artilery' and nothing at all for 'F/t'. 'Fd' is 'Field, as in artillery, and 'FT' is French Translator but neither of those is relevant so... ???

"I'll continue to collect but now that I have all the most important medals from 1854 I will have to be very careful what I buy and only from Dixons from now on. I cannot risk spending say £hundreds on fakes. That's always a safe bet - buying form a reputable dealer. I don't buy anymore but still read Dixon's catalogue every month.

1) Read, read and read some more! Look out all the sites which identify the 'fake' marks/errors on the commonly faked medals. Buy books on the subject if they exist. It will save you a lot of grief and money in the long run. 2) Examine real medals, in museums, collections or at shows. Other collectors will be more than happy, generally speaking, to help you learn and there is simply no substitute for handling multiple examples of the real thing to 'tune' one's knowledge. 3) The Kandahar Star is one of the 19th century medals which is faked, due to its rarity and the campaign and actions it represents. OTOH, most IGSMs are still not so valuable that faking them is worth the bother, I don't believe. Of course 'improving' a medal with extar bars is and was done. I once collected IGSMs to Indian troops and almost all the multi-bar medlas had had bars added locally by regiment or indidivdual soldiers, with all sorts of odd rivets, wires and so on. Collecting to British troops should mostly obviate that issue but again, knowing what is out there is key. Did the Sussex Reg't issue 650 bars for 'Afgahnistan 1919', making them common and likely pukka or not? If it's too good to be true, it's likely false! 4) Ask around before you buy. Good dealers will always take back a medal if you're not satisfied and some dealers are known for their honesty! Good luck! I hope you enjoy many happy years of collecting!

It's what we on this side of the Atlantic call a 'hunting knife', which QSA Mike alludes to. Hundreds of models and sold in any sports store, so it's likely that many found their way to Europe [or were made in Brimingham] with private soldiers, but definitely not an issue item and, I think, unlikely to have been made in Europe or the other theatres in which the Allies fought.

I was going to say 'On his head.' but I guess that won't help. The fact that the 'digger hat' has traitionally had an easy to manipulate hook and eye arrangement suggests that 'Either way.' is the correct answer. Without doing any research but relying on my razor sharp [63 year old] memory, I'm going to suggest that 'turned up' is the preferred modern style, which one sees in photos of parades in particular, but that clearly 'down' was the more practical method in sun and rain and seems commoner the further back one goes in time, especially in 'action photos'. All obvious, I know, but my point is that the further back one goes, the less rigidly the regs appear to have been enforced in any but formal contexts: photos of the Aussie Light Horse in the Middle east, for example, and of WWII troops in the Pacific, show them worn down, for obvious practical reasons. Photos of individuals in portraits and so on more often seem to show them up - 'for the look of the thing'. That said, one photo, which I will attempt to locate, shows light horse - near Beersheba, I think - with most brims down but one or two up, supporting my thesis that at some point it became a matter of individual preference. As someone who wears an Aussie style hat most summers, I can testify that 'brim down' wears better, as the weight balances out and the hat seems less likely to slip on one's head. My tuppence worth and then some! Peter

Odd that. If I were a Freudian I'd blame it on toilet training or penis envy, but who knows? Fascinating stry, though. Thank you.

Interesting! We tend to assume that men wearing medals to which they're not entitled are complete fakes, I think. If what you say is accurate, this fellow was a genuine hero with multpile awards who still felt it necessary to gild the lily! May one enquire who he was?

Too bad. It would be nice to now what sorts of things qualified one for such an award.

Very nice looking medal! Any information on th recipient or details of the award?

I can only suggest searching the London Gazette. It is available on-line but can be frustrating, as the search engine is not infallible by any means. I took a quick look, but both his surname and forenames are so common as to throw up dozens of [false?] positives in a quick search. A few more details of his biography might help narrow the parameters.

Welcome to the GMIC! I'm afraid I have no words of wisdom, or any other kinf for that matter, on 'Smith of Glasgow' but it occurs to me that the sword might, instead of being Yeomanry or some other 'off make' of a standard blade, be a private purchase by patriotic citizens to present to some worthy hero. Just a thought and those swords usually had specifics of the award engraved on the blade but... one never knows. As to your second post, you are certainly not the only member of the GMIC whose home illlustrates the dangers of leaving adult males unsupervised and in control of various monetary resources! Welsome to the GMIC!

What Simon said. Brian too! We Canucks are thin in the hills on this site.

The 'Yellow Boys' were certainly sharp looking. Take a minute and Google the Indian Republic Day parades to see what their ceremonial units still look like. Their one horsed unit - 43rd Cavalry? - wears the full dress uniforms of a number of regiments, including some State Forces units, for parades and they are glorious to behold! Chris, may I ask who the CO was you spoke of? A WWI or WWII DSO or something earlier?

I bought this year's ago as a student and it still hangs on my wall. I hope it is of some interested: a limited edition print by an artist named Fenti of a Sowar of Skinner's Horse on the NWF.

"W/man" is almost certainly "Washerman". For the record, 'Washerman' is actually a 'trade' & not a 'rank'; but in India, there is a tendency to be casual over long/ complicated ranks, especially where space is at a premium- like on a medal." So, the modern equivalent of 'Dhobi'. Makes sense. And I completely agree about the casual approach to long rank titles. Presumably the mint workers are not paid by the letter and tend to abbreviate as the mood takes them.

Paja My apologies! I meant to post the link to the 'US Army blanket' site. And, of course, now I can't find it again. :( If it has been in the family 5 generations it is a true heirloom, whatever the origins! Peter

I second Brian's advice: Ed Haynes is your best bet. And, sadly, a good bit of luck will be required, as there are no central registries or sources for such medlas. Well done, too, sir, for your aim to re-build an importnat family icon! Peter