peter monahan

Thanks.

I'd say 'mixed lot' covers it nicely. One wonders how they all got into the auction where, I assume, the auction house lumped them together. Looks like a nice find, all in all.

I recently made the mistake of trying to chat with the Sgt. in charge of the Toronto Police mounted [riot] squad near a demo outside a US consulate. He was quite curt and wanted to know who I was/what I was doing. I can only assume he figured I was doing a recce for future badness against he and his mount. In fact, I was just being my usual gormless self, trying to strike up a chat but I suppose they have toi assume the worst. Not a job I'd want!

First rate. I drool!

Once again I've dropped the ball! [shame-faced icon here] The 3,000m height suggests a scal which I agree is unlikely for a training or 'demo' trench. Shutting up now!

Aliwal North (Afrikaans: Aliwal-Noord) is a town in central South Africa on the Orange River, Eastern Cape Province. Aliwal North is the seat of the Maletswai Local Municipality within the Joe Gqabi District Municipality. Aliwal North is named in tribute to Sir Harry Smith. Sir Harry Smith, founded the small town of Aliwal North in the Cape Province of South Africa in 1850. He named the town "Aliwal" in memory of his victory over the Sikhs in 1846, and "North" in opposition to Aliwal South (now Mossel Bay). The park in the centre of Aliwal North, the Juana Square Gardens was named after Smith's wife Juana Maria de Los Dolores de Leon... Municipal status was attained in 1882. [My first comment was 'Aliwal sounds Indian'. Then I found this. ]

Yes, please!

" The recording of the new enlistments on the same day as the discharge of the group being sent back to Britain is interesting; one might even think conveniently neat, except that the army were unlikely to deal in approximate dates, since it would mean paying a man more, or less, than the amount he was due. Perhaps, these men were all enlisted 'in country' at the same place on the same day, from regiments that were shipping home. Another possibility is that these were American individuals from the Loyalist community, I assume you will have checked that the date given is his actual enlistment date and not simply the date on which the roll was compiled, which can be done by comparing the amount he was paid with the number of days between his enlistment/the start date of the roll and the date given. An interesting puzzle indeed, made more frustratiing in your case by the shortage of info. on the recruits. The usual information, of course, included place or origin and trade and, as pointed out, whether he was a transfer from another regiment. I am currently working with rolls from 1812-14 and have come across several men listed as 'dead' who subsequently re-appear, having been captured and paroled in circumstances in which, I assume, their mates 'saw them fall'. Frustrating when one is trying to produce a definitive list of killed. Or survivors for that matter! Yes, do keep us posted on how you make out, please!

Fascinating discussion and great to see both the level of expertise and the obvious checking/research done by some members more industrious than myself! My only additionsl thought is that this looks awfully elaborate for early in the war but the lack of shell cratering and the roads suggest, as Spasm says, a rear area. Is it neat enough to have been a 'demonstration' or training layout? I was at a symposium on Vimy this past weekend and someone pointed out that a trench in a photo was clearly a model, as the corners were square and so were the sandbags!

Mervyn was a true gentlemen. We had never met and corresponded only intermittently via this group, as we had a couple interests in common, but when I mentioned that my youngest was headed to SA for school he immediately offred to rpovide the names of friends in cape Town who would look in on her if need be and also said that, if she were in his area that he would be happy to house, feed and entertain her! I hope he has dogs and a garden wherever he is, to give him joy! Peter

That's an interesting factoid! Presumably one doesn't send 'shoenails' hobnails or copper cobbler's nails - by post unless they have been requested. Seems an odd thing to need from home as opposed to from the QM.

I know little about M1s, beyond the general knowledge one picks up, and I hold no brief for them but SoF has a good rep among the people I know, so I'd be satisfied that they think it is genuine and won't deliberately sell you a pup. That doesn't rule out mistake or mis-ID, but they seem to know there business, for what that's worth. I know people who buy WWI items from them and speak well of the company.

As Tony says, the value is mostly determined by the ID of the original recipient. Indian Army and Air Force recipients and, I think, the South Africans had theirs named on issue. I had my father-in-laws privately named after I oersuaded him to apply for them in the 1980s. Otherwise, one is forced to rely on 'attribution' and provenence, and given the interest in and value of medals these days i personally would not consider buying a group to a 'famous' recipient without absolutley cast iron provenance. Someone on another forum not long ago admitted having been badly burned on a whole raft of RAF stuff including what was alleged to be a log book for the leader of the Dam Busters squadron, which a little research would have told him is in the NAM. People love to believe and attach stories to artifacts because, after all, the objest evokes the story but an unnamed medal is just that and the best one can say with certainty is that 'X thousand were issued but only Y hundred with this bar, so thsi is IF REAL quite a rare thing'. If it is genuine, and I have no opinion on one way or the other, you're lucky and I hope it brings you much pleasure! Peter

I can't speak to the country of origin, but there are several possibilities as to function. One, they are defensive positions meant to provide a wider field of fire for riflemen or MGs than the standard 'crenellated' trench design. Two, if the are in fact BEHIND, the main trench they are a series of bays meant to hold weapons or men, allowing a large number to be concetrated into a narrow section of the front. I tend to lean to the latter expanation, having seen diagrams of British trenches not unlike this: a front line or even front and second line and then a cluster of small pits to house reserve troops and supplies. It is a very efficient use of space on a restricted front, though it does invite shelling in a way a greater dispersal does not. That said, the military often took such risks - the way in which aircraft are lined up for refuelling and so on being a classic example - close for ease of access but more subject to strafing. So, my conclusion: reserve bays rather than defensive positions. And that opinion is worth what you pay for it!

Given the fastening, that would be my guess. Also, the two outer wreathes/rings look awfully delicate for something meant to go on a uniform, even as a pocket badge. My two cents worth.

I agree that heads are bigger now than they were. Unfortunately, or perhaps in this case fortunately, that tends to mean that smaller hats survive better, especially when re-issued, as they are less likely to be used in later periods. Ditto smaller size tunics: of little use to re-enactors, regimental colour guards in period kit and so on.

Big City Welxcome to the GMIC! In answer to your question, I'm not sure which post you mean but you will likely have better luck if you ask the original poster directly. Just click on the screen name of the person who posted and you can send him a private message. Peter

That is a very impressive collection indeed, Heusy! Thank you for sharing it. Both the weaknes and the strength od a forum like ours is that it is entirely member driven, so a topic or theme which many of us are interested in/know about will be well represented in the posts or even have its own sub-forum, while lesser known conflicts areas and people are not well represented. You have, by posting these descriptions and photos certainly added considerably to MY knowlkedge of that conflict, which was very limited. If you'd care to keep posting, you may find a number of us will follow and even comment and perhaps a member or two will have their own items to share. Thanks again! Peter

Very nice! For a brief period I collected post '47 Indian medlas but never got above a few examples, as here in Canada they are quite rare, except as worn by members of our Corps of Commissionaires. The Corps are security guards at government establishments and one must have served in a Commonwealth armed force to apply for the job. We have a good number of South Asians, mostly Sikhs, in the Corps and it always used to catch my eye to see British medals for WWII worn AFTER the Indian Army awards as, of course, they count as foreign awards in India. Thanks for sharing that, Shubham! Peter

And now i know what 'goauche' is. Thanks, Owen! Great painting. I used several similarly themed prints when I organized an exhibit on India troops in WWI, mostly variations on the 'Old Lion defended by her cubs' theme, with various cubs labelled Canada, India, Australia and so on.

I have just printed a book on 70 WWI soldiers from my area who died in that conflict. One was a pilot cadet who crashed his plane on Nov.9 and died on the 11th, the last day of the war and another was a boy who enlisted underage 3 times and only got to go to France in July 1918 when he 'officially' turned 19. I'm not convniced he was 19 even then. He was part of a regiment marching through Belgian villages being fteted with wine and food, wounded by a stray shell and also died on Amrstice Day. All tragic deaths. Thank you both for caring to remember!

Looks good to me as well.

That sounds right. You'd have a devil of a time getting a map OUT of a case that thin. My guess was going to be some type of 'instrument' but fife, which I suppose IS an instrument, makes perfect sense.

I don't believe that anyone is advocating taking anyone else off the GMIC at this point. And, please, recall the word 'Gentlemen'. I believe we can disagree civilly.

Pete There is a site, origiannly run by a British couple, i believe, which contains hundreds if not thousands of CWGC headstone photographs. Not sure whether or ot they do WWII, but here is the site associated with the CWGC itself: https://www.twgpp.org/photograph/search/