peter monahan

Very interesting and odd. I wonder if that is the explanation. If so, I wonder that he kept it at all. Bill's suggestion is a good one. Do let us know what you find out, please. Peter

Already doing that with the Royal Canadian Legion, but good on ya to suggest it!

Thanks, Prussian. I'll have to study on this for a while.

The first posthumous Military Cross was that awarded to Captain Herbert Westmacott (491354), Grenadier Guards for gallantry in Northern Ireland during the period 1 February 1980 to 30 April 1980 [The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48346. p. 14608. 20 October 1980.] [Wikipedia]. So Absolon was likely the first posthumous MM, I'd guess.

Well said, Ulsterman. The bits about Steve, I mean. If I weren't so naturally reticent and modest - I'm Canadian too - I'd tell you that 'huzzah Canada' is redundant. We already know we're great!

And here I was thinking you were afraid of thigh bones! Silly me.

Looking at a German porcelain pipe, inscribed 'Kriegschule 1899-1900' on the back of the bowl. On the front is a coat of arms: a wreath of oak leaves, crossed swords, hilts down, a black knights helmet and three intials, which I think read 'E V A'. Anyone know wher I might find a list of the Kriegschules for that period and whether there is any chance of getting lists of graduates? Peter

Thanks, Chris. I only 'processed' the "17." marking as a late war manufacture date after I made the post. I wondered about the covers too - did some come without, late war, or did it get so ratty somebody stripped it off and threw it away. This pievce came with an aluminum mess kit: cover/plate/fry pan + two pots/bowls + a two piece pierced wind screen and post support and a handle for the pots and can of solid fuel. I flet much better about breakimng the leather strap holding it all together once I established that it was Boy Scout - and not military!

I hadn't realized the Asians were making these up for the AWI re-enactors. None of tht gents I know would wear one that crude, as there are fairly good copies out there too. I stand corrected.

I agree, Mike. I have handled, briefly and years ago, two VCs and a couple of the eary Hancock copies and, besides the cachet of owning a copy made by the guys who make the real ones, the quality is beutiful. Were I a musuem or a collector who wanted a copy to stand in for all the real ones 'my' regiment had won, I'd buy a Hancock copy. I'm guessing they won't depreciate either and suspect the umbering is to prevent the crooks trying to 'convert' them into 'real' ones. My two cents worth. Peter

Sorry!

I was at a conference on WWI on Saturday and had a session by a Canadian group named CANADIGM who are busy working in France to document, with photography and 3D laser scans the carvings in some of the old 'souterraines' and tunnels in the Vimy area. The plan is to reproduce some of them and sent them cross Canada on tour. Fascinating stuff. Here's a link to one news story, with shots of a couple badges: http://www.ctvnews.ca/underground-carvings-memorialize-canadian-soldiers-1.651603 Several of the badges we saw in the presentation were carved by a tunneller who was a stone mason to the Royal Family before he came to Canada and joined the army. beautiful work and the reproduction techniques - laser - allows them to be copied so well that a pencil mark on thwe stone would change the thickness of the scan. And all buried for 100 years under tons of garbage in the back yard of French farm!

I have been asked to identify a WWI canteen

Certainly seems to be missing something. A lamp makes sense but I have no idea what such a heater would look like on top so...?

'Fraid so. Somebody sold you a pup. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? We've all been bitten a few times. Hope it wasn't a big investment. Peter

Almost certainly not a British Army. Officer's gorget were engraved with the royal cipher and other details. Possibly made for the Indian trade - North American, I mean: relatively crude, but aping the style of gorgets worn by officers and presented to chiefs. That would be my guess, anyway.

I think you've done a good job of presenting the facts, as far as can be known be non-specialists, fairly and certainly clearly. Thanks for taking the time! Peter

No, not our sort at all! Still, some mothers do have 'em and I suppose every large organization - including armies - gets its share. An interesting side note on the Empire and its administration. Peter

Interesting. I wonder what "Specialist Engineering" means. Engines or runways? Or bomb fuses?

Sounds as if the consensus is 'working dress, government issue'. The galvanized iron buttons and linen suggest, to me, no later than 1930s, but I'm not a textiles/costume expert.

I copied the photo, and another I found on line, to the new unit with which I am doing WWI re-enacting: 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, staffed by Canadian nurses and stretcher bearers. Can't imagine actually going out into the trenches and No Man's Land without even the security blanklet of a pistol or rilfe! Not surprising that 2 of 3 doubel VCs were to medi al Corps types, IMHO.

Even with the centenary of WWI, the latest Dix Noonan catalogue has many lots of single WWI medals, lumped in sixes and eights and estimated to bring L20-L40, which in some cases may be less than the bullion value. A sad end to the last memorial many of those men have!

Beautifully done, Harry. Thank you. As Mervyn says, an unsung story for the most part. Kudos to you and the local Naga community for bringing it back for us. I heartily applaud the accolade Mervyn and Brian have awarded it. Peter

So, likely silver or silver plate, privately made by Benjamin Smith for soldeiers/veterans to wear their medals on. Cool!

My fairly untutored eye suggests late nineteenth, early twentieth century, by the styling but that doesn't mean much, given governments' penchants for not changing things. I assume it is wool, which again to me suggest earlier - pre-1960s anyway - rather than later, due to cost. Not sure when denim became the fatigue material of choice but I would guess sometime after WWI. Are the buttons bone, metal, rubber or plastic? Also, the brass eyelet on the trousers is odd - perhaps it came with a draw string waist rather than belt or braces? That might lend weight to the prison story, as I can't imagine any military fatigue uniform in the Commonwealth that wouldn't use braces or a belt. OTOH, the number of pockets seems odd for a prison uniform too - most have NO pockets, for obvious reasons. The long pocket on the right hip has to be for a specific object/purpose and may be a significant clue. The broad arrow was used by the Canadian military, with a 'C' around it. Not sure what our prison service used but a broad arrow is quite possible. Might also have been used by other Empire/Commonwealth countries. Interesting puzzle! Peter