peter monahan

I'm thinking someone in a liason role, possibly with diplomatic connections/service? The best array of foreign gongs I've ever seen, years ago now, was to the senior station master at the London railway station where the boat trains from the Continent pulled in -Waterloo Station? He had about ten [lowest class] orders from every foreign head of state who'd come through during his 20+ years of service. And, I think, 1 or 2 British medals from army service. Stunning array of bling but 'nobody you'd know'. To track this one down, you'll need to look for all the awards of each foreign medal - in the Gazette, as you say - and look for the man/men who appear one each list. You've a bit of reading ahead of you! Good luck!

I started reading this thread at Post 1, as I'd never seen the posts before and all I can say is that if the Order of the Torch of Kilimandjaro was designed by Spinks and Sons, the Tanzanians got robbed! " Uuuug-lee", to quote The Lion King. Megan, your two posts are quite attractive however. I applaud the notion of different medals for civil and military service or merit too. If its worth doing, its worth doing well! Sad how few awarding authorities these days seem to feel that way, or do but let themselves be over ruled by the penny pinchers in the [fill ion favourite useless government department here]. Peter

Chris When you say "From a French troops medal parade this week..." do you mean they fell off and were picked up afterwards, bought fro a troop in a pub or...? Enquiring minds wish to know! Peter PS. Where exactly, 'east of Toronto' are you hanging your hat these days?

Not to rain on your parade, Lambert, but be prepared for a wait if you order direct from LAC. The government - no names, but his initials are Stephen Harper - has gutted the staff there and a friend tells me the place is like a morgue these days. The wait time for documents is now measured in months. The other option is find a researcher in Ottawa who'll do the leg work for you. As you have name, service number and all it may not be too pricy. Mike, is there anyone you know and might recommend?

Don't know about professional restoration except that it will cost the earth. I suspect that the distortion comes from years, perhaps decades of storage in a slightly too shallow box, or squeezed between two harder objects. I can get some really odd 'head shape's when I put my lacquered felt [reproduction] 1809 British shako away still damp from wear. If its to high when I close the box it lives in with a bunch of other stuff it shows exactly the same sort of elongation and squashed shape when I take it out. One solution I've seen a fellow re-enactor use is to put a rubber/plastic ball - think kid's sized football - into the hat and very gently inflate it. It pushes the shako back into a circular profile which, while not quite human head shaped is some improvement. Not sure you want to try that with this poor old thing, but it might at least protect it from further squashing. Just a thought. Peter

I agree - the real Davidson's Nile and Trafalgars were excellent in quality, even the pewter ones to ordinary seamen. Also scarce as hen's teeth of course now. Hence the incentive to fake them!

I think I still have one, maybe even broken, 'cause they are a cheap metal, but bought it very cheap as a an advertised 'replica' many years ago. Presumably in the interim some greedy b**tard decided he could make more money by turning the copies into 'real' medals, always a peril when good copies - this ain't one of those - are produced.

Actually, I got the toast. It's nailed to the wall right next to the pancake with the face of the Blessed Virgin on it. Also on display: several fragments of the True Cross and a sword once owned by Julius Caesar, marked "67 B.C." on the blade.

Steve Pardon my ignorance, but what makes it female? Peter

[ Insert jumping up and down smiley face here] Very classy! I didn't even know the French Navy wore gorgets. Always associated them with the British Army. Peter

I'm not any kind of expert at all - though there are several on this forum . One of them is Peter Sicu who I believe has a book out on topis. His 1877 pattern example looks a bit like this one, but not so narrow and long. Check it out here: http://www.nyc-techwriters.com/militaria/british_helmets2.htm Peter.

Very very nice! Lucky so and so.

One can certainly see the Indian Army influence in these designs but they are quite attractive, IMHO. The Police Medal and Silver Jubilee don't move me, but the Mukti Taraka andf Bir Protik are very nice pieces. ilja559, where di you find the illustrations, please? Peter

It's always interesting to see who was friends with who, based on the style of military tailoring, award design and so on. No offence to My American brothers, but I have always thought that the US version of the pickelhaube [sp?], post Franco-Prussian War, was one of your army's less successful forays into head gear. Similarly, East bloc medals seem sadly lacking in imagination and artistic merit and it always pains me to see the lock step designs used by almost every nation with socialist leanings. On the flip side, so to speak, Our Canadian Prime Minister was in South America this past few days and reviewed one guard of honour wearing something which looked awfully like WWII vintage German helmets. I think it was in Peru but wasn't clever enough to check. The military academy badge is a lovely piece but the medals, not so much.

The style of the bugle is wrong for British and, I think for French. Other than that, no idea, I'm afraid. How is it meant to fasten? A shot of the reverse might help.

Yes, Medicine Hat is in Canada, in the province of Alberta to be specific. Here's what Wiki has to say about the origin of the name: The name "Medicine Hat" is the English translation of 'Saamis' (SA-MUS) – the Blackfoot word for the eagle tail feather headdress worn by medicine men – or 'Medicine Hat'. Several legends are associated with the name from a mythical mer-man river serpent named 'Soy-yee-daa-bee' – the Creator – who appeared to a hunter and instructed him to sacrifice his wife to get mystical powers which were manifest in a special hat. Another legend tells of a battle long ago between the Blackfoot and the Cree in which a retreating Cree "Medicine Man" lost his headdress in the South Saskatchewan River. As for Chief Bruce's medals, the multi-stripe ribbons and odd suspenders, plus the positioning on the right breast suggest, to me at least, that they may be local - lodge or fraternal group, perhaps - rather than military or police, though I suppose the multi-bar one just might be a QSA. Peter

Nice! What's the source, please? Peter

Actually, I meant the medal. About the wife you'd have to check with the Greek!

Nice! I assume that's standard practice these days, but I don't thin k it was always so. I taught for some years in downtown Toronto, about a block from Queen's Park [our provincial legislature]. I was considerably startled one day while taking a back alley short cut to the coffee shop to pass 2 large limos, each guarded by large men carrying submachine guns. It turns out that the King of Jordan was speaking nearby and this was his security detail. If I have to say it, unlike some places, automatic weapons are not a common sight on Canadian streets!

Yed Welcome to the GMIC! Thank you for bringing this thread to the top of the list again with your post. I'd forgotten how lovely some of the orders and groups in that museum are. Is it in your home town or did you have to travel? Peter

Paul Apparently it could be yours, if you PM lightfoot. Just sayin'.

Oh, that is nice! Yours now, I take it. What kind of ribbon should it be on?

Yes, and my daughter, 21, is wearing his flying jacket with a silver wire half wing on the breast. I think I'm going to have to reclaim it from her!

I knew a chap years ago who collected, among other things, German wrist watches from WWII. He discovered that he couldn't find a jeweller to work on them because of the horrible amounts of radioactivity they gave off. Scary stuff! I wonder how many bobbies und soldaten finished up with skin cancer from them.

All very instructive. It does sound typically military to have issued a regulation in 1879 for something which had been going on since the 1830s! These were, after all, the same authorities who kept horsed cavalry hanging around behind the trench lines in France and Flanders for years, waiting for the mythical 'big break out'.