peter monahan

Nice one!

I'm afraid I know nothing about the medal or the involvement of Autrians and Italians in Turkey but I wonder if there were any records kept there of who was honoured with these medals.

The Auxilliary Force India, of which the EIR Volunteers wre part, was a vast system of milita/territorials which took advantage of the hundreds of thousands of English subjects living on the sub-continent and, in a few cases, of Anglo-Indians. Many of the unts existed for a century or more but many never saw war service and may not even have been called out to 'aid the civil power'. A number were mobilized during the two World Wars but the various units also served a very important social function, bringing together Europeans, sometimes from scattered rural psotings to drill and socialize. In fact, the Caalcutta Light Horse was notoriusly the 'Tight Horse' and membership in it seen by many as a nice way to have the Government of India pay for one's polo pony! The East India Railway Corps had several battalions at one point and are even mentioned by Rudyard Kipling in an article he wrote [http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php/East_Indian_Railway_Regiment]. They recruited from the railway employees and so would have had Brits of several classes, I suspect, including managers and perhaps shop men, perhaps former British Army rankers. Not sure whether or not they recruited Anglo-Indians but I suspect they may have, as the railways seem to have been one place many of them were employed. All that said - 'Finally!' you gasp. - shooting competitions seem to have been a big part of the AFI, as in fact medals are not so uncommon, though I suspect that Brett is correct and that many have been melted down for their bullion value. I recently saw another on a differen forum and a private medal to a member of an AFI unit who was, it is assumed, at the 1911 Delhu Durbar. Many of the medals are quite attractive and generally very well made and might make a nice little collecting theme. Thanks for sharing this one!

Am I right in assuming, then, that ARP would qualify as a 'militarized civilian body'?

A 'swan volant' [taking flight], perhaps. Students of St. John's College, Cambridge are allowed to consume unmarked swans taken on the River Cam and her majesty's Swan Marker is an important Royal appointment, if that's any help.

Thank you, Arthur. Granpa Wood, welcome to the GMIC! I hope you'll find membership useful and entertaining.

Were all grades of the order enamelled or was there a lower grade order/medal which was bare metal? I assume you thought of that but it seems, to me, a likelier explanation than a trial piece. Or an economy era manufacture?

No good ways to die, but that would count as one of the more senseless and, if you believe in St peter, more embarassing ones. RIP Sergeant Caldecott.

Thank you, Hugh. Two more volumes to add to the 'must read someday' list.

Probably a good bet, Odulf.

The Masonic Knights Templar seem largely to use a different design of cross [below] thought the Scottish Templar have one which looks like yours in shape. [Sorry, I've lost my cross vocabulary today but I think its called a 'cross patte'.] However, like Paul, I strongly suspect it belongs to one of the religious or fraternal orders in Europe or N America.

Going out on a limb, I'd guess that this cannot represent all the P.O.s who die/were killed during the Emergency. If nothing else, unsuspecting village constables must have been prime targets during the early years of the insurrgency and I believe the trackers used by the Army were typically police employees/mambers and must hacve sufered losses too.

And to you!

Joyeaux Noel indeed!

Very classy, Graf.

Lovely! Congratulations. Will you be able to narrow it down to a person or unit? [I don't know enough about that field to even guess.] Even if no, a very nice looking group.

This stuff was being faked 25-30 years ago when I still bought WWII era and I can't imagine the situation has gotten any better since.

Sadly, one is increasingly stepping into a minefield even in areas of collecting which used to be 'safe'. I'm glad in many ways that I can resist the urge to buy these days but if I were collecting still I'd have to spend 80% of my time on research and only 20% on actual acquisitions. Must be discouraging for young and new collectors. The good stuff is still out there but I think more and more the keys are provenance, a thorought knowledge of the market and specializing in one small area in which one can become expert. Happy Christmas, my friend!\ Peter

Yes, one didn't get to be a Troop Sgt Major for having shiny boots. Despite the strict discipline, one still had to deal with 60-80 men and 100 horses preferably without flogging and visits to defaulters, so practical psychology and man management were musts, plus a head for numbers [forage, shoes, rations, grog, pay...]. I have all the respect in the world for the senior NCOs/Warrants in every army, having had the privilige of being a Regimental Sergeant Major 'for pretend' for three years in a re-enactment community. That is to say, dealing with 200-400 men who did not in fact HAVE TO do what I said! I still got to tell the joke, though: 'The diffrence between the RSM and God is that God doesn't think He's an RSM!" And if I'm not in step with the 400 other guys, THEY are our of step!

Best time to visit the North is in summer. In our polar regions they expect summer will be either the Tuesday or Wednesday of the third week of July in 2017. Good luck!

Not really my field but I don't like the look of the background to the '40' which I believe is supposed to be pebbled. Also not sure why it would be a blackened badge. Weere the 40th ever Rifles/Lights?

You're woried that a pagan festival taken over by the Christians, celebrated by putting up a Greman tree and telling kids that a Turkish bishop with a Dutch name who lives in the Arctic is bringing them made in Japan toys in a magic sleigh pulled by Lappish reindeer is being spolied by 'foreign influences'? Hmm. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Eid Mubarakh and Happy Kwanza. And peace on Earth to all of good will.

BigJar The BMP were certainly British officered, either with officers on secondment from the Indian Army in the early years or, perhaps, men directly commissioned into that corps. I'd have to check but I don't believe they had British NCOs attached as occurred with some of the Imperial/colonial police units because, at least in part, the BMP was raised from existing infantry units and was even more 'paramilitary' than the usual run of colonial police forces. That is to say, and again I'd have to double check, my recollection is that they functioned more as soldiers than bobbies, putting down the 'dacoits' - Burmese bandits or freedom fighters, depending on who's telling it. I hope this helps a bit.

Once again, the gents of the GMIC come through with helpful information. Thank you all! John, I shall never own a Waterloo medal but had the pleasure and privilige of serving with the 3rd Brigade on the original battlefield for the 200th anniversary re-enactment of the battle and I envy you deeply! And to a Troop Sgt Major too, which suggests a man of considerable service and ability. Lucky you!

I'm late to this topic but will wade in anyway, in my usual handless fashion. Is it possible that the earlier, hallmarked versions did NOT have enamel and that the later versions had it added for aesthetic reasons or to make up for the fact - I'm assuming, here, from the lack of hallmarks - that they were not made of precious metal? Just a thought. Interesting topic and always good to hear from you, Hashim, a younger member, of which we seem to have a sad lack!