peter monahan

Thanks fpor the comments, Bayern. 'South America' was a guess, and apparently a bad one. Not Canadian, though. Our boys were issued the standard 1908 pattern and only in quite limited numbers and I am 90% certrain that no 'variant' was issued. The Spanish 1907 cavalry appears to be straiught bladed, but the 1895 model looks quite similar, including the rather odd 'dip' in the hand grip. Picture below., from this site: http://www.swordforum.com/vb4/showthread.php?114827-FS-Spanish-1895-pattern-cavalry-trooper-s-sword

Perhaps other members will know more on this topic but the only thing I can suggest is contacting Rhino.research@icon.co.sa, who has access to the SA archives and does research. Sadly, the original owner passed awaya a few months ago but I believe her daughter is carrying on the business. Good luck!

'2nd Battalion, Royal Marines; [rack number] 157; [issued/on the books] June/1888' ??? It would be interesting to see if the RM bands wore Victorian dress into the 20th century, as is not uncommon for bands.

If No one here can translate the script for you, try posting it to the South Asian Military Heritage Group on Facebook. Ashok Nath and Ed Haynes, two of the most expert people I know on South Asian medals are active there.

That is an interesting sword indeed! A bowl hilt modelled on the British 1908 pattern - allegedly 'the perfect cavalry sword' - but a very slender curved blade. I want to say 'South American, 20th century' but I'm not sure why except 'the look'. I suspect that the 'F E' on the blade is an important clue: 'Fuerza...?' perhaps. I take it there is no scabbard? Peter

That is very cool. I'd forgotten, if I ever knew, that Samoa was German. Years and years ago my wife and I were in Togo and staying in a nice hotel where it turned out that the desk clerk spoke French, of course, some English and German! That really threw us until I remembered that Germany had Togo until the Treaty of Versaille.

Gordon's British Battles and Medals says this: Those taking part included a brigade size army force, members of 815 Naval Air Squadron, sailors on HMS Centaur, and RAF aircrew. In 1967 eligibility was widened to include those who served in a supporting role in Aden

Hi Chris You should be able to get some data on the WWI bloke from the British National Archives. I suspect the same may be true for WW2 but not sure about who can access files. Here in Canada we can now get the files of anyone who has been dead for 15 or 20 years and the men killed in WW@ are actually on-line in minimal detail but Brit stuff is outside my experience so not sure. Anyway, good luck!

Rather a mixed lot there. I assume to two on the top left are Fascist Italy and the Cross of Lorraine is certainly French but I wonder if the two shamrocks may be divisional WWI patches for the 16th Irish Division of the British Army. A number of armies use shamrocks, including the British, American and, I assume, Irish but most of them seem to have leaves which are triangular rather than round [see below]. The 16th seem to be the exception to that, so these could be locally made for that division. Or, of course, something else entirely, but at least that's a place to start. 16th Irish Division and [below] Royal Irish Regiment, British Army - the more typical shape for shamrocks.

Nice find. 88 pages of records should give you lots to chew on too. Just off the top of my head: what was the NZEF doing in Samoa?

Try this gent. http://www.militaryheritage.com/muskets.htm

I agree that it's American. Shape of the hat and the badge both. No idea whose though.

I had been going to guess 'Lord Lieutenant' or something similar: military looking, because that's cool, but not SO close to a real uniform as to annoy the Army. Viceroy's service makes perfect sense. Well spotted, Bayern!

Linas The preferred protocol here on the GMIC is that, if you have purchased something for the purposes of resale, you include that information in your post asking for help. I'm sure many members will still continue to assist with identifications but there is clearly a difference between, say a beginning collector who isn't sure where to look for information, and someone in your situation. Peter

Your answer on the provenance means these aren't modern copies. What a pity your uncle didn't tell anyone the story behind the titles - someone he met? chance pick-up? The combination of tunic, slouch hat and kukri is nice too. I only own one kukri these days, but have always had a soft spot for them. Thanks for sharing the titles and the Information.

Thanks, Tony. I'm afraid I led with my mouth again, Rick. Clearly not a stable jacket by the cut, which I should have caught. I was looking for a 'braid free' version, because, as I said, I see the braid, or at least some of it, as a later addition and not by a military tailor. The number of visible threads on the edges of the front would practically guarantee, IMO, that one would snag them with the hooks while doing it up and rip free some of the braid. Perhaps I'm too fixated on that, though. My apologies for the red herring!

The '18H' on the lining may indicate the 18th Royal Hussars of the British Army but I really don't like the way the braid is stitched onto the tails or the amount of loose thread at the opening. I would guess that someone has taken a plain stable jacket - possibly 18H - and added the braid. Best guess and I may well be wrong. See undress 'stable jackets' below, which is how I believe this started life.

These look to me like classic Indian made titles. The quality of the casting and the lugs - cast as tabs and drilled afterwards - is typical of both period [issue] pieces and some modern copies & fakes. I don't think these are modern knockoffs but it is imposssible to be certain without provenance. There are a fair number of photos with IA members wearing various shoulder titles, especially from the 1930s and WWII period, though more often officers. My personal theory, based on sketchy evidence, is that ORs often did not wear shoulder titles, especially on campaign. The photos I have seen from WWI - my area of limited expertise - seem to bear this out but not sure how that may have changed by 1939-45. I hope this is a little helpful. You might also post these photos on the 'Indian' section of the British Badge Forum, where the real experts hang out! Peter

Shoulder titles were actually more common than headdress badges in the Indian Army and related units in the 20th century. These examples look fairly typical of what many units wore, though I assume they are in white metal rather than brass because it was a police unit. Do you have shots of the reverse?

Marcus Sadly, I suspect that there simply isn't enough of a market for quality repros and originals are probably in the 'scarce as hen's teeth category'. I have no idea how badly you want a pair, but friends who do Napoleonic era re-enacting with me [we're all staff officers, so useless sods] have had insignia custom embroidered in India. They want gold wire and so on, but I suspect you can get anything you will pay for. The trick is to get the makers clear patterns/pictures to work from and, perhaps, be prepared for some back and forth before you get what you want. Good luck on the hunt! P.

Here is a link to the National Archives service records. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/royal-air-force-personnel/#7-lists-of-raf-servicemen There is a guide on their site which is worth reading. Many of these records have been digitized by MyAncestry.com and similar commercial sites, so you may have to pay to access the complete records, I just don't know. [I know a little more about the Canadian records, not much about the British ones]. I hope this is some small help. Peter

I believe there were only two Field Marshals during WWII, Monty and Slim, so the number of these manufactured from the time "Battledress, Serge" was introduced in 1937 until it was phased out in 1961 must have been very small. I suspect authentic examples are quite rare and likely to be expensive even assuming you could find one. There appear tom be several shops in the UK which sell repro. insignia, including one called "Monty's Locker". They don't appear to stock general's insignia but perhaps they can steer you in the right direction. Good luck with the hunt.

That's what I tired to tell him, but he wasn't having any.

I wore one of these pretty regularly while doing Napoleonic era living history. Always a big hit with the crowds. I once made one in a real hurry for a fellow unit member who'd lost his. The only leather I had to hand was 'sole bend' - 3 to 4 cm thick. Damn near killed the poor fellow the first time he wore it! Opps!

Not as proud of their coppers? After all, a large police force might be taken to imply a large criminal element in the Borough of Middle Wapping on Stokes on Trent. Or, perhaps, they wanted a little discretion. I'm guessing that black was the default colour for cars in the period you refer to.