peter monahan

And please do let us know what you find out. That's half the fun!

Once owned a WWI group to Captain 'Branny' Branfoot, 37th Lancers, IA who had a Roumanian Order of the Crown with his trio. Wondered why - no evidence he's ever even met a Roumanian. Cilff Parrett, then living in Singapore, met a fellow officer of the 37th who said 'Brayyn' had been recommended for the MC but hadn't quite made the cut and that various Allied embassies shopped round bags of decorations which were awarded as 'consolation prizes' and, presumably, to show solidarity with the gallant British. One wonders if the Russian awards were given on the same basis: 'if he won the XXX for bravery, we shall recognize the award with a YYY of ours as well.' Not meant to detract, BTW, from any of these awards, but it explains, at least to me, why relatively low ranking British servicemen got foreign awards without any obvious connection to the awarding nations. Probably kept military attaches busy too, combing through the London Gazette and the French equivalent, to identify worthy recipients of Russian, Italian, Brazilian... awards.

Looks like a real mixed bag there, Jock. They're all machine sewn, at a quick look, and at least one has rubber heels and [added] half soles, which puts at least the repairs at post 1900 and probably several decades later. Toe shape isn't a very reliable indicator that late. The low shoes with the parallel lacing are a puzzle, as that lacinf style is often associated with post WWI military boots but I'm pretty certain no servicemen were wearing that style low shoe in leather by then - there was an early 'trainer' style but in canvas as early as 1914. The boots are standard riding boots so, again, not necessarily military. Ankle boots should have separate toe caps as well, if military and I don't like the eyelets for issue boots either. Not as up on the female issue but the styles should mirror the male kit more closely than I think these do. Ill check some of my sources and see what else i can find. Any and all military footwear should have had a plethora of stamps - on the insoles, inside the tongue and on the inside of the ankles: sizes, dates and the usual acceptance marks, so look for any sign of those. A very interesting lot whatever they are!

Smithy I should have read your post more carefully, but glad the info. helped. If you wanted to send me a copy of the photo so I can blow it up perhaps i can figure out a few more things. I'm at petemonahan@sympatico.ca

Thank you for doing the work and sharing it with us. A sad story indeed.

Something about a man in a uniform, eh? Lovely work, Colin!

As your title suggests, fine examples of military heraldry. Thank you for sharing them.

Intriguing! I agree that the cross theme and the quality seem to suggest earlier rather than later but agree that one doesn't want the wish to be father to the child. Please keep us posted if you find out more about it. Not sure the ribbon is a reliable indicator of much of anything except country of origin, however.

Very nice! I don't think I've ever seen one before. Is it the "Tula" musket?

Smithy The 48th did wear their kilts - in the trenches with khaki aprons and on leave without. The 48th had their own cap and collar badges and because they existed pre-WWI [from 1891] would likely have had those to issue to all recruits, unlike some of the war raised units, which often issued the general issue maple leaf badge at first. The 48th badge - above - looks quite unlike the maple leaf badges. Also, the two men with the bandoleers are unlikely to be infantry, as that pattern equipment was most often issued to mounted rifles, cavalry and gunners and possibly Signals members too. Not sure about that last. I also think the man in the center may be wearing riding boots under his puttees, which would suggest cavalry or field artillery. So, these may not be your relatives. Sorry! Peter

I'm late to this thread, but I'd agree with Hugh on the unit - Transportation Corps - and the difficulty in getting good ribbons. S.A. Gongs is probably the likeliest place to get answers though, as the site owner is very very knowledgeable about medals from the sub-continent.

probably British but other than that very hard to pin down. You'll need someone with access to war time Army Lists, in which there are likely going to be more than one Lt Col Browning, so unless you can find only one and show that he served in France, the chances are slim of an exact ID. Sorry!

Do you buy lottery tickets as well? You sound like a lucky sort.

Or we could just wait for one of the resident experts to chime in! Should have known one of the gurus here would have a good answer.

Yes, just a touch off-putting but very very interesting. Thanks.

And here is the URL for his Circumstances of Death card. listed as "Died of Wounds" after being gassed. '>

He was a casualty. Here is the CWGC info. Date of Death: 01/11/1917 Age: 28 Grave Reference: VI. F. 43. Cemetery: MENDINGHEM MILITARY CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of Violet Morphew, of St. Benet's Vicarage, Tottenham, London, England, and the late Henry Leslie Morphew. Born at Shanklin, Isle of Wight. http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/86876/MORPHEW,%20LEIGHTON%20LESLIE You can order a photo. of his headstone for a couple of pounds.

A good decision, Mervyn.

That makes as much as or more sense than my suggestion. Thanks, Mervyn.

Rob has got it spot on! Thank you, sir!

Re-uniting groups is disheartening work! I've seen it happen, by chance mostly, and once when the medals had just been sold to several dealers [who should have known better] within a single city, but very very rare. Love it for what it is!

David Japanese swords are a very specialized field and there are a number of considerations which go into valuing one: the age and maker of the blade [some are cebnturies old] - which can only be told by dismounting the blade to look for markings; whether the handle is newer - they often are; whether the attachments are original; and, of course; condition. I think I see a mark on the blade - very bad - and the copper badn on the handle is a new feature to me, but I have only a casual knowledge of these. Look up 'katana' on Wiki for a good general discussion of the swords and then I'd suggest you send your photos to Sword Forum International to see whether any of their expert members can answer your question. Peter

There are medallion called 'challenge coins' which are very common in the US forces and now among Canadian units too. Every man from a given unit who has served in a specific location, an action or sometimes just in the unit itself gets one and is expected to carry it at all times. Whenever the unit members meet, any one of them can demand that everyone produce his coin and anyone who can't buys the beer. I think that's what you have. Here's an explanation of challenge coins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin Peter

Kipling being poetic, rather than an appointment like File Closer. A 'file' would be two men - front and rear rank - so a company with '36 files on parade' would be parading 72 men plus the covering sergeant and officer. 'Files' is the front rank man and the guy breathing hard would be his 'oppo', rear rank man. Usually you'd have the same front rank/rear rank men together - tended to be arranged by height within a platoon or company - and they'd be buddies or at least watching each others' backs. So Files is getting a good close look at Danny.

Got and lost the GC Badge four times! Probably a pretty good soldier when he was sober! Great story, Tony. Thanks for sharing.