peter monahan

Hear hear. Always nice to add another small piece to the vast puzzle that is post-partition Indo-Pak. military history. At least to we none Hindi or Urdu speakers!

A great story!

I wouldn't think going from AC1 to commissioned rank would be that common, though a man with pre-war service. I would have expected it to have been Flight Sergeant to P/O. The number 254/5 on the clothing tag is more likely to be a batch number or order number, I think, than a squadron designation. But that's a guess.

There are several companies making an selling these in the UK and elsewhere and, of course, there would have been at least a couple hundred made for the making of the movie "Zulu" and possibly other period films of that ilk. The 24th Foot plate is very commonly reproduced. Not my field exactly, But I'm almost certain that a suede leather sweat band isn't right for these helmets. Where are our helmet experts - we have at least two - on this one? Peter

Not sure - don't think - that he was wearing them as part of a BC regimental set, thought that is possible. I suspect that they are replacement buttons for whatever was originally there - 'they're brass; stick 'em on' kind of thing. Any info. on Forshaw other than his rank and branch of service?

The button bears the provincial crest of the Canadian province of British Columbia.

A lovely display. Thank you for sharing it! Peter

But classy, no? Interesting that the Russians would subvert national pride to the extent of going with an admittedly world class but foreign maker.

Nice one, Ilja!

I agree with both Paul and Brian. For many years my obsession was IGS medals - to Indians. The VCOs were and are researchable, but one can also build up a fine collection of bars and campaigns using the more economically priced medals to ordinary sepoys, sowars and followers. In fact, followers are a field unto themselves, with numerous fascinating ranks and stories. Sadly, my collecting days were all BC - before children - but I've kept the interest and in fact just this week opened up an exhibit at a Canadian museum on the Indian Army in WWI. One of the medals on display is a BWM to a Sepoy of the 52nd Sikhs who is also entitled to and AGS, bar 'Somaliland', the WWI trio and a 1908 IGS. Thanks for posting, Nelson.

Thank you for these, Harry!

That sounds like a reasonable assumption. There was apparently, in the Victorian period, a Chatsworth Rifles unit of the Derbyshire Militia, so an earlier [Napoleonic era] unit is not impossible.

Jim I see that he began his career as an AC1 [different serial number] and was commissioned in 1941, also that he was still serving in 1947 when promoted to Pilot Officer but there only seem to be two Halliwells with the DFC in the Gazette, a Stanley Halliwell and a Gordon Halliwell. Perhaps the ribbon bar has been improved, as someone else suggested, but possibly not. The search engine for the Gazette is sometimes a bit wonky, at least for earlier records, so its possible he's there but not coming up.

No, the British have battle honours - and we won't get into which are harder to earn, thanks, gentlemen - and on occasion British regiments have been awarded foreign honours of a similar nature. For example, some British units and at least one Canadian one were given an American Presidential Unit Citation for services in Korea and I'm pretty sure that British units have been similarly honoured by the French. Hope that helps. Peter

Ignore Chris. I think there's a reg somewhere that says Legionnnaire's needn't even bother applying for LS &GC awards. As Brian says, you're a lucky man: lucky in your collecting and very lucky in your clever choice of wife! Well done, that man.

I believe - courtesy of a very similar discussion on another forum - that the ACE gilt finish was often worn or polished off, though it lingered in the details, so many of the Styars look 'brassy' while others have the high 'gold' shine'. My tuppence worth and, as Brett says, there are experts among us. I take it that this example is not named? Peter

Mike You've made me break whichever commandment covers 'covet' again! And I'm not a covetous sort of guy, normally. That has got to be the non-plus-ultra of Canadian colonial medals, with the possible exception of the three Cdn. VCs fro that war. Well done and thanks for sharing!

Weixiang I'm not very expert on diplomatic and ADC badges, but I would have guessed that the crown on each board is in fact a major's rank badge, which would be appropriate for an ADC to the king - fairly senior in rank. These are obviously full dress epaulettes and not unlike what was worn by senior officers in full dress. Boris, a member from Spain, has recently started drawing all the rank badges for the British Army in WWI, starting with Generals, so you should check out his site for examples of Staff and other high ranking officers to compare their shoulder boards to these. Here is the thread: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/60340-ranks/. I'm sure Boris will be happy to share any information he has. Thank you for sharing them! Please keep us posted on anything you find out aboput them. Peter

Amazing photos, Yossi. I'm surprised that these relics are still there, 100 years later. Is it safe to assume, as the last 3 photos suggest, that they are in a remote area where no one needs the land for anything else?

The last would likely be "Orange Free State", as it and "Cape Colony" were the two commonest bars issued.

Definitely a Napoleonic period shako plate, but probably one of the Volunteers regiments which were raised in the period. Pretty sure it's not a regular regiment, as the proportions are slightly off - too tall and narrow - and the regiments which had regimental plates mostly used the standard 'template' with a regimental centre device replacing the royal cipher, rather than a unique design for the whole plate.

I'm not sure that it is Belgian. Doesn't match any of the common Belgian orders. What is the source?

Sorry, should have revisited this post. I've discovered that apparently a number of the Ross bayonets were officially or semi-officially converted to trench knives - probably in regimental armourers' shops - as a useful way of recycling bayonets for a withdrawn weapon.

Tony I suspect you're right. Not a very sympathetic description, but certainly not out of line with much of the official thinking on the subject, at least in the non-medical branches of the Militaruy. At least it wasn't 'LMF' or 'Lack of Moral Fibre' which some MOs used in WWII apparently with, for example, bomber crew who'd done 40-50 missions and asked to be taken off flying duties! Peter

"The 14 University Air Squadrons have a long tradition of offering flying training to undergraduates and a chance to experience life in the RAF. Joining a UAS will provide the perfect introduction if you're considering an RAF career, whether in a flying or ground-based role. However, there is no obligation to sign up and by getting involved you're making no further commitment other than your time and effort whilst you're there and the training and personal development you receive will give you a head start in whatever career path you choose." From this site:http://www.raf.mod.uk/universityairsquadrons/ which has information on RAF University Squadrons. I would assume that Singapore, as many Commonwealth states, has maintained, or at least were maintain in the '70s, many of the 'mother country's' traditions.