peter monahan

The most useful information for identifying this will be the words/letters/numbers and symbols stamped at the top of the blade.  In this case, it appears, under the two 'wings' which project downward from the hilt.  Those mat include maker's name, arsenal marks and so on.  

The style is common to a number of European armies but I think - guessing mostly - that it may be German.  Or possibly one of th Scandanavian countries, who copied german style in many military fashions. 

Sorry I can't say more, not my field, but having the stampings will help.

Aw, shucks.  T'weren't nuthin'!

Those are honking big collar dogs!  10 minutes extra on kit polishing every day must have made the lads happy.

Here is the war diary, edited by one of the unit members after the war, with a lengthy preface. The unit began its war at Tobruk and finished up in Italy.  Good luck hunting down Smith in the story!

 https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/documents/2411/history-of-192-(haa)-heavy-anti-aircraft-battery-69th-haa-regiment-royal-artillery-1936-1944/

And, yes, there was a 'Left Troop', later presumabky changed to 'B Troop'.

Bingo!  An Irishman to boot, which probably explains how the medal wound up back in Dublin.

Posted in error.

Brilliant, Arthur!  I did very briefly look for 'normal colleges' in the SA context, but got distracted by a shiny object in another tread and never got back to the search. 

Now I'll have to research why they were 'normal' colleges.  Most of the elementary students I had the 'pleasure' of teaching were, if not actaully abnormal certainly verging on 'odd and unsettling'.

Glad to hear it!  Good luck with the ongoing research.

Or some sort of optical instrument, as the case appears to be padded.  A musical Gunner or Engineer? 

Post them on the Police forum and see what response you get.  That would be my [off the cuff and uninfromed] guess.

And does the abbreviation make any more sense in the SA context than it does elsewhere?

Well done!  Uniforms of regular regiments.  Nice to see that you've found some and can now safely ignore my comments.

I agree that the finish on the pommel is not of high quality and that, plus the lack of any markings at all may indicate a copy.  Issue weapons almost always have some marks, usually on the top of the blade or the hilt.

Yes, try the 'Indian' thread on the Brit Badge forum - all the experts lurk there.  I haven't seen enough IA Ordnance badges in the flesh, so to speak, to have an opinion on these two.  The diffrence in toning is odd but not completely unknown - one a replacement or issued from two different lots originally might explain it. 

Interesting question indeed!  The plate you shared - I suspect from an Osprey book - pictures a 'Chieftan', a 'Boyar' and two others who I assume are of high rank, leading irreegular troops, so my guess would be that there may not have been actual uniforms as such.  You should, however, be able to put together a 'look\ based on traditional ethnic dress plus whatever weapons would have been commonest in the area.  Not much help, I know!

The 81st were raised in 1777, became the 10th Battalion, 1st Madras Pioneers in the 1922 re-organization of the Indian Army and were disbanded in 1933

Both the 1st/81st and a second, 1917 raised battalion, served on the North West Frontier during WWI, then went to Persia in 1918 to build a railroad and back to the NWF for the 3rd Afghan War, so they were awau from Madras for 6 years.  Interestingly, the unit composition included Tamils, some Madrassi Muslims, Chrisitians and 'Paraiyans', a low caste of labourers.  A fairly unusuakl mix, even for a southern Indian unit.

The card below, painted by A.C. Lovett in 1911, shows a man of the 81st.  He is the fourth from the left - second from the left wearing khaki - and is in service dress.

Congratulations!  History aside, I have always thought that this is one of the more attractive awards the British system created and if I'd ever owned one I suspect i still would!  

I did wonder about that, and you're right.  I was suggesting that there might be similar schools in the Uk, though, not that he was Canadian.  Here they're 'Normal Schools' but I wonder if there might be 'Normal Colleges' in Oz, or SA or somewhere similar.  Or, we may be on the wrong track.

The Orders and Medals Society of America - 'OMSA' - has a 'ribbon bank' for its members, though I have no idea what it consists of or how one gains access.  But probably worth contacting them to enquire.  We also have at least a couple of South African members in the GMIX, one of whom is a researcher, so perhaps she'll see this and respond too.

Good luck!

'Normal College Cadet Company' would be my guess.  Over this side of the water, 'Normal School' was what we called a college where one went after Form 5 for a one yeaqr course which quailfied one to teach elementary/public school.  Very likely that they had cadet companies.

In fact, our war musuem has a new exhibit on conscription which gives particulars of 5-6 men who have appealed their call ups and asks the viewer to decide.  For the school teacher, the verdict is 'Of course he goes!'  'Somebody else [old, female, daft] can teach in his place.' is clearly implied.

This is not an area in which I have any expertise at all but my understanding of the Ottoman armies is that they included units and/or recruits from various 'subject' states.  Part of the 'taxation' system, at one level - 'You owe us X hundred young men per year.' I'm not sure how long this practice lasted.

The Janissaries were officially abolished in 1826 apparently, but I would think that Wallachians and Moldavians might still have been recruited, perhaps as auxilliary troops, into the Ottoman army, as it would seem odd not to use the manpower resources. 

My two cents worth!

See new thread - Yemeni Wound Awards

Quite possible, Smudge.  IA equipment is often a closed book to collectors - myself included - with references far scarcer than for the equivalent British issue.

Been there for years, Chris!  Everybody needs a hobby.

This is a tricky one.  Unlike the UK, and most of the Empire/Commonwealth, the US seems not to have had one, centralized veterans' organization, but somewhere closer to eight or a dozen, at least in the early years.  Each had it's own rules, membership lists, specific purposes - socializing, econimc support, etc - and many if not most would have produced a variety of badges and medals.

A quick look shows at least 10 'US veterans'groups which may relate to WWI and one document says that there are 45,000 non-profit groups registered with the IRS and devoted to 'veterans.  Your best bet may actually be to cruise ebay, searching for 'veterans' badges / medals' and look for similar pieces.