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    peter monahan

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    Posts posted by peter monahan

    1. Paul

      There is a gent who goes by 'MilMed' who seems quite knowledgeable and posts on the British Badge Forum.  I don't think he's a member here and not sure whether he's a Yank, a Brit or something else, but he might be worth connecting with.

      I also have a new Facebook friend, 'Jimmy Socratic' , who is a serving member of the Canadian Medical Services branch - formerly the RCAMC - who is just getting into Great War medals.

      Good luck with the quest!

      Peter

    2. 11 hours ago, Hugh said:

      Some one more knowledgeable may be able to tell something from the sporrans and hose tops.  There were some differences among regiments.  

       

      H

      And the number of 'tails' on the officer's sporran?  I think they differed by regiment.

      Further, the flash on the helmets appears to be a dark triangle with an even darker narrow strip across the bottom.  Presumably unique to this unit.

      This site IDs some Scottish flashes in the comments section.  Most appear to have been squares [not triangles] of tartan.

      http://www.militarysunhelmets.com/2012/helmet-flashes-in-the-british-army   The author of the site is Stuart Bates, an acknowledged expert on nineteenth century headdress.

    3. Not me.  I didn't actually collect anything at that point in my life.  Plus, I was with our version of Peace Corps and drawing a local salary, not the 'we have oil money' contract foreign teacher rate, so didn't actually have $$ for such things. 

       

      If the Coast Guard gents have facial scars, that makes them southerners or from 'middle belt' states but not likely Ibo or Yoruba and definitely not Hausa, who come from the semi-arid northern half of the country.  When I was there the Army was running the country and we had 3-4 Army sergeants stationed at our school, theoretically teaching PT and helping enforce discipline.  Two of them were Tiv and had prominent scars on both cheeks - 3 horizontal lines, if memory serves.

      Brought in by friends sounds familiar too.  In a country with no welfare, unemployment or most services we take for granted, you depend on your nuclear family, your extended family, your tribe and then the government for support.  So, if you get a good job - any job with a reliable salary, however low - you are expected to help your 'brothers' get the same.

       

    4. Caz

      Except for a couple of WWI medals, ,most of my early collection was composed of IGSMs to Indian troops, particularly cavalry, and I still find it a very attractive medal.  Also, the range of bars and the campaigns they represent is fabulous. 

      The '1919' bar  represented a huge uprising on the NWF, sparked, like the Mutiny before it, by rumours that the British Army had all been wiped out in Europe.  Some of the other bars were issued for very small, very short campaigns including one referred to - mostly by people who didn't qualify for that bar, I suspect - as the 'weekend war'.

      Alos, IMO, a nice understated ribbon, in keeping with the steady, stalwart but often under appreciated services of the IA.  Thanks for sharing!

      Peter

    5. Good morning and welcome to the GMIC!  I saw your post on Wednesday but didn't have anything useful to say except to ask if you've contacted the regimental museum.    [ https://www.cumbriasmuseumofmilitarylife.org/museum/the-border-regiment/ ]

      Based on just a quick look, it looks like a good one: somebody/ies have done some research and not just slapped some old badges and tunics up in cases.  So, I should think they'll be able to answer your query.  Or perhaps some of our more knowledgeable UK members can chip in here.

      Anyway, welcome and good luck!

      Peter

    6. First one, bottom row is the 'Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal', the second bottom row is the American Campaign Medal and the third is American Defence Medal.  

      The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (ACPM) was awarded to any member of the United States Armed Forces who service in the Pacific Theater during World War II. It was created on November 6th, 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 926.  Bronze stars on the ribbon indicate a second award/participation in a particular campaign or battle.  

      The Campaign Medal was also instituted in 1942 and awarded for "Service outside the U.S. in the American theater for 30 days, or within the continental United States (CONUS) for one year

      The Defence Medal was " intended to recognize those military service members who had served on active duty between September 8, 1939, and December 7, 1941."

      So, the wearer joined early or was in the services before the US declared war and saw active service in the Pacific/Asian theatre.

      I can't find anything which looks like the right hand ribbon, top row. :(

    7. " It was interesting to see that the GSW to the head was actually to the Eye as stated in another document....." 

      I spent considerable time reading Great War personnel records for a writing project I did a couple of years ago and 'GSW' seems to have been a  generic notation on first injury reports - those done by the SBs or Medical Officer when casualties were first treated.  It looks as if it was often used simply to separate 'penetrating wounds' from other types of injury and, in a number of cases I looked at was later amended to indicate whether the damage was done by shrapnel, a bullet or in some other manner. 

      Also, not uncommonly, first diagnoses simply record 'head', 'leg', 'back' and so on, with more specific anatomical notes - 'left thigh' for example, in subsequent treatment notes.

      Peter

    8. Marcon

      I phrased that badly.  You are correct: a medal awarded to civilians - which is what this is named as - would still technically count as a military award.  I simply had the stray thought that some list compilers would turn up their noses at such an award and not list it.  But perhaps that's fuzzy thinking.  It is indeed a puzzle.

      Still searching and I did find a long list of medals and awards by some of the 'stans' which existed under apartheid.  You can find the listy here and look through it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Merit_Medal_(South_Africa)

       

      Capture.JPG

    9. On 09/03/2020 at 22:42, Bayern said:

      My pleasure, WW1 Indian Army is a special matter of interest for me and is hard to find data about it

      Oh, absolutely.  Many many years ago a friend and I here in Canada formed the 'Indian Military Collector's Society'.  Our first newsletter included hand drawn pictures of badges with 'does anybody know...' queries.  We dropped out early on - careers and families, you know - but the Indian Military History Society is going strong and I think now has 500 or so members, with members drawn from serving and retired IA plus a few British Gurkha officers and lots of interested types like myself. 

      In the old days we had a number of Honorary Members, a status awarded to anyone who had served with the British Indian Army in WWII.  A very knowledgeable group [not me, I'm a dabbler] including General Sir John Chapple, Cliff Parrett and others. It was always my privilege to get the benefit of their knowledge and their generosity with their time, especially in the days when it involved paper, envelopes and stamps!  I assume you know about the IMHS and the The South Asian Military Heritage Group on Facebook, of which Captain Ashok Nath is a mainstay, occasionally has some interesting stuff.

      Peter

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