Laurence Strong

Thanks for that Tony Got to chauffer the missus around, but will post more later.

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, the second of the three reg forces inf Regt's, thhe third being the "Van Doo's" "Le Royal 22e Regiment" 2nd Bn PPCLI earn a Presidential Unit Citatiion along with the 3rd Bn RAR at Kapyong, which held open an escape route for the allies from Chinese encirclement, at one point the Pat's called in a "Danger Close' which brough arty fire down on themselves to keep from being overrun. I served with them as a Reserve Augmentee, when they went to croatia as Roto1 Op Harmony "The initial Chinese attack at Kapyong engaged the Australians then switched to the Canadian front. Wave after wave of massed Chinese troops kept up the attack throughout the night of 23 April. The Chinese had managed to infiltrate the brigade position by the morning of the 23rd. This resulted in Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry being completely surrounded. It had to be resupplied by air drops during this desperate time. By the evening of April 23 the Australian 27th and 29th Brigades were facing the Chinese 118th Division. Throughout April 24 the battle was unrelenting. It developed into hand-to-hand combat with bayonet charges. This was some of the bloodiest and most ferocious hand-to-hand fighting of the Korean War. The Australians were ordered to make an orderly fall back to new defensive positions late in the day of April 24. The Canadians held their position and defended stoutly until eventually the Chinese assault collapsed. By the afternoon of 25 April the road through to the Canadians had been cleared of Chinese at which time the 2nd Battalion of Princess Patricia?s Canadian Light Infantry was relieved by units of the United States Army. The actions by the Australian and Canadian forces prevented a massive breakthrough that would certainly have resulted in the fall of Seoul."

Hi Tony VRI That's the Imperial cypher of Queen Victoria "Victoria Regina Imperitious" (sp)

I got this from my Dad, I don't know the story behind it, but as he was from Nfld it must havve meant something to him, He was RNVR in the second war. It depict's the head of the Cariboo, and is the hat badge of the succesors of the Newfoundland Regiment, when they joined confederation in 1949.

Here's a little bit of history on the next one. At the time it was a member of the British army, 29 div 88 Bde to be exact: Almost immediately, the opening phase of the 29th Division?s attack began to falter under withering enemy fire. Confusion was compounded by poor communication. General de Lisle mistook German flares for a signal of success from the attacking 87th Brigade, and ordered the 88th Brigade to move, with the Essex and Newfoundland Regiments advancing ?as soon as possible.? But the Essex soldiers were unable to leave their trenches because of the large number of dead and wounded soldiers. Thus it was that the Newfoundlanders moved off on their own at 9:15 a.m., their objective the first and second line of enemy trenches, some 650 to 900 metres away. In magnificent order, practiced many times before, they moved down the exposed slope towards No Man?s Land, the rear sections waiting until those forward reached the required 40-metre distance ahead. No friendly artillery fire covered the advance. A murderous cross-fire cut across the advancing columns and men began to drop, at first not many but then in large numbers as they approached the first gaps in their own wire. Private Anthony Stacey, who watched the carnage from a forward trench with Lieutenant-Colonel Hadow, stated that ?[m]en were mown down in waves,"? and the gaps cut the night before were ?a proper trap for our boys as the enemy just set the sights of the machine guns on the gaps in the barbed wire and fired? (Stacey 17A). Doggedly, the survivors continued on towards The Danger Tree. ?The only visible sign that the men knew they were under this terrific fire,? wrote one observer, ?was that they all instinctively tucked their chins into an advanced shoulder as they had so often done when fighting their way home against a blizzard in some little outport in far off Newfoundland? (Raley 37?40). Few advanced beyond it. Stacey recalled that from his vantage point he ?could see no moving, but lots of heaps of khaki slumped on the ground? (Stacey 19). The few who did get to the German lines were horrified to discover that the week-long artillery barrage that preceded the attack had not cut the German barbed wire. This fact was known by commanders the night before, thanks to a report by a Newfoundland reconnaissance team. The news was dismissed on the grounds that it was due to the ?nervousness of men who were facing battle for the first time? (Gilham). As a consequence, the majority of the soldiers who reached the enemy trenches were killed, tangled in the uncut wire. In less than 30 minutes it was all over. At 9:45 a.m., Hadow, who had witnessed the annihilation of his regiment from a forward position, reported to Brigade Headquarters that the attack had failed. Incredibly, he was ordered to collect up any unwounded and resume the attack. Fortunately, wiser counsel prevailed and the order was countermanded. Throughout the day survivors attempted the long and dangerous journey back to their own lines, many being an easy target for enemy snipers and artillery fire. Ron Dunne lay wounded on the battlefield for several days. On the second day, convinced that he would soon die, his thoughts turned homeward to Bonavista Bay and his mother. ?I said me prayers,? he recalled, and then drifted off, unaware that rescue was on the way (Memorial). That night the search began for survivors. When the roll call was taken, only 68 responded. The full cost would not be known for several days. The final figures revealed that the regiment had been virtually wiped out: 710 killed, wounded or missing. Most were struck down before they reached beyond their own front line (Middlebrook 269).

Current day issue "Large", worn on Bussby's and on forage cap when it was issue clothing. Stamped and made out of alloy, very similar to current day British hat badges.

Pre unification Officer's Brown Forage cap badge, there is a rivet thru the wheel, but this one does not turn

Boy you sure can see the Brasso up close Here's a Kings Crown, probably circa 1940's

Next is the RCA, identical to the Uk and the rest fo the members of the "Royal Regiment of Artillery", the largest regiment in the world. This is a brass Queens crown I picked up at a surplus store, in place of the cheap plastic/alloy badge that is issue. Note the cotter pin I use as a retainer

Here's a view of some of my Canadian items. I hope you enjoy the show. I am in the procces of catalouging my items, it will be ongoing for a while to get through it all. First are the hat badges l wore. The Royal Canadian Regiment, Canadas oldest serving Regular Force line regiment, one of only three on the role at present. It's battle honours include Saskatchewan, Northwest Canada 1885, Paardeburg South Africa 1899-1900 amongst them also Siberia 1918-19

The buttons, made by Assmann.

The reverse

Here's a set of sewin SB's for a Oberleutnant zur See

The reverse. Thats it for now, I have some more in the mail somewhere, and I will post them when they get here. Thanks for looking Opinions and comments welcome

Panzergrenadier Oberleutnant sewin

The reverse

Signals Leutnant sewin

The reverse

Arty slip on SB's

the reverse

Arty Collar tabs

reverse. With the nicer set of Medical collar tabs, these make a nice set together

Medical Hauptmann slipon SB's

the reverse. Thats all for the momment. I will post the meger few remains in a bit - Dog wants a walk -

An Infantry Signal Bliitz