The Armourer 2018-12

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100 DAYS TO Follow the final, triumphal Allied offensive of WWI then collect the medals and militaria

Samurai weapons The way of the warrior elite

Hall’s legacy The collectable breechloader rifles

Persian adventure Victorian officers mapping Asia

American war toys

Victory china

Nurses of Vietnam

The games and gadgets that kept the kids entertained

Pottery to commemorate the end of war

Administering medical aid on the front line

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MILITARY HISTORY // EVENTS // AUCTIONS // COLLECTING

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PRESENTS A

PREMIERE FIREARMS AUCTION

OVER 2700 LOTS

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Robert M. Lee ∙ Larry Jones ∙ Allan Cors ∙ Robert E. Petersen As well as, Dick Hammer, Robert Ferro, Bill Kramer, the Estate of Clark Stodgell, G. Thomas Puett, Cam Cogsdill, the Pachmayr Estate Collection, the Matt Eastman Collection, the Dr. Alan Maki Collection, the Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection, General Crosbie E. Saint, USA Ret. Collection and the Bruce Leven Estate sold to beneit The Bufalo Bill Center Of The West

Extremely Rare Documented Experimental Briggs Patent Henry Lever Action Rile

Extremely Rare Engraved and Relief Carved 18th Century Multi-Shot Barrel Reservoir Repeating “Flintlock” Air Pistol by Kolbe, London

Very Fine and Elaborately Acid Etched and Gilded Dumouthier Patent Double Barrel Knife Pistol with Scabbard Cased Pair of Gold Inlaid and Engraved C.L. Witte Percussion Pistols with Iowa History

Incredibly Fine Engraved and Relief Carved Pair of English “Flintlock” Barrel Reservoir Air Pistols by Edward Bate of London Formerly in the Collection of the Dukes of Atholl, Blair Castle, Scotland

Scarce Pair of Engraved Girandoni System Pneumatic Repeating Air Pistols by J. Fruwirth of Vienna

Exhibition Quality Pair of Belgian Engraved, Gold Inlaid, and Carved Percussion Pistols with Accessories

Incredibly Rare Andreas Weschgin Silver Accented, Engraved, and Carved Brass Barreled “Flintlock” Barrel Reservoir Air Gun

Exceptional Pre-War of 1812/Napoleonic War Era Georgian British Bronze Light 6 Pounder Field Gun Dated 1797 by J. & H. King

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Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH Tel: 01778 391000 Fax: 01778 392422 Publisher Rob McDonnell [email protected] Editor Duncan Evans [email protected] Tel: 01778 391103 Head of Design and Production Lynn Wright

ADVERTISING Auction House Sales Executive Kristina Green [email protected] Tel: 01778 390296 Multi Media Sales Executive Danielle Warr [email protected] Tel: 01778 391129 Advertising Production & Design Nicola Lock [email protected] Tel: 01778 392420

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DISTRIBUTION Warners Distribution Andy Perry Tel: 01778 391152 Cover image: Men of Iron, a National Guard Heritage painting by Den Troiani, courtesy of the National Guard Bureau This publication is printed by Warners 01778 395111

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01778 392489 Annual subscription from £49.99 Buy a digital edition at www.pocketmags.com/armourer Keep up to date on Facebook www.facebook.com/armourermagazine Follow us on Twitter @The_Armourer Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All rights reserved. Dates, information and prices quoted are believed to be correct at time of going to press but are subject to change and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. Neither the editor nor the publisher accept responsibility for any material submitted, whether photographic or otherwise. While we endeavour to ensure that firms and organisations mentioned are reputable, the Editor can give no guarantee that they will fulfil their obligations under all circumstances. Whilst every care has been taken to compile current valuations, the publishers cannot accept liability for loss, financial or otherwise, incurred by reliance placed on the information herein. Quoted prices are indicative and are for illustrative purposes only. Always seek expert advice with regard to valuations. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed by contributors and advertisers are not necessarily those of the publishers. Every care is taken to ensure that the contents of the magazine are accurate but the publishers cannot accept responsibility for errors. While reasonable care is taken when accepting advertisements, the publishers cannot accept any responsibility for any resulting unsatisfactory transactions. They will however investigate any written complaints.

Welcome T

he final year of WWI turned out to be the most dynamic and tumultuous of the entire war. The previous years of crippling losses and marginal gains became a thing of the past as first the German Spring offensive pushed the Allies right to the brink and then the arrival of up to two million Americans and the combination of artillery, planes and tanks enabled the Allies to retake lost ground and shatter the Kaiser’s forces. In our cover feature this month we recount the last 100 days of the war and how combined arms attacks changed the face of warfare. In supporting features we look at Belgian medals, the secret armistice arrangements and commemorative victory pottery. Of course, the end of the war is also being commemorated by the Government’s First World War Centenary programme, as well as by the 14-18 NOW artistic programme. On 11 November, up to 10,000 people will march past the Cenotaph, a people’s procession to offer a nation’s thanks to those who served and fell. There won’t be any veterans of course, the last veteran who fought in the trenches was Harry Patch, who lived to the incredible age of 111 and passed on in July 2009, just over nine years ago. As a child, I remembered the processions past the Cenotaph on 11 November, where the veterans, even then, were old men and women, but the WWII veterans were middle-aged people, the kind of folk who were still working in businesses, in banks, your local shop. At the time though, there were little appetite for celebrating their sacrifice because, typical of that generation,

they saw it as just doing their job, because if they didn’t then who would? Their bravery and humility should be templates for future generations of children, but instead schools and the education system seemed more inclined to promote a sense of post-colonial guilt. Fortunately, we are now in an era where such sacrifice is being recognised and commemorated, even if idiots and those with a false sense of entitlement and ability to feel offended are trying to whitewash history at military events, particularly re-enactments. These people must be countered and opposed wherever they are found. Going back to the WWI veterans though. Some years later, it struck me, at another 11 November procession, just how ancient the WWI vets now looked. Their haggard, grey faces spoke of horrors that no-one in their right mind would want to experience. But there were ever fewer of them. I said to my wife at the time, another few years and there won’t be any of them left to march. And so, as time rolled inexorably on, that came to pass. Now we celebrate and commemorate their memory and trace their achievements through photographs, records, medals, uniforms, weapons and militaria. So, when the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month comes around, as the guns fell silent at last, 100 years ago, I hope that wherever you are, you’ll join with me in spending two minutes in silent remembrance.

Duncan Evans • Editor

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Visit www.armourer.co.uk www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Contents

WIN!

Inside DECEMBER 2018 // ISSUE 160

102 31

55

48

16 Military Odyssey

REGULARS

Duncan Evans headed back to Kent to find the sunshine had left but an entertaining militaria show covering everything from Vikings to the Eastern Front remained.

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Welcome

What the Editor has to say about this issue, where the tide turned in WWI and the Allies began a 100 day onslaught that shattered German resistance.

19 Under the hammer

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News

What’s happening in the world of militaria, museums, exhibitions, collections and events. This month there's a new commemoration to a wartime officer who saved thousands of Jews in WWII, the hunt for a missing VC and a new model of the Spitfire from Airfix.

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FEATURES arms and armour 31 Samurai

EVENTS

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Discover what has been sold at recent auctions, including the final part of the Peter Wainwright collection at Cowans, medals and militaria at Gorringes, and medals and headgear at Richard Winterton.

Author Antony Cummins takes a look at the relationship of Japan’s warrior elite to their armour and weapons.

In the sale rooms

Discover what’s coming up for auction, with orders and medals at DNW, historic shotguns at Gavin Gardiner, amazing arms and armour at Hermann Historica.

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36 American toy story

Gerald Prenderghast rounds off our look at the toys of children in wartime with a view from across the Atlantic on games and toys produced in America.

46German Gasplane 16 4

December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

Ian Carpenter examines an item of gas defence carried by the German soldier during World War II.

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REGULAR COVER FEATURES

22100 days to victory

COVER STORY

The Spring Offensive ran out of steam, the Americans arrived and the Allied forces deployed overwhelming troops, tanks and planes. It’s climactic end to WWI with the final 100 days.

awards 41Belgian

Peter Duckers looks at collecting the medals awarded by Belgium to Belgian and British troops for the fighting from 1914 to 1918.

World War I is full of symbolism, as Edward Hallett discovers.

60 Victory

china

Armistice 71Secret

Commemorative pottery produced to mark the end of

48

Vietnam nurses

Behind the scenes with the young American women, mostly in their 20s, who served in front line medical facilities in Vietnam, by John C Pursley.

stories: Todger Jones 52War

Neil Thornton recounts the incredible story of a solitary private who was awarded a VC for storming an enemy position capturing over 100 German soldiers in WWI.

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MBG: John Hall’s legacy

John Walter traces the development of some of the breechloaders that originated in the USA prior to the beginning of the Civil War.

Baker and Gill’s big 65 adventure Frank Jastrzembski recounts the gruelling mission of two British officers on a mission to reconnoitre Northeast Persia during The Great Game.

Graham Caldwell

The Aleutian 77 campaign Cynthia J. Notti tells the story of the battle for the Aleutian Islands which were occupied by the Japanese in the only fighting on American soil in WWII.

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Three of the best

Gavin Gardiner takes 98 a look at three of his favourite sporting guns to have come under the auctioneer’s hammer, from shooting royalty to guns from actual royalty.

Photo Inspector 88The

Ray Westlake runs through the uniform of a soldier from the Cambridgeshire Regiment (Territorial Force).

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recounts the secret arrangements put in place by the Allies’ Marshal Foch to negotiate the end of hostilities on the Western Front.

SIGNALS

91Reviews

Duncan Evans takes a look at the latest releases including Europe in Flames, The Great War Illustrated: 1918 and Operation Market Garden.

96 Auction Diary

Don’t miss that musthave militaria. It’s your diary dates and locations for upcoming auctions and fairs.

98 Militaria gifts

It’s the season of giving, or rewarding yourself, as Duncan Evans invites you to peruse his list of militaria-themed gifts.

100Your letters

Have your say on collecting militaria, features in the magazine and identifying mysterious objects.

102Competition

It’s your chance to win the entire fantastic series of The Great War Illustrated, from 1914 to 1918.

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SELLING YOUR MILITARIA? Warwick and Warwick have an expanding requirement for British and Worldwide uniforms, edged weapons, badges, headgear, firearms, antique arms/armour and militaria. Our customer base is increasing dramatically and we need an ever larger supply of quality material to keep pace with demand. The market has never been stronger and if you are considering the sale of your militaria, now is the time to act.

FREE VALUATIONS We will provide a free, professional and without obligation valuation of your collection. Either we will make you a fair, binding private treaty offer, or we will recommend inclusion of your property in our next specialist public auction.

FREE TRANSPORTATION We can arrange insured transportation of your collection to our Warwick offices completely free of charge. If you decline our offer, we ask you to cover the return carriage costs only.

FREE VISITS Visits possible anywhere in the or abroad, Visitsby byour ourvaluers valuersareare possible anywhere in country the country or abroad, inusually order to assess more valuable collections. Please phone for details. within 48 hours, in order to value larger collections.

Please telephone for details.

ADVISORY DAYS We are staging a series of advisory days and will be visiting the following towns within the next few weeks, Guisborough, Huddersfield, Tamworth, Weymouth, Yeovil, Stevenage, Redditch, Ross on Wye, Sevenoaks,Harlow, Tavistock, Tiverton, Bridgnorth, Spalding, Wakefield, Rotherham and Newark.

Please visit our website or telephone for further details.

EXCELLENT PRICES Because of the strength of our customer base we are in a position to offer prices that we feel sure will exceed your expectations.

ACT NOW Telephone or email Richard Beale today with details of your property.

Warwick & Warwick Ltd. Auctioneers and Valuers Chalon House, Scar Bank, Millers Road, Warwick CV34 5DB Tel: 01926 499031 Fax: 01926 491906 E-mail: [email protected] www.warwickandwarwick.com

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militarianews

Duncan Evans reports on what’s happening in the world of military history and collecting COMMEMORATION

Statue for officer who saved Jews in WWII A statue honouring an Army intelligence officer for his role in saving the lives of thousands of Jewish people at the start of World War II has been unveiled by Prince William. Major Frank Foley commanded an infantry company of the 1st Battalion the Hertfordshire Regiment and was

BOOKS

1918: The Decisive Year New book from Richard van Emden documents the final year of WWI in the words and photos of the soldiers themselves. 1918 proved to be the Allies’ year of victory, but what a monumental effort it was. From the moment Germany launched its all-out Spring offensive to win the war, British and Empire troops fought a tenacious and often last-ditch rearguard action. The Germans gambled with their best, battlehardened men in one desperate offensive after another, searching

later with the 2nd/6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment during World War I, during which time he was mentioned in despatches. He escaped from a POW camp in Germany and, after WWI, was recruited by the Intelligence Corps. In the years leading up to World War II he ran MI6’s Berlin station.

Under cover as a passport control officer he helped thousands of Jews escape from Nazi Germany by bending and breaking the rules to issue visas needed by Jewish people to get to Britain or Britishcontrolled Palestine. Foley became known as the ‘British Schindler’ and was officially recognised as

a British hero of the Holocaust. He was awarded the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George CMG (order of chivalry) in 1941. Major Foley retired to Stourbridge in 1949 and died there in 1958, aged 73. Major Louise Smith, Officer Commanding 63 Military Intelligence Company, said, “This is a proud day for our Army intelligence unit to be associated with such an incredibly brave officer as Major Foley. The skills that he had to employ to help thousands of people escape Nazi Germany, namely courage, selfless commitment and loyalty, are the same values that our military intelligence officers show today.” The statue is a man in a trilby hat, sitting on a bench, which can also be used by the public. It can be found in Mary Stevens Park, Stourbridge. ■

for a decisive breakthrough that never came. In those dark days of March, April and May 1918, Allied troops were tested as never before, their morale placed under microscopic scrutiny, their will to win examined and re-examined. Once again, the soldiers tell their story, giving their own perceptive thoughts and profoundly moving insights while never forgetting the humour that helped them survive. And when the tables were turned in August, there began a campaign that would throw the enemy across the old ruptured battlefields of 1916 and 1917 and beyond, into open untouched countryside in the full bloom of summer. It took 100 days of relentless fighting to reach Mons,

the Belgian town where it had all started four years before. A century on, bestselling World War I historian Richard van Emden builds on the success of his previous books, The Somme and The Road to Passchendaele, with this next volume including an extraordinary collection of soldiers’ photographs taken on their illegallyheld cameras. Utilising an unparalleled collection of memoirs, diaries and letters written by the men who fought, Richard tells the riveting story of

1918, when decisive victory was grasped from near catastrophe. The book costs £25 and is available from Pen & Sword, ISBN 978-1-5267-3555-3. ■

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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News MEDALS

Hunt for a missing VC The Fusilier Museum, Bury has launched an international appeal to find a missing Victoria Cross (VC) medal which is to be included in a new exhibition to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War I. The exhibition entitled 18 for 18 which is due to open in October is anticipated to include all 18 Victoria Crosses which were awarded to the Lancashire Fusiliers during the Great War. If successful in their search it will be the first time ever in 100 years that all 18 VCs have been together and on display in one place. The museum currently has six Victoria Crosses in its collection, eight will be kindly loaned to the museum from Lord Ashcroft’s private collection of VCs which is the largest collection of its kind in the world and currently on display at the Imperial War Museum. Three of the medals are still in private ownership and will be loaned to the museum for the duration of the exhibition. The missing medal belonged to Lieutenant Colonel Bertram Best-Dunkley (3 August 1890 – 5 August 1917). Best-Dunkley

was a temporary LieutenantColonel in the 2/5th Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers. World War I on 31 July 1917 at Wieltje, Belgium, he was in command of his battalion when they came under attack with machine gun fire at close range. Lt-Col BestDunkley dashed forward, rallied his leading waves, and personally led them to the assault of these positions, which, despite heavy losses, were carried. He was awarded the VC for bravery and devotion to duty but sadly later died from serious wounds a few days later. The missing medal was sold through two auction houses in South Africa. It was sold to Kaplans in November 1982 and to Chimperie Agencies in August 1984. Finally it came up for a private sale in June 1986 through Spinks in the UK. As it was a private sale there are no records of who it was who sold the medal or where it went. Sarah Stevenson, Collections Officer at the Fusilier Museum said, “The location of the missing Best–Dunkley medal is a mystery. It seems to have

vanished but someone must know of its whereabouts or still be in procession of it. This is an ambitious, global search to try and find the missing medal but we are determined to succeed so it can take its rightful place alongside the other, 17 VCs in the exhibition.”

Lord Ashcroft KCMG, PC said, “I am delighted that the eight VCs from my collection will be seen and appreciated by a wide audience at the Fusilier Museum. One of the key reasons that I have built up the world's largest VC collection is to champion acts of outstanding bravery and this exhibition will achieve this. I wish the Fusilier Museum the best of luck in its attempts to locate the 18th and final VC that was awarded to the Lancashire Fusiliers during the Great War.” The Fusilier Museum in Bury, Lancashire, is home to the collections of XX The Lancashire Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Documenting over 300 years of history and heritage through permanent and temporary exhibitions, the Museum tells the rich and fascinating stories of the people who have served and continue to service in the Regiments. Anyone with any information about the missing VC should contact Sarah Stevenson, Collections Officer at the Fusilier Museum on sarah.stevenson@ fusiliermuseum.com. ■

ground forces. It’s in that last role – the Sea King Mk7 Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) helicopter – that an aircraft designed in the late 1950s, flew its final operational mission earlier this year.

The Sea King Mk7 ASaC helicopters, known throughout the Royal Navy as Bagger, have been the eyes in the sky of the Navy since 2002, searching for aerial threats to the Fleet or suspicious movements on the ground in support of land forces. They owe their nickname due to the distinctive inflatable black sack or bag on the side of each helicopter. Inside that sack is the cutting-edge Searchwater 2000 radar capable of remarkably-accurate detection of surface and air targets. Once enemy units are detected, the helicopter’s observers can direct friendly air, sea or ground forces to intercept. The Baggers have got an impressive operational history, having delivered successfully in

many conflicts in areas including the Gulf and in Afghanistan where during their five year mission, they carried out over 2,000 operational sorties in temperatures ranging between 55˚C and -15˚C. However, the airframes are old. Therefore, the capability that the Baggers have delivered, will soon be transferred to the more modern Merlin Mk2 helicopters under a project called Crowsnest. This will be fitted to maritime Merlin Mk2 helicopters, based at RNAS Culdrose, which already perform a number of important roles for the Royal Navy, including hunting for submarines. Crowsnest will provide a vital intelligence, surveillance and tracking system for the new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, capable of detecting any potential threats at sea. ■

EQUIPMENT

Sea King flies into history After almost 50 years of active operations, the last military Sea King helicopters flying in the United Kingdom, left RNAS Culdrose for retirement at the end of September. This very special aircraft has played a vital role in many operational conflicts including the Falklands, Iraq, the Balkans, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. During the past 49 years, the Sea King helicopter has been used for anti-submarine warfare, search-and-rescue missions, carrying Royal Marines Commandos into action and has provided airborne early warning and intelligence to the Fleet and

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December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

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Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria Forthcoming Auctions 5th and 6th December 2018 27th and 28th February 2019 8th and 9th May 2019 17th and 18th July 2019 25th and 26th September 2019 4th and 5th December 2019

www.dnw.co.uk 16 Bolton Street Mayfair London W1J 8BQ Telephone 020 7016 1700 Fax 020 7016 1799 E-mail [email protected]

News MODELS

MILITARIA FAIR

New model from Airfix

Extra date for Newark

Airfix has revealed that a model of the Griffon-powered, latewar Spitfire will be released for 2019. The kit will be a newly tooled example of the Fighter/ Reconnnaissance version of the Spitfire Mk. XIV in 1/48th scale, arguably the most purposeful and aggressive looking of all the Spitfires produced. With its slightly longer nose and larger tail section, the Mk. XIV’s appearance is dominated by the massive five-bladed Rotol propeller which could drag this Griffon-powered beast to speeds in excess of 390 mph (when using 150

The Newark Militaria Fair has a new date in the diary for the show formerly known as the Northern Military Expo. If you’re looking for some post-Christmas spending, ignore the sales and their tawdry wares and head for Newark instead. The Newark Militaria Fair has a new date at the Newark County Showground on 13th January 2019. This is an indoor show just off the A1/A46 junction, in the Lady Eastwood Hall. Open from 9am until 3pm with free parking and an indoor café. There will be up to 100 trade stalls selling militaria from military vehicles, books, manuals, vehicle parts, uniforms, ‘40s fashion, radios, medals, models, guns, accessories and more. Admission is £5 per person. Also, you can sell your vehicle as there’s a special parking area to display and sell your vehicle for just £20 for the day. Other dates for 2019 at Newark include 28 April and 3 November. For more information (traders and public) visit www. northernmilitaryexpo.co.uk. ■

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octane fuel) and turned it into an extremely effective V-1 killer. Although retaining the centre section and classic lines of the cultured Spitfire, the Mk. XIV was something of its big brother For an aircraft with such an impressive appearance as the Spitfire Mk. XIV, the larger, 1/48th scale will help to give a greater appreciation and how it must have been a fearsome aircraft to face in combat. Representing a significant stage in the development of the famous Spitfire, the new Airfix 1/48th scale FR Mk.XIV is the first new tooling announcement from the forthcoming Airfix 2019 kit range of models. ■

December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

End of the Great War Centenary Auction Including the inal part of the Michael Baldwin Imperial German Militaria Collection

Tuesday 6th November 2018

Auction Location: he Spa Hotel, Mount Ephraim, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 8XJ, England Please contact our Military Specialist Matthew Tredwen for more information

Tel: +44 (0) 1233 510050 Email: [email protected]

www.candtauctions.co.uk

Gilt Bronze Mounted Flintlock Pistols Provenance: Ettersburg Castle Collection To be offered May 1, 2019

Historic Firearms and Early Militaria

Contact: Jack Lewis [email protected] 1.513.871.1670 x227 6270 Este Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45232

Now Accepting Consignments for 2019 Premier Auctions

BRINGING EXCEPTIONAL OBJEC TS TO SOPHISTICATED BUYERS

cowans.com

EVENTS

In the sale rooms The weapons, uniforms, medals and militaria coming up for auction

Antique arms at Hermann Historica The forthcoming auction at Hermann Historica will feature weapons and modern militaria as well as an extensive antique arms and armour section. In this part is a treasure trove of ancient artefacts. Let’s start with a solidhilted, late Bronze Age (12th11th century BC) bronze sword of the Liptau type, commonly found in the northern regions of South East Europe. Starting price is €4,000. Even more tasty is a bronze, solid-hilted sword of Mörigan type, late Bronze age, 9th century BC. The blade has a three-stage, medium curvature, all stages separated by fine lines. Starting price is €8,000. To keep out the blows from pointy weapons you need armour and this three piece set of Persian armour, chiselled and inlaid in gold from the first half of the 19th century is certainly impressive. There’s a helmet (kulah khud), a shield (sipar) and a forearm guard (bazu band).

The skull of the helmet is forged in one piece, with an offset, forge-welded brim. The riveted crown plate has a screw-mounted, quadrangular spike. The movable nasal bar features a locking screw, flanked by two iron plume sockets. Lavish, chiselled décor with depictions of mounted huntsmen and

falconers, a border of calligraphic cartouches along the lower edge. Starting price is €15,000. Even more spectacular is a set of North German officer’s black and white half armour, c. 1570. The skull of the burgonet is forged in two pieces. The high edge is turned and roped, with gadrooned ornamentation hammered on both sides of the skull. The tapering peak has a turned and roped edge. The attached cheek pieces open on

a hinge and the neck guard is forged in one piece. The gorget features a ridged breastplate. Dig deep, starting price is €18,000. A little easier on the pocket is a South German, black and white burgonet, c. 1580. The skull of this is forged in one piece, with a tall, roped comb. It has a hammered linear ornament on each side. The tapering peak features a prominent turned and roped edge. Bids start at €3,000. Another piece worth a look is a Polish or Hungarian articulated breastplate, c. 1600-1602. This has a ridged breastplate drawn out to a slight central point and sliding on nine lames. The movable articulated armgussets have pronounced roped flanges struck inwards. There are profuse black etchings with an ornamentation of stars and leafy vines. Height is 45cm overall. The price starts at €3,000. Go to www.hermann-historica.com for details of over 2,000 lots. ■

Gavin Gardiners December guns Gavin Gardiner’s December sale of Modern and Vintage Guns on December 12th at Sotheby’s is will include a good selection of fine English and European guns. Among the notable items is a Fine 20-Bore Supreme Deluxe model, self-opening sidelock ejector gun by A. A. Brown & Sons. Engraved with Celtic strap work around highly detailed scenes of game birds in flight, the maker confirms that the gun was ordered in July 1994. It was engraved by W. Marshall, of Scotland, and it was completed in July 1996. The gun appears relatively little used. It is

estimated at £8,000£12,000. Elsewhere, a composed pair of 12-bore backlock ejector guns by J. Blanch & Son is estimated at £2,500-£3,500. The sale will also include a private collection of over 50 heritage handguns. There are many rare and unusual pieces in the group including a scarce Webley & Scott 9mm 1909 model self loading pistol. Produced for a very short period, little over 1600 examples are

known to have been built before production ceased in 1914. The estimate is between £800-£1,200. A scarce Colt .38 model 1900 self-loading is another important piece, being the first self-loading pistol designed for Colt by John M Browning. This early example remains in good condition, and the model was only in production for just over two years so examples are scarce today. It also carries an estimate of £800-£1,200. A rare Colt .455 New Service Target model is included in the collection, being produced only

for the English market and being a favoured model with Bisley marksmen prior to WWI. This example has Metford rifling in the barrel and carries an estimate of £500-£800. More details at www.gavingardiner. com com. ■

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Auction preview Badges and medals at Bosleys Bosleys 7 November auction comprises over 800 lots including a rare WWI Distinguished Service Medal group awarded to Colour Sergeant Frederick George Chapman who served with the Royal Marine Brigade at Antwerp in 1914. His group includes the Royal Navy Long Service Medal and a rare example of the Naval Meritorious Service Medal. A WWI Military Cross awarded to an Officer attached to the 2nd Leeds Pals is accompanied by a good selection of original postcards and ephemera. Moving onto WWII, there is a Polish Army Monte Cassino Military Cross group awarded to The Commanding Officer of the 5th Field Ambulance Company of the 5th Polish Corps. Medals of the Victorian campaigns are

represented by a number of items awarded to Officers including a scarce Abyssinia, Afghanistan 1878 Medal pair to an Officer of the 2nd Punjab Regiment The Great War section features an attributed 10th Bn Royal Scots 1902 Pattern Other Rank’s trench tunic, a rare Officer’s ‘Cor Blimey’ cap worn by an Officer of the

Yorkshire Hussars and original Tank Drivers face mask. Fighting knife collectors will see the first part of a fine collection of Fairbairn-Sykes Commando fighting knives. These include a very good 1st pattern, variations of the 2nd pattern plus an unusual period miniature tradesman sample of the 1st

pattern knife. WWII SOE collectors will find a number of original items including: a spring cosh, and dart firing pen with a selection of original needles. Scottish collectors will find examples of the Highland pattern broadsword, including a Wilkinson Sword Crimean War example, Regimentally marked officer’s dirks, officer’s dirk belts, plaid brooches, shoulder belt plates and bonnet badges. Late arrivals include a fine selection of British colonial badges, 1915 silver hallmarked Tyneside Scottish Officer’s glengarry badge and a very good example of a WWII period SAS qualification wing. Bosleys 2019 dates are listed at www.bosleys.co.uk. ■

Orders and decorations at DNW

The 5 December auction at Dix Noonan Webb will offer a range of medals, orders and decorations. First up, let’s have a look at some of the medals. There’s a fine Guelphic Medal pair awarded to Corporal William Decke, 1st Hussars, King’s German Legion, for gallantry at Coimbra in October 1810, when he and three comrades were entirely cut off following a French charge but boldly cut their way through. Estimate is £4,000+. An estimate of £3,000-£3,600 is all it might take to bag a real haul of a particularly fine Afghanistan 1919 CBE, and Relief of Kut 1916 immediate

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DSO group of 10 awarded to Colonel ME ‘Doppers’ DoppingHepenstal, 1st KGVO Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment). He was wounded three times, badly burnt rescuing soldiers from a fire in France, and four times mentioned in despatches. The medals and awards include: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, CBE (Military) Commander’s 1st type neck badge, silver-gilt and enamels; Distinguished Service Order, GVR, complete with top suspension brooch; India General Service 1895-1902, two clasps, ‘Punjab Frontier 1897-98’, ‘Waziristan 1901-2’; 1914-15 Star; British War and Victory Medals, with MID. oak leaf; India General Service

December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

1908-35, three clasps, ‘Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919’, ‘Waziristan 1919-21’, ‘Waziristan 1921-24’; Delhi Durbar 1911; Jubilee 1935; and French Croix de Guerre 1914 1918. Next, on to a well documented Crimea and Mutiny veteran’s campaign group of four awarded to Colour Sergeant GW Evernden, Rifle Brigade. The four medals include ones for Crimea 1854-56 with a clasp for ‘Sebastopol’; Indian Mutiny 1857-59 with a clasp for ‘Lucknow’; India General Service 1854-95 with a clasp for ‘North West Frontier’; Turkish Crimea, British issue medal, engraved naming, plugged with Crimea-style suspension, all with contemporary silver top-riband

buckles, and slightly frayed contemporary ribands. The estimate is £2,600-£3,000. Who can resist a bit of Waterloo? This Waterloo 1815 medal was awarded to Richard Day, 2nd Battalion, 95th Regiment Foot. It has a replacement silver clip but is described as very fine, with an estimate of £1,800-£2,200. Just as famous is the Crimea campaign so what about this corker, a single Crimea 185456 medal with four clasps for ‘Alma’, ‘Balaklava’, ‘Inkermann’ and ‘Sebastapol’ to E Young of the Household Artillery. Described as very fine the estimate is £600-£700. ■

EST.1881

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Show report

Military Odyssey Duncan Evans journeys through 2,000 years of history at the most varied militaria event of the year

W

ell that endless summer actually had to end at some point, as visitors to Military Odyssey in Kent found out on the Saturday of the August bank holiday weekend. A deluge dampened spirits but by Monday everyone had dried out and the re-enactors from across history were giving it their all – from hacking away with swords and shields, to firing American Civil War cannons and then re-enacting a battle from the Eastern Front in WWII. Military Odyssey has a couple of

Armed groups of warriors were hacking g away in mock battle or creating livin ents history in their encampm

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December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

advantages over War & Peace which was held a month earlier – the main ground area has a concrete path so it doesn’t get churned up into mud and it’s wheelchair friendly. Plus, the main militaria stalls and the refreshment area are both in large halls so if the weather does go all British there’s somewhere to take refuge. Dodging the weather though, was not the attraction, it was the sheer variety of representations over the weekend so that whatever your area of interest there was bound to be something of interest to see. The Burma Mule chaps were back again, complete

with actual mules, and they were worth chatting to about the achievements of the Chindits. The WWII home front had its own little area – with a number of the displays simply moving from down the road at War & Peace. There was an interesting American Civil War battle in a wood that drew people in to watch, while the upsurge of interest in the Gulf War/Afghanistan saw some impressive displays. There were also the usual Vietnam-era displays with a Huey available to clamber inside and The Diehards provided some Victorian British Army colour. An interesting twist was a display from Tobruk – but it

Roll out the big guns for the very loud demonstration of cannon fire from thes e re-enactors

gaining More modern display are ons from the ati popularity with represent tan Gulf War and Afghanis

EVENTS wasn’t the British or Australians, these were the Afrika Korps. There were also couple of displays that I hadn’t seen before. The first was a young lady warbling away to represent ENSA – the entertainment for the troops while another stand had reenactors explaining the role of the ATS in WWII. Of course, the big action was down

on the battleground – wheelchair users would need strong arms to get up and down the hill – and here there were some impressive large scale reenactments. As it’s basically an entire, oblong-shaped field it’s better suited than the more limited battleground at War & Peace. Anyway, the Eastern Front display was suitably impressive with soldiers scurrying along,

pyrotechnics and heavy armour rumbling up and down. As a show Military Odyssey never feels packed, even though it can host up to 100,000 people over the weekend. There are plenty of facilities to eat and drink and lots to see and also enough militaria stands to ensure you come back home with something new for your collection. ■

i

EVENT INFORMATION

MILITARY ODYSSEY Prices are already confirmed as follows for 2019. Entrance: £17 on the gate, £15.50 pre-paid; Children (5-15) - £10 or £9.50 pre-paid; Seniors (60+) - £14 or £13 pre-paid; Family ticket (two adults, two children) - £48; Camping £45, with electric hookup - £69 Location: The Kent Showground, Detling, Kent Next show: 24-26 August 2019 Website: www.military-odyssey.com

the Soviet Over on the battleground the Germans g forces had finished routin on the Eastern Front

If you go down to the woods today you’ ll find a Civil War re-enactment taking place in the treeline

a number of German re-enactors had nds next to his displays. Here a soldier sta ecar BMW motorbike and sid

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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EVENTS

Under the hammer Duncan Evans reports on the latest militaria sold at auctions around the country

Peter Wainwright collection at Cowans Late September saw the Historic Firearms and Militaria Collection of Peter Wainwright go under the hammer at Cowan’s Auctions. Highlights for firearms included a very rare William III flintlock musket featuring a 46in barrel with British Ordnance Board stamps at the breech, an iron trigger guard, nail-fastened brass buttplate which sold for $16,450; a matchlock arquebuss with an extremely long barrel, rare fishtail butt, elaborate period carving and an oak stock that made $13,513; a rare and most desirable late 17th-century brass barrel English flintlock blunderbuss pistol by George Fisher that sold for $3,173; a very fine and elegant Dutch wheellock holster pistol, attributed to Jan Knoop Utrecht, 1615 – 1688 – it sold for $8,813. Coming in below estimate, but still making a hefty

$9,988, was a Queen Anne period Sea Service Musket with Ordnance marks and the cypher of Queen Anne but missing a serial number. Now, regular readers will know John Walter has talked about the gun production at Harpers Ferry in recent issues of the Men Behind the Gun series and this auction featured a Harpers Ferry Model 1805 flintlock horseman’s pistol. It sold for $5,288. There were a number of powder

flasks up for grabs – notable sales being a rare eagle powder flash with cross pistols that made $529; a 3in, small, silver-plated fluted flask that made $1,175; and a small dolphin flask that sold for $764. Unsurprisingly, a Springfield, US Model 1855 pistol carbine in a period case featuring arsenal bright finish, Maynard patent tape priming lock with standard Springfield markings and dated 1856 beat its estimate, coming

in at $10,575. Another American revolver, a Colt 3rd Model Navy revolver, attributed to Private William J Mills, featuring a case with hardened finish, silver-plated brass backstrap and trigger guard, varnished ‘Slim-Jim’ walnut grip, matching serial numbers throughout went for $8,813. For something a bit more pointy, how about a US Navy Pattern 1917 cutlass and scabbard for $881. It featured a 25in curved blade with 4.75in hilt with chequered wood scales and sheet iron basket guard. Ricasso marked ‘U.S.N.’, blued finish, black leather scabbard with frog. Meanwhile, longer and straighter, with a 32.25in spear point blade, full-basket guard with Edward VII's royal cypher in the knuckle bow, a British Pattern 1897 Royal Warwickshire Regimental Officer’s Sword went for $510. ■

Gorringes weekly sale It used to be that items of militaria lumped in with a general auction sale often went under the radar and the dedicated collector could snap up some bargains. Thanks to internet cataloguing and online bidding, complete with searches and auction alerts, very little now escapes the online collector. There were just 16 militaria items at Gorringes weekly sale but that didn’t stop the bidding for a 1796

pattern sabre, plus scabbard and bayonets, rocketing to £360 against an upper estimate of £150. An R&J Beck 1918 brass trench

telescope and a WWII Mark II clinometer with maker’s marks reached £160 while a volume III of The Pictorial History of the RAF, 1945-69, signed by Douglas Bader hit the heights of £160. Equally a family grouping of

medals and other items smashed its estimate of £80 to hammer for £300. The group included a WWI trio to Pte JM Easton, London Regt., with miniatures, a War Medal to Private DS Easton, a 1939 Medal ‘For Distinguished Service to the City of New York’, a WWII St Paul’s (Cathedral) Watch badge, a For King and Empire Services Rendered badge, No. 07346 and another item. Lastly, there was a Victorianera South Africa medal with ‘1879’ bar, a QEII Africa medal with ‘Kenya’ bar to T Whitelow, and a British War Medal to G Lewin of the Royal Navy, along with a French 1914 silver medallion. The lot went for £300. Remember to add 25.4% Buyer’s Premium to those prices. ■

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Auction sales Medals and militaria at Richard Winterton Plenty of medals at the Richard Winterton auction of 1 October, plus a few choice items of militaria as well. Let’s start with a WWI George V Military Medal to Thomas Bailes of the Royal Navy. Given a top estimate of £150 it went for a hammer price of £400! At the other end of the spectrum, a collection of seven British WWII stars went for just £40. These included Africa, Italy, Air Crew Europe, Atlantic, France and Germany, Burma and the Pacific Stars. The Air Crew Europe – one of the rarest, was listed as a copy thanks to some mediocre lettering. Much the same thought was probably going through everyone’s mind when a couple of lots later a German Coastal Artillery Combat Badge came up. Despite having an intact hinged pin plus a maker mark, the hammer price of £45 said this was a fake. No such doubts about a subsequent lot, with a boxed group of medal to a family covering three major conflicts beat its estimate and sold for £460. In the stash were a Queens South Africa medal with bars for ‘Transvaal’, ‘Orange Free State’ and ‘Cape Colony’; Kings South Africa medal with bars for ‘1901’ and ‘1902’; a 1914 Star, British War and Victory medals with miniatures, all to J Archer of the North Staffs Regiment. His son, Jack Archer, then takes up the story with a group of four WWII medals and some sports medals and badges.

There was also a British War and Victory medal, and school medal, to Private G Nutt, who was the father in law of the family. Let’s go a bit further back now and look at a Crimea medal, with a bar for ‘Sevastapol’, named to Private Robert Rose of the 12th Royal Lancers which went under the hammer for £170. Then, a pair of medals from Egypt and the Sudan. The Egypt 1882 medal had a bar for ‘Tel-el-Kebir’ and was named to Private J McKee of the 7th Dragoon Guards. The

accompanying Khedives Star 18846 was issued unnamed. The pair went for £140. Or, how about an Indian Mutiny Medal, no bar, but named to Peter Titlow of the 87th Regiment (1st Royal Irish), showing some signs of wear but it still made a reasonable £150. On to the general militaria now and a large box of uniforms that went for just £40. Included was a No. 1 dress RAF jacket with Naval buttons, another two No. 1 dress jackets for the RAF, an Army uniform with jacket and trousers, a No. 2 dress jacket and trousers with medal ribbon for the Territorial Efficiency medal stitched above the pocket. Interest was high for a Third Reich Kriegsmarine visor cap with silver bullion edges and a makers’ mark on the inside of the cap band. The hammer went down at £240. Slightly less enthusiasm for a Heer M1935 helmet with complete liner strap and decals which were described as ‘… may have been added later.' Or last week in fact. Hammered at £120 but even so, probably not a bargain. Unlike a collection of bladed weapons that went for just £35. This group included a short sword with ornate hand guard and scrolled design on the blade, 18in long, plus a short dagger in a wooden scabbard, both in a Middle-Eastern style. Also included a WWI style rifle bayonet, heavily rusted. Buyer’s premium of 21% inc VAT applied to all those prices. ■

Mixed militaria at Wessex Auction Rooms Mixed in with the furniture and antiques, the Wessex Auction Rooms sale at the end of September also included a number

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of interesting and cheap militaria items. Tying in with the current WWI interest were

December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

four WWI souvenir sweetheart handkerchiefs, which sold for just £18. Someone picked up a bargain with an Asian Jambiya knife with Agate-encrusted handle and sheath for £20. How about a brass bugle with a military crest? The hammer went down at £26 for this one. Then there was a framed monochrome print of a Lancaster bomber with

dedication text below that sold for just £16. Printed matter now and a selection of gum cards including 11 battle cards, 17 civil war cards and 19 Batman cards. Hammered at £14. Lastly, how about a field knife with scabbard and a large Kukri knife with a scabbard. All yours for £26. Add Buyer’s Premium of 20.4% to all hammer prices. ■

ARMS & MILITARY AUCTION 22nd November 2018 Viewing from 8am throughout the sale Start time 10.00am

TO BE HELD AT

Ravon Court, Drummond Road, Stafford, ST16 3HJ Contact us for free valuations. For further details, contact Kevin King 07789 628030 / 01785 214100 or [email protected]

www.marlowsauctions.co.uk

WOO L LE Y & WA L LI S SA L I S B U R Y SA L E R O O M S

ARMS & ARMOUR, MEDALS & COINS AUCTION: 21ST NOVEMBER 2018

A good Caucasian dagger (kindjal). Estimate: £700-1,000

ENQUIRIES: Ned Cowell +44 (0)1722 341469 | [email protected] 51-61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3SU, UK

w w w. w o o l l e y a n d w a l l i s . c o . u k

100 days to victory Gerald Prenderghast describes the closing stages of the Great War including the second Battle of Cambrai

O

n 21 March 1918 Germany opened its Spring Offensive on the Western Front with Operation Michael, which began with an advance from near the middle of the Hindenburg line at Saint-Quentin. The German army’s final objective was to break through the Allied lines, seize the Channel ports and force the BEF to surrender, leaving the French and newly arrived Americans an easy target. For the first time on the Western Front, the German army was superior in numbers to the Allies, having received nearly 50 fresh divisions released by the end of the Russian campaign. Despite some initial success, in which the BEF was very nearly overrun, the German advance was

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stopped at Villiers-Bretonneux, some way to the east of Amiens, the major Allied communication centre. By July 1918 the German army had sustained over a quarter of a million casualties and the men that remained were exhausted and starving. Moreover, there was little chance that these casualties could be replaced, while the Allies were receiving a constant stream of reinforcements in the shape of the eager conscripts of the AEF (American Expeditionary Force) and British divisions no longer required in Palestine. However, Ludendorff was still convinced that Germany

could win and he ordered a second offensive through COVER STORY Flanders (Hagen Offensive), which was to be shielded by a diversionary attack along the river Marne on 15 July (second battle of Marne). The German army managed to cross the Marne at several points but failed to advance very far beyond the river because of superior Allied numbers and consequently the Hagen plan was abandoned. With the German advance stalled at the Marne on 17 July, Ferdinand Foch, the recently appointed Allied Supreme Commander, gave orders for a major counter-offensive to be launched the next day (battle of Soissons). The forces deployed included the US 92 and 93 Infantry Divisions, which were under French command, together with 24

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Belgian medals

Victory china

The secret Armistice

Peter Duckers looks at collecting the medals awarded by Belgium to both Belgian and British troops from 1914 to 1918. These are both collectable and still very affordable.

Commemorative pottery produced by the Government and local authorities to mark the end of World War I is full of symbolism as Edward Hallett discovers.

Graham Caldwell recounts the plans put in place by the Allies’ Marshal Foch to negotiate the end of hostilities on the Western Front on 11 November 1918.

French and two British divisions. Eight large American divisions also joined the offensive, together with 478 tanks. By 20 July, these forces had recaptured most of the ground lost during the 1918 Spring Offensive, at a cost of around 107,000 Allied casualties, German losses being approximately 168,000 killed and wounded. The main offensive was terminated on 6 August, with the men of the German

commander Ludendorff now occupying a line along the Aisne and Vesle rivers and still holding Soissons. With the German army in retreat from the Marne, Foch was able to consider how he might best employ the eager men of Pershing’s AEF and the extensively reinforced BEF under Haig. Clearly a major push towards the German frontier and the Hindenburg line was possible and Foch concurred with Haig's suggestion that he conduct

an offensive on the River Somme, with the intention of forcing the Germans away from the vital Amiens– Paris railway. This part of the old battleground had several strategic advantages for the Allies. It marked the boundary between the BEF and the French, so cooperation between the two forces would be easy, it was flat, which made it good tank country, and the opposing German Second Army was in poor condition with low morale, having been subjected to continuous

❯ www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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100 days to victory ALLIED COMMANDERS FERDINAND FOCH With disaster looming for the Allies as a result of the German Spring Offensive of 1918, Foch was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies, with responsibility for coordinating the Allied response. He ordered the successful advance from the Marne and although his own counter-attacks were generally unsuccessful, his sector acted as the pivot for the successful attacks of the neighbouring French and British forces. He also ordered the grand offensive on the

Hindenburg Line which eventually ended the war, although he took little part in the detailed planning. He accepted the German cessation of hostilities in November, his exploits leading to him being called the most original and subtle mind in the French Army. Foch considered the Treaty of Versailles too lenient on Germany, declaring, “This is not a peace. It is an armistice for twenty years.” True to his prediction, 20 years and 64 days later, the whole bloody business began again.

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG With the success of operations on the Marne, Haig suggested to Foch that another offensive be mounted near the original Somme battlefield. This operation was successful and Haig showed considerable strength of character and some intelligence in stopping the advance before the British became exposed in a vulnerable salient. He then threw the Third Army and the US II Corps against Albert and succeeded in pushing the German army back 34 miles. That was his final contribution to the 100 Days Offensive, the important battles in the later stages of the Offensive being planned and conducted by his subordinates, Rawlinson, Monash and Byng. Ferdinand Foch, Allied Supreme Commander trench raids by the Australians. The offensive (third battle of Amiens) began on 8 August and was the first battle of the Hundred Days Offensive

Field Marshall Earl Haig, commander in chief of the BEF, known to history as Butcher Haig because of the casualties which resulted from his leadership at the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917)

Rawlinson and his subordinate Monash were

responsible for planning and implementation of operations during the Second Battle of Amiens which saw the German lines on the Western front finally broken, although Haig seems to have retained overall responsibility and reaped the benefits of success. Rawlinson subsequently made good use of his Fourth Army against the salient at Épehy and in one of the last major battles of the war against the St Quentin canal and Cambrai, offensives

which saw the end of the Great War. During its opening stages, Sir Henry Rawlinson's Fourth Army was occupying the area of the battlefield which had been the original Somme front, with the British III Corps on his left and the Australian Corps under Lt. General John Monash on his right, where they also formed a link to the more southerly French divisions. The original plan for the offensive was Monash’s and Foch agreed to it on 24 July, only insisting that the French Fourth Army should also participate.

Rawlinson opposed this change, because he and Monash intended to use tanks on a large scale to achieve surprise and the French had few of these vehicles available. A compromise was reached however, whereby the French attack and its associated artillery bombardment would begin 45 minutes after the Fourth Army began its advance, the British still being able to achieve their desired level of secrecy by dispensing with the preliminary barrage and relying on the fire-power of the much improved MkV tanks,

SIR HENRY RAWLINSON

Far left: Paul von Hindenburg, Generalfeldmarschall of the Imperial German Army and President of Germany from 1925 until 1933, when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor

Map showing events during the second battle of the Marne

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Left: General John Black Jack Pershing, Commander of the AEF in France during the Great War

COVER FEATURE GERMAN COMMANDER which he planned with Monash. Of the attacks against the Hindenburg line, he later wrote: ‘Had the Boche not shown marked signs of deterioration during the past month, I should never have contemplated attacking the Hindenburg line. Had it been defended by the Germans of two years ago, it would certainly have been impregnable.’

Sir Henry Rawlinson, commander of the BEF’s Fourth Army and responsible for much of the planning during the Hundred Days Offensive

ERICH LUDENDORFF With the numerical advantage given him on the Western Front by troops freed from the Russian war, in the spring of 1918, Ludendorff launched Operation Michael, a new type of offensive which did not rely on heavy initial bombardments. Instead his new plan advocated rapid movement by elite Stormtroopers which overwhelmed the enemy before they could recover from the surprise of the initial attack and in this way Ludendorff hoped to defeat the Allies before the Americans entered the war. His plan was clever and innovative and should have worked but after four years of trench warfare his men were simply not up to the task and too many times his advance was delayed, when troops stopped to gorge themselves on captured rations. Operation Michael was halted by the Allies at Villiers-Bretonneux and the subsequent deployment through Flanders, Operation Hagen, was never implemented. By September 1918, Ludendorff knew he was beaten and insisted that the Kaiser ask for an immediate armistice, a suggestion for which he was forced to resign, although

Erich Ludendorff, First QuartermasterGeneral of the Imperial German Army. He was responsible for the Spring Offensive of 1918, which resulted in Germany’s eventual defeat his senior officer, von Hindenburg, was retained in post to hold the army together. He later wrote a self-aggrandising memoir in two volumes and has been characterised as: ‘… certainly one of the greatest routine military organisers that the world has ever seen but... a ruinous political meddler’.

Above left: American heavy artillery at Soissons during 1918. Above centre: German soldiers help man-handle a horse-drawn German 77mm field gun, during Operation Michael sometime in March 1918. Above right: German stormtrooper from WWI with an MP18 fully automatic sub-machine gun and a Luger semi-automatic pistol together with a creeping barrage. The gunners predicted this barrage would destroy 504 of the Germans' 530 field guns, the positions of these field pieces having been carefully plotted before the battle by the RAF. On 7 August, the four infantry divisions of the Canadian Corps were also moved in secret to Amiens, where they joined the Australians as part of the preliminary attacking force. The battle began in dense fog at 4:20am on 8 August, with the British III Corps attacking north of the Somme,

the Australian Corps operating to the south of the river in the centre of Fourth Army's front, while the Canadian Corps deployed to the south of the Australians. The French 1 Army under General Debeney opened its preliminary bombardment at the same time, and began its advance 45 minutes later, supported by a battalion of 72 Whippet tanks. The first German position was captured at 7:30am after an advance of about two miles and by 8:20am Australian and Canadian troops,

accompanied by cavalry, had passed through the initial breach in the German lines. Operations by tanks, armoured cars and RAF aircraft against their rear positions prevented the Germans from attempting any sort of consolidation and, by the end of the day, Allied forces had pushed forward an average of seven miles. The significance of the battle of 8 August lay not just in the Allied gains, however. Ludendorff was justified in calling it the black day of the German Army, not as a result of the material www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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100 days to victory

Postcard depicting a stylised German fighter strafing Allied troops. Postcards of this sort are very collectible and may be priced at between £30-£50

Left: A British Mark V* tank, carrying an unditching beam on the roof that could be attached to the tracks and used to free itself from muddy trenches and shell craters Above: German soldiers resting while others continue the advance through the wasteland of the old Somme battlefield (Bundesarchiv) British Mark V tank, this one a male and showing the six-pounder gun projecting from the sponson

Whippet tank, this vehicle in service with the Japanese army losses, but because the morale of the German troops had sunk so low that huge numbers refused to fight and simply surrendered, 30,000 having been killed, wounded or surrendered, for Allied losses of less than 9,000 killed and wounded. Fighting continued the next day but with less Allied success, the infantry having outrun the supporting artillery and the tanks, which played such a key role in the Allied success, being reduced to only six operational vehicles by 12 August. Even with this reduced weight of armour the British had still driven 12 miles into the German positions by 13 August when Haig, sensibly refusing a request by Foch to continue the offensive, halted the advance and then launched a fresh offensive using Byng's Third Army between the rivers Ancre and Scarpe (second battle of the Somme). Haig planned this attack as an offensive against the town of Albert, in northern France, which opened on 21 August, the main attack being launched by the British Third Army, supported by the US II Corps, to the north of the river Somme. The second phase began on the same day

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Map of the final Allied offensive on 25 September 1918

German positions and gains during the spring and early summer of 1918

(second battle of Baupaume) and this quickly developed into an advance which pushed the German Second Army back over a 34 mile front, from south of Douai to La Fere, south of St Quentin. The breach in the German lines was widened in the south by the French Tenth Army during the second battle of Noyon, which had begun on 17 August, Noyon itself being captured on 29 August. Albert was captured on 22 August and, on 26 August, the British First Army widened their front by another 7.5 miles (second battle of Arras), Bapaume being occupied on 29 August. The Australian Corps subsequently crossed the river Somme on the night of 31 August, and broke the Germans again (Mont St Quentin and Péronne). With the German front line crumbled into fragments by the success of their offensives, the Allied armies now began to force the Germans back towards their last stronghold, the Hindenburg line, a huge collection of trench lines and fortifications stretching from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons. The final remnants of the German army arrived here on 2 September. On the southern

COVER FEATURE

Above left: Allied troops during the Spring Offensive of 1918, with a Whippet tank in support. Above centre: Troops of the Canadian Corps sheltering in a ditch on the Arras-Cambrai road. A Renault FT tank is parked on the road. Above right: Rolls-Royce armoured car. Although this picture is c. 1940, cars of a similar design were used on the Western front in 1917-18

Above left: Men of the Australian 54 Battalion at Perrone during the Hundred Days Offensive. This detachment is armed with a Lewis gun Above centre: American 30th Infantry Division guarding German prisoners after the capture of Bellicourt on 29 September 1918. In the background are four Mark V tanks of 8 Battalion, Tank Corps, with cribs attached for crossing trenches Above right: Ludendorff, fifth from the left, standing next to Adolf Hitler together with other early Nazi leaders and prominent radical German nationalists, including Erwin Röhm, standing just to Hitler’s left front flank of the BEF, the French First Army reached St Quentin on 10 September, after fighting at Savy-Dallon, while the French Tenth Army was at Laon four days later, on 14 September, having defeated the Germans at the battle of Vauxaillon, which placed both forces within easy reach of Germany’s final defensive Line. The British Fourth Army came along the St Quentin canal, approaching the Germans' Line on 18 September, after fighting at Épehy and by 27 September, battles at Havrincourt, St Mihiel, and the Canal du Nord had forced the Germans even further back into their defensive positions.

St Quentin and the second battle of Cambrai With the Hindenburg line besieged, Foch ordered a second series of offensives designed to cut Ludendorff's lines of communication, each successful attack thus allowing the whole front to be moved forward. In the south, the first attack (Meuse-Argonne offensive) was launched on 26 September by 15 divisions of the US First Army commanded by General John Pershing and 31 divisions of the French Fourth and Fifth armies, their objective being to break through the German lines and capture the major railway junction at

Sedan, thus crippling the Germans’ logistic organisation in Flanders and northern France. Two days later, an Army Group under Albert I of Belgium, consisting of the Belgian Army, the British Second Army and the French Sixth Army, attacked the German front near Ypres (Fifth Battle of Ypres), in an attempt to capture Liege. Both operations made good progress initially but were once again slowed by supply difficulties, which meant that the Hindenburg Line was not broken in that sector until 17 October. With the German army fully occupied in the north and around Sedan, the main attack on the Hindenburg fortifications was launched on 29 September at St Quentin by the British Fourth Army, together with the US 27 and 30 Divisions and the Australian Corps (battle of St Quentin Canal). St Quentin was protected by a complex system of canals, so the initial plan for 29 September assault involved breaking through the main Hindenburg Line trench defences, crossing the St Quentin Canal where it ran through the Bellicourt Tunnel, then breaching the fortified Le Catelet–Nauroy Line which lay beyond that. Having achieved this breakthrough the troops could then move forward, and reaching the Beaurevoir Line, the final fortified

position beyond Catelet-Nauroy, they would halt on the evening of the first day. In the south, the British were assigned the more difficult task of crossing the open St Quentin canal, then capturing Bellingelise and the high ground beyond the villages of Lehaucourt and Magny-la-Fosse. The attack began with the largest British artillery bombardment of the war, employing over 1,600 guns and a variety of shells, including gas and delayed fuse types intended to destroy the German barbed wire. Unfortunately Rawlinson and Monash had previously assumed that their men could capture the strong-points in front of the enemy’s lines and had organised their creeping barrage to start in an appropriate position. However, the inexperienced Americans had failed to capture these outposts and with Rawlinson unable to accept any delay, the 27 Division were forced to begin their advance 900m behind the barrage, necessitating an unprotected advance of three miles. Despite extra tank support, this resulted in the 27 Division not achieving any of their objectives on the first day, although on their right the US 30 Division, supported by the Australian 5 Division, broke through and entered Bellicourt, capturing the southern entrance of Bellicourt Tunnel www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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100 days to victory and reaching the village of Nauroy, part of which they occupied. Further to the right of the Australians and Americans, the British IX Corps attacked across the St Quentin canal, launching their assault between Riqueval and Bellenglise and supported by tanks of 3 Tank Brigade which crossed the canal at the Bellicourt tunnel before turning south along the German-occupied east bank of the canal. Following another massive artillery bombardment and in thick fog and smoke, the British 46 (North Midland) Division fought its way through the German trenches west of the canal and then crossed the waterway, using a variety of flotation aids, before employing scaling ladders to climb its 50 foot walls, while some men of the 1/6 Battalion North Staffs Regiment also managed to seize the Riqueval bridge intact. The division then moved forwards, capturing the village of Bellingelise

Map of the St Quentin canal and its surrounding area, showing the disposition of Allied troop prior to 29 September

AEF troops moving forward in company with British heavy tanks

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American engineers building an additional bridge at the Canal du Nord

The bridge at Riqueval, some days after its capture

Above left: Soldiers of the 30th American Infantry Division and the 15th Australian Brigade (5th Australian Division) at the southern entrance of the Bellicourt Tunnel at Riqueval near Bellicourt. Above right: Riqueval bridge as it was in 2003 (CCA-SA 4.0) and its giant tunnel/troop shelter, as well as 4,200 German prisoners, out of a total of 5,100 troops opposing them and 70 guns, meeting all its objectives on schedule, while sustaining only 800 casualties. The Allied advance continued and by 2 October, a hole 10.5 miles wide had been knocked in the Hindenburg line and continuing attacks between 3 and 10 October cleared the fortified villages behind the Line and captured the high ground overlooking the Beaurevoir line, resulting in the total destruction of that section of the German defences. The British First, Third and Fourth Armies then moved forward towards Cambrai, which they attacked with tank support on 8 October. German defences there

consisted of only three trench lines 6,000m long, held by two weak divisions, who were unprepared for the 324 tanks of the first assault and the 2 Canadian Division, then part of the British Fourth Army, were able to enter the town on the same day. Encountering only light resistance they pressed north, leaving the 3 Canadian Division to finish clearing up, although when 3 Division entered the town on 10 October, they found it deserted, less than 20 Allied casualties having been sustained during the whole operation. The breakthroughs at St Quentin and Cambrai were the final straw that made the German High Command realise it was futile to continue fighting, leading to the Armistice on 11 November, 1918. In less than three months of fierce fighting, the Great War had been won. ■

AN INVITATION TO CONSIGN FOR

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CLASSIC ARMOUR FEATURE

The Samurai, their arms and armour

Antony Cummins takes a look at the relationship of Japan’s warrior elite to their armour and weapons

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amurai arms and armour is a technical subject and whole library shelves of research have been dedicated to their cataloguing and history. One interesting way to try to understand the topic is to approach it from the standpoint of the samurai themselves, and ask questions such as: Why was a garden hoe used as a crest on a commander’s helmet? How did the colours of the lacings interact with the colours of the armour plates? And how did the spirit of the god of war imbue the samurai with power?

The development of the samurai armoury Early or archaic armour is known in Japanese as oyoroi. This was used by the first samurai proper and is seen as an icon of the age of chivalry. The more compact and practical armour known as gusoku evolved during the Waring States Period (c. 1450–1603), when the system of warfare changed from cavalry based to soldiers on foot. The Japanese sword is often thought of as the ultimate symbol of the samurai, but this only emerged as an icon in the late 1500s, at the end of the Waring States Period, when common folk were banned from carrying weapons, including the two-sword combination that has famously come to represent the samurai. In fact, the primary samurai weapon

was originally the bow, used by cavalry, and archery continued to be considered the elite form of warfare. Next came the spear, which was the primary weapon of fighting in the civil wars of the 1400s and 1500s, and was later used as a symbol of authority by samurai

magistrates. The greatest achievement in battle was termed as ichiban yari, meaning ‘the first spear’ and denoting the victory of the first man into action. Different types of bows, spears and swords were manufactured in accordance with the hierarchy of the time, with some only permitted to certain ranks or successful individuals. For example, a red line painted in a spear groove (often seen on museum and collection pieces) was the sign of a warrior of excellence.

Working in harmony with the Five Elements Buddhism, Shinto and Confucianism, the latter bringing elements of Taoism with it, all contributed to shaping the world of the samurai. The Taoist theory that the universe is made up of

yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy) is played out in the Chinese version of the Five Elements theory, in which the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water interact in the Cycle of Creation and the Cycle of Destruction. This theory was a core part of Japanese and samurai life. The colours and ornaments www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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The Samurai, their arms and armour of a set of armour, for example, were carefully chosen to avoid any clashing on a cosmic level and to work together to generate positive energy. Each element was represented by a colour, such as black for water and yellow/gold for earth, reflecting a Cycle of Creation in which earth is nourished by water. Meaning the colours of the thread and the colours of the plates they held in place were expected to work in harmony, while the gold or silver vertical bands on the helmet – which represent the sun (yang) or the moon (yin) – had to be of the correct number. The bamboo used for the banner pole had also to be of the correct element and direction of growth, so that its energy worked in harmony with the samurai and the set of armour. The front helmet crest of military commander was gold, shaped in the form of a garden hoe and often embellished with a dragon. A golden/ yellow garden hoe represented the element of earth, which according to tradition was the element at the centre of all other elements, while the dragon was a symbol of rising chi energy; the overall meaning was that a leader was a sturdy central figure who commanded all others with the power of a rising dragon. This vastly complex symbolic scheme fell out of favour in the second half of the samurai epoch, meaning that samurai armour began to adopt colour fashions instead of colour meanings – something to consider when collecting.

The helmet A helmet peak had to be neither too long nor too short. If it was too long a samurai would have to tilt his head backwards and invite an arrow in the throat. Too short and a samurai would have to hold his head down to avoid arrows hitting below the peak, making him appear weak in the presence of his comrades. A perfect peak length allowed a warrior to walk with his head

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CLASSIC ARMOUR FEATURE

Above left: There are two categories of samurai armour: The archaic oyoroi armour and the more modern armour known as gusoku – although these terms were sometimes used interchangeably. Above centre: Samurai armourers took into account the theory of the Five Elements and the interplay between the Cycle of Creation and the Cycle of Destruction. Above right: The great sword known as tachi, which predates the famous katana. It was worn blade edge down and there were restrictions on the use of different types of tachi by the various ranks of samurai at court and in battle

Above left: The garden hoe crest, often gold/yellow, represented the centre of all things in Five Elements theory and was usually adorned with a rising dragon, making it the symbol of a leader. Above centre: Leg protection could be fully enclosed or forward-facing only; note the square in the bottom right corner – this was a leather patch to stop the greaves rubbing against each other. Above right: A digital version of an original 17th-century drawing of a helmet representing fire erect without fear of being hit in the eye – a concept known as the ‘boar’s neck’. Archers had very small, removable or hinged helmet wings, so that the bowstring did not get caught up when they were shooting. The ventilation hole at the apex of the helmet was known as the ‘seat of the god Hachiman’ and represented a boundary between heaven and earth. It was said that through this hole came a giant war serpent deity with 98,000 scales, imbuing the warrior with courage. Small cloud-like decorations on the helmet further denoted this celestial division. A samurai should never put his finger in the hole of the helmet, unless taking it off to commit ritual suicide, and must never show the inside of the helmet lining except for in times of surrender, as this was seen as a sign of submission, as was inverting the spear. Helmets were sometimes covered in fur, but the fur could never be of two different colours because the Japanese word for ‘two-colour fur’ sounds the same as the verb ‘to flee’, which would

be improper. Helmet crests could go on the front, the side or the rear, and could sweep backwards, forwards or directly up. The classic samurai facemasks – which were normally taken off for battle – had a small hole at the bottom of the chin to release saliva. When marching the helmet was carried by an attendant on a pole on the left side of the samurai, while the spear was carried on the right side so that it could be grabbed quickly.

The greaves Greaves ranged from cloth with protective metal or bamboo vertical splints to fully enclosed and sculptured leg encasings. Each had a rubbing patch on the inside, to protect the horse and avoid causing damage when they knocked against each other. The greaves of a mounted warrior had knee guards with three mounds, said to represent the crown of the king of hell, while greaves for foot soldiers had no knee protection so as not to become an annoyance when walking.

The loin cloth and the battle jacket Dressing for war, a samurai first put on the loincloth, tying it at the front. Japanese belts are usually tied at the rear, but the loincloth and all knots on Japanese armour are tied at the front, to represent death or the prospect of death. This determination to show a willingness to die was further enhanced by cutting all the armour ties down to the knot, so they could not be untied again, meaning that the samurai was prepared to come back victorious or never to remove the armour again. Over the top of armour was the battle jacket, a sleeveless open-front garment emblazoned with the warrior’s heraldic crest or other icons of power.

Other points of interest on samurai armour The armoured clasps that protect the shoulder cords were shaped like the leaves of a plum tree. The main body www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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The Samurai, their arms and armour

A stylistic representation of greaves with knee guards, representing the silhouette of the crown of Yemma, the king of hell and judgement

The battle jacket or jinbaori was worn over samurai armour, much as a knight’s surcoat was used in the West; it too was adorned with heraldic images or esoteric symbols

armour was joined on the right side and often overlapped so that when shooting arrows, enemy projectiles hit the hinged line instead of entering where the sides are secured. As mentioned above, all armour knots tied at the front, but in very ancient days the armour tied at the rear and the plate that covered that joint was known as the ‘coward’s plate’ because it faced the enemy when retreating. The lowest band of the armour curved upwards; this curve was known as the ‘spear stopper’ and angled spear blows away. This protruding band was always hidden below the tasset lacings and is therefore never seen, so modern replica armour often omits this vital element. Beneath the tassets, pouches were attached so that a warrior had a place for his personal effects. At times, monkey-skin leather was used for lacings and linings because of its strength, while various leather linings were also used to make nonclanking armour for night raids. Japanese scale armour was often based on the tengu, or demon crow, who were thought to be masters of military arts. Finally, full armour and weapons can be referred to as ‘the six parts’, a term which has Buddhist and military connotations but which overall means tools of universality.

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A digital version of a 17th-century image showing the plate names, the lowest band holding the ‘spear stopper’ curve

Collecting samurai armour and swords Collecting has its difficulties and, of course, its expense. Buying bladed weapons from Japan is an exercise in overcoming bureaucracy. It is much easier to obtain them from Western dealers, because in Japan each blade is licensed and registered with a governing body overseeing private traders. That governing body is Bunka-cho Bunkazaibu Bijutsu gakugei-ka (文化庁文化財部 美術学芸課), The Agency for Cultural Affairs which issues an identification card for all swords is known as a Juho token rui torokusho (銃砲刀剣類登録 銃砲刀剣類登録 ). This card has to be logged and 証). returned when a sword leaves Japan.

When buying armour, take into consideration that there was a resurgence in the popularity of the archaic oyoroi armour during Japan’s Edo Period (1603–1868). This means that armour that appears to have been made between the 1000s and the 1400s is actually most likely to have been made in the 1800s, albeit looking the same and often in a similar condition. The second issue is the mixing of sets. Japanese armour should come as an original set, with matching heraldic crests, plates and lacing. However, often pieces from different sets are sold together, with new lacing, new plate lacquer work and sometimes the addition of new crests, making a set appear authentic when it is actually a piecemeal ensemble. Do your research to avoid these potential pitfalls. ■

This jingasa or battle-hat is the original used by the last grandmaster of Natori-Ryu, the military school that produced the texts from which the information in this article is sourced. It is now with the grandmaster’s last descendent, Mr Yabutani of Wakayama, Japan

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THE BOOK OF SAMURAI SERIES

The Book of Samurai series, including the second volume Samurai Arms, Armour & the Tactics of Warfare Warfare, features the collected works of Japanese military tactician, Natori Sanjuro Masazumi. The author, Antony Cummins is a researcher and author focusing on Japanese samurai and ninja. He is the head of a team that translates and publishes historical texts on Japanese military culture and tactics. For more information and free download samples visit www.natori.co.uk. Images from Samurai Arms, Armour & the Tactics of Warfare, recreated from the original Japanese manuscripts by Jay Kane, Vangelis Drosos and Andridja Dreznjak © Antony Cummins.

American toy story Gerald Prenderghast rounds off our look at the toys of children in wartime with a view from across the Atlantic

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merica in 1941 was very much a two tier society, with nearly 40% of all American families living below the poverty level, while eight million workers were earning less than the minimum wage, with a similar number unemployed. Consequently, as in England prior to the Great War, this disparity was reflected in the sort of toys families were able to buy for their children. Poorer parents tended to make toys for their children while the more affluent were able to buy. It is curious however, that the catalogues produced by US toy manufacturers and retailers during this period were crammed full of the products of toy maker's ingenuity, for which there seemed to be no lack of customers with

ready money. Woolworth’s published its first colour Christmas catalogue in 1941, its main toy feature being captioned: ‘It's a Small, Small world at Woolworth’s’ and promoting the corporation’s range of toy soldiers and tinplate aeroplanes, ships and submarines, all priced at 5c or 10c. These tin-plate toys were manufactured in Japan, where Woolworth’s buyers had set up a factory to supply the US demand for such things and, ironically enough, given the events of 7 December 1941, they were photographed for the catalogue with the tanks, ships and aircraft grouped around a model harbour. In common with toys produced in Great Britain and Germany during this period, the war theme predominated and US toy shops and department stores

Collection of Barclay dimestore figures, including a bandsman, stretcher bearers and an infantryman with a mine detector (Vectis Auctions)

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Above: American boys playing marbles in the street in 1940 before the toy and games industry was affected by war held a plethora of toy soldiers, military vehicles of all types, aircraft, battleships and guns. However, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt established the War Production Board to superintend the distribution of critical materials and in March 1942, this organisation issued General Limitation Order L-81, which prohibited the production of toys containing more than 7% of specified critical materials such as iron, steel or rayon. This limitation heralded an increase in production of wooden and paper toys, including playing cards, jigsaw puzzles and board games as well as more do-it-

A medical scene of dimestore figures, including a wounded men, doctors, nurses an stretcher bearers (Vectis Auctions)

TOYS & GAMES FEATURE Left: Tinplate warship made by Marx and fitted with sparkling mechanism (Vectis Auctions) Below: A large static wooden waterline model of a Royal Navy destroyer, fitted with two funnels, torpedo tubes, anti-aircraft guns and lifeboats. Possibly manufactured by the London firm Basset-Lowke (Vectis Auctions)

Below: A large wooden model of a Royal Navy war ship with a steam marine engine driving twin propellers to rear, and including guns, aircraft, lifeboats and searchlights (Vectis Auctions)

Right: Wooden clockwork model of a Royal Navy four funnel war ship, probably made by Bassett-Lowke, with a removable deck/superstructure panel giving access to the clockwork motor (Vectis Auctions) yourself toys, and American children seem to have displayed the same talent for making toys out of scrap as their contemporaries in the UK. They were given some help and guidance in their endeavours by a publication produced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Children’s Bureau in 1942 entitled Toys in Wartime, which included instructions for making toys from ordinary household materials, including the paint they were coated with. Another option, which had been started by the Works Progress Administration board back in the 1930s, was called the Toy Lending Project. Under this scheme, centres had been established across the US which allowed children to borrow toys and return them later, some centres even allowing children with good borrowing records to choose a toy to keep permanently.

Toy soldiers The Barclay Manufacturing Company’s range of Dimestore soldiers was the most famous and ubiquitous brand of American-made toy soldiers in the US prior to WWII. Its figures were all priced

at a nickel (5c) each, hence the Dimestore label, and much of its success was due to a close business relationship with Woolworths, which allowed access to the larger company’s huge distribution network. Produced as hollow cast figures, similar to the products of Britain’s in the UK, the GL order L-81 put an end to the company’s activities in March 1942 after which it closed down the toy production business to become involved in defence work. Other US manufacturers of toy figures included Manoil, which was noted for the high quality of its products. Hollow cast soldiers were not the only figures available to American children, however. The Bergen Toy & Novelty Co, more usually abbreviated to Beton, produced the first American plastic soldiers in 1938, the figures remaining on sale when metal toy production was stopped in 1942. The Beton figures were painted in the same way as the metal figures from more conventional companies and sold in a similar format to the hollow cast product, either individually or in a boxed set, usually containing seven figures. All prices below here and in other sections are dependent

upon condition and provenance:

VALUES • Barclay individual toy soldiers: £5-£8 • Manoil individual toy soldiers: £7-£10 • Beton individual toy soldiers: £7-£20 • Boxed sets are worth considerably more, price depending usually more on the condition of the packaging than the individual soldiers: £40-£100

Planes, ships and automobiles Barclay also produced an extensive range of crude, hollow cast vehicles, ships and aircraft, both military and civilian, which, along with their hollow cast figures, it marketed through Woolworths. One boxed collection had a lettered strip on the lid which stated it was a: ‘Build and Paint Your Own Auto Set’. It contained a four-door and two-door car, along with a petrol tanker, as well as paint and white rubber wheels for the cars. The company also manufactured a variety of military vehicles, which included tanks, lorries with cannon and artillery pieces, all painted a slightly

Above left: Collection of hollow cast aircraft produced by Barclay (Vectis Auctions). Above right: Hollow cast aircraft produced by Barclay of aircraft which appeared after WWI and including several float planes (Vectis Auctions) www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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American toy story

Above left: Crude hollow cast model of an armoured car produced by Barclay, painted in the usual brown colour scheme (Vectis Auctions) Above centre: Motorcycle figures by Barclay, including a soldier in a sidecar with a machine gun (Vectis Auctions) Above right: Model fire engine produced in latex by Auburn Rubber, featuring the company’s characteristic green paint (Vectis Auctions)

sickly brown to distinguish them from the civilian product. Other manufacturers of model vehicles included Woolworths, which produced an extensive range of tinplate toys, Manoil, manufacturers of hollow cast metal vehicles similar to Barclay, Tootsietoys whose products were superior in quality to both Barclay and Manoil and the Auburn Rubber Company, which produced a fairly realistic range of toy cars and trucks in rubber. Flying model aircraft were also popular, although usually only plans were available rather than complete kits and wartime aeromodellers became adept at modifying these plans to take account of the materials they could find. Card, paper or bamboo was substituted for the more desirable balsa wood, which was classified by the US government as a critical war material. Working wooden ships models powered by clockwork or steam and more fragile, detailed vessels designed for static display were also produced by a number of makers. One of the best known manufacturers of both types of model was the London-baed firm of Basset-Lowke, which also exported many of its more expensive products to America for sale there.

Above left: Tinplate model of an airport, with the control tower and two aircraft (The Strong, Rochester, New York, USA) Above centre: Tinplate clockwork powered model of an autogyro (The Strong, Rochester, New York, USA) Above right: Tinplate model of an early transcontinental airliner (The Strong, Rochester, New York, USA)

Model of Lindberg’s aircraft Spirit of St Louis, in which he flew the Atlantic (The Strong, Rochester, New York, USA)

Model railways Of the American model train manufacturers, Lionel is the most well known of all the companies which operated before WWII. In the pre-war years it was acknowledged as the market leader, significantly out-selling rivals

VALUES

VALUES • Barclay, Manoil and Tootsietoy vehicles: £10-£15 • Auburn rubber vehicles: £30-£50 • Basset-Lowke ships Clockwork: £200-£300 • Steam: £600-£800

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such as American Flyer and the Ives Manufacturing company, which had dominated the market until 1924. Roosevelt’s GL order L-81 was problematic for a company whose product was wholly composed of steel or other metals, but in 1943, Lionel responded by producing what was known as the Lionel Wartime Freight train in cardboard. Sold in a flat box containing several sheets of heavy card printed with the various pieces of the set, the Wartime Freight included parts for a steam locomotive, tender, freight wagon, flat car and a guard's van or caboose, all decorated in the livery of the fictional Lionel Lines. Three railway employees, a crossing signal, a crossing gate, and enough ties and rails to create a circle of track measuring about five metres in circumference were also included in the set, which consisted of over 250 paper parts, 21 wooden dowel axles, and 42 corresponding pasteboard wheels. Unfortunately, the train was difficult to assemble and keep intact, nor would the locomotive and rolling stock stay on the cardboard track reliably once it had been finally put together, which led to many purchasers simply discarding the train without completing its assembly.

Box lid of a Lionel wartime cardboard freight train (The Strong, Rochester, New York, USA)

Lionel Corporation, conventional trains • Locomotives: £60-£80 • Rolling stock: £40-£60 • Complete set: £100-£150, depending upon condition, especially of the box • Cardboard Wartime Freight train, depending upon provenance and condition: £150-£200 • Modern reproduction: £75-£100

TOYS & GAMES FEATURE

Collection of military vehicles by Tootsietoy and including two Willis jeeps, tanks and an armoured car. Vehicles from this maker are usually superior in their detailing to equivalent vehicles from Barclay or Manoil (Vectis Auctions)

Collection military vehicles and field guns manufactured by Manoil, with two trench bags from Barclay (Vectis Auctions) Ives Manufacturing Co. • Locomotives: £80-£100 • Rolling stock: £70-£90 • Complete set; £100-£200 American Flyer, conventional trains • Locomotives; £60-£80 • Rolling stock: £40-£60 • Complete set: £100-£150, depending upon condition, especially of the box

but with the advent of WWII, the company turned from the production of toy guns to the manufacture of munitions Other makers of toy guns included Nichols Industries, Ives, Lockwood Sun and SK Toys of Japan, whose products were imported into America prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

VALUES

Uniforms and weapons Uniforms like dad was wearing were popular with American boys during WWII but the majority seem to have been home-made, although Woolworth’s did produce a plastic copy of the M-1 helmet, designed for the size of a child’s smaller head. Guns and other weapons were also popular, cap guns by the Kilgore Manufacturing Company of Westerville, Ohio being the most popular pre-war make. Kilgore was once the world’s largest producer of toy cap guns and caps, producing 25,000 cap guns and 100,000 rolls of caps every day during the 1930s. Initially made in cast iron, later guns were produced in die-cast zinc plate, Bakelite and plastic

• Cap guns from Kilgore • Cast iron: £150-£300 • Zinc plate: £100-£125

Vehicles from Tootsietoy including a tank, half track and ambulance (Vectis Auctions)

An A-Gun made by SK Toys Japan with a spring loaded loading action for firing corks and an early spring loaded Space Gun, manufactured by DKA (Vectis Auctions)

Selection of smaller vehicles made by Barclay. Designs for the military vehicles are not copied from anything in service with the US military (Vectis Auctions)

Barclay dimestore figures of a machine gunner, his spotter, an artilleryman, an infantryman and a boy with snowballs (Vectis Auctions) Collectors should expect to pay around the same price for similar guns from other manufacturers.

Board games Board games were popular in wartime America, because they could be produced from non-essential materials and were useful for passing those long evenings when the war news was bad and other toys were in short supply. Popular games included Monopoly, Scrabble, Life, Draughts (Checkers in the US), Chess, Backgammon, Chinese Checkers, Snakes and Ladders (called Chutes and Ladders in the US), Mah-Jong and Dominoes. Games were also used for propaganda purposes and a number were produced, including several which were used by civil defence organisations for training their members in aircraft recognition. One popular game was Bataan: The Battle of the Philippines in which the object of the game was for the Japanese Army to defend a major island in the face of American attempts to defeat them. It was similar to draughts but only the US army were allowed to remove the Japanese forces!

VALUES Most game from this period sell for about £20-£70, depending upon condition, box and provenance. ■

Interested in vintage toys? Then take a look at our sister titles Diecast Collector and Collectors Gazette. Available to buy online now at

Barclay dimestore figures of a collection of artillerymen, with their field pieces (Vectis Auctions)

www.ccofgb.co.uk www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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ANTIQUES & OBSOLETE CALIBRE Model 1866 Winchester ‘Yellowboy’ in 44 Henry RF; all original Excellent. ......... £6750.00 Brown Bess India Patt Musket & Bayonet, 98th Regt Foot, Prince of Wales. .......£1895.00 Mint Cased C1850 Adams Dragoon .54b D.A. Perc Revolver & Accessories .......£3950.00 MKII Martini Henry Rifle 577 x 450 short lever Service Rifle. Excellent. ..............£1275.00 1871-89 Braendlin Birmingham Martini Henry Cavalry Carbine, saddle bar. ........£975.00 1909 .310 Cadet Greener Martini Action Rifle; Australian WD ‘CMF’ marked. .......£795.00 Model 1871 11mm Mauser Cavalry Carbine, excellent original condition . ...........£745.00 C1780 Twigg London, best quality Flintlock Pistol / Carbine, superb condition. ..£4250.00 1790 Pair Naval Officer’s Flintlock Brass Barrelled Pistols, William Bond . ..........£2950.00 C 1800 Flintlock Travelling / Overcoat Pistol by Frosst & Sons, 16 bore...............£1650.00 1865 WD London Armoury .577 Snider 3 band rifle. VR lock & excellent bore. ......£945.00 1857-65 .54 calibre Burnside Cavalry Carbine, saddle ring & bar. Original..........£1845.00 1850 Hollis & Sheath W.D. Volunteer’s 2 band .577 Rifle, nipple protector. ..........£1200.00 1844 Enfield Tower Short Sea Service & Customs .577 Perc Pistol with belt bar. ..£975.00 C1800 Indian Matchlock Musket, 20 bore octagonal barrel. 60 inches overall. ....£425.00 EIC Harrison 1777 & Manton 1799 Brown Bess Flintlock Musket & bayonet. ......£2400.00 1861 .58 cal Springfield Rifle; Needham London Breech Loading Conversion.....£1295.00 1868 .577 Snider MKII** Artillery Carbine, RMFA, Nipple Protector & Chain.........£1100.00 1844 Enfield .650 Yeomanry Cavalry carbine, Tower lock, saddle bar & ring. ......£1375.00 C1860 Pritchard Birmingham, Volunteer Officer’s .577 2 band ‘Enfield’ Rifle.........£945.00 Hollis & Sons, .577 Snider Cavalry Carbine, Gunmakers to Her Majesty’s WD .......£975.00 EIC C 1845 .650 Percussion Heavy Dragoon Pistol, captive ram rod, brass cap. .£1150.00 1866-71 Peabody’s 1862 Pat Sharps & Hankins .45 RF Cavalry Carbine. ...........£1795.00 Gras Model 1880 (M74/80) 11mm French Rifle Conv.Chassepot Needle Fire .......£975.00

ANTIQUES & OBSOLETE CALIBRE Maynard Model 1863 2nd Type .50 calibre cavalry Carbine, saddle bar & ring. ......£1795.00 Peninsular War 1807-1804 Original Full Size 1½ pdr cannon, Field Carriage. ....... £9750.00 1897 Swinburn Patent Martini.500 x 450 Sporting Rifle by Webley & Scott. .......... £1200.00 Parsons & Sons Bham. Flintlock Blunderbuss, brass cannon brll, spring bayo ........£2400.00 Blunderbuss 1790-1801 Martin Brander 2 bore Brass Barrel Flintlock. ..................£1975.00 Flintlock Blunderbuss 1799-1833 T. Richards London, 3 bore spring bayo. ............£1950.00 C1840 Moody London, 24 b brass cannon barrel perc pistol, silver inlaid stock. ......£645.00 C 1840 McDermott Dublin 40 bore Pistol, silver stock mounts, Damascus barrel..... £895.00 C1870 J. Harper, London, Pepperbox 6 shot .36cal ring trigger. VGC ........................£895.00 C 1830 Mortimer London Pair Exceptional Perc Saw Handle Officer’s Pistols. ........£6250.00 C1850 John Neill Belfast Pair Cased Travelling Percussion Pistols & Acc’s. ............£2450.00 C1790 Twigg London O/U Tap Action Flintlock 40b Pistol, screw off barrels. ............£975.00 1866 Marlin 40-60 Lever Action Rifle with tube magazine & octagonal barrel .......£1975.00 Charles Lancaster 1850 Oval Bore .442 Heavy Barrel Match Target Rifle. ..............£2750.00 1824 Cased Mint pair Officer’s Percussion Pistols, Isaac Riviere, accessories. .......£4950.00 C1840 Golden & Hanson Huddersfield Transitional .600 B/L Needle Fire Rifle........ £2800.00 Pair C1800 Irish Flintlock Pocket Pistols by J Bloomer, screw off barrels. ...............£1295.00 C1810 Napolionic .700 Belgian Sea Service Flintlock Royal Naval Pistol. .................£845.00 Model 1849 Colt .31 Percussion Pocket Revolver, matching, dates to 1854. ...........£1375.00 Match Grade 1860 Hollis & Sons .500 ML Percussion Target Rifle & Ramrod. ........£1750.00 1866 Tower Enfield .577 NCO’s 2 band Percussion Rifle. Excellent Cond. ...............£975.00 1857 Tower 1853 Patt 3 band ,577 Rifle with bayonet and Sling. VGC. .................. £1250.00 1860-63 Remington- Beales .36 cal Navy Revolver, percussion Civil War Use. ...... £1950.00 Remington 1858 .44 calibre New Model Army Percussion Revolver, 4 notches. .....£1750.00

MEDAL FEATURE

COVER STORY

Belgian awards for 1914-18 Peter Duckers looks at collecting the medals awarded by Belgium to Belgian and Allied troops in WWI

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he Kingdom of Belgium, then under its third king, Albert, was one of the earliest of Britain's allies and a huge amount of British effort and manpower went into the defence of Belgium (especially Flanders) between 1914-18. As an established kingdom, with an overseas empire (in particular the huge Belgian Congo) Belgium had its own range of orders, decorations and medals for national and imperial service and nearly 8,000 were conferred on British and associated forces during the course of the war. All awards to these personnel were announced in The London Gazette or similar official publications (like the Gazette of India). The principal Belgian orders were the Order of Leopold

or Leopold I (1832) – the first to be established by the new monarchy the Order of the Crown (1897), the Order of the Leopold II (1900), the Order of the African Star (1888) and the Royal Order of the Lion (1891). The last two were primarily intended for service in Belgium’s overseas empire, especially in the Belgian Congo, and are not common to foreign recipients. The Order of Leopold II was originally conferred for service to the royal family but was later conferred for work in the diplomatic and civil services. The Order of the Crown, again originally created for service in Africa, became a general award for distinguished achievement in the arts, science, literature, commerce etc. Nevertheless, about 850 were conferred as general rewards on British

Above: Belgian troops heading for the front at the Battle of the Frontiers in August 1914 Left: The Order of Leopold, 4th Class (indicated by ribbon rosette); with swords for military service recipients during the war. Any of these could be conferred on foreign recipients for war work, especially in the context of a world war where honours were required for all sorts of service. But it was the Order of Leopold which was most frequently awarded to foreigners. Always intended as an officers’ and NCOs’ military reward for gallantry or meritorious service, it had five classes and examples of all grades can be found in groups to British officers – approximately 525 were conferred, most in the grades of Officer or Knight. The Badge of the Order is a white enamelled Maltese cross, resting on a wreath of oak and www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Belgian awards for 1914-18

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laurel; the centre (both sides) shows the Belgian lion on a black background, around which are the words ‘Unity Creates Strength’ in either Flemish or French (depending on the recipient). The Badge is suspended from a crown, below which crossed swords or anchors indicate an award for military or naval war service. The ribbon is plain deep violet, though often described as poppy red. Gold stripes were added to the ribbon to denote distinguished civilian service, in which case crossed swords or anchors were not worn. Belgium naturally had its own series of decorations for gallantry or distinguished service. The main ones were the Military Cross (1885), originally a long-service award for officers, and the Military Decoration (1873), an award in two classes for NCOs and Other Ranks, which could be granted either for long service or to those who have distinguished themselves by acts of courage and devotion in war - about 500 of the latter were conferred on British recipients, though they are not

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frequently seen in British groups. The most commonly seen award for gallantry is the War Cross (Croix de Guerre). Established in 1915, following the French precedent, it was created specifically because of the nature of the close fighting of World War I, where it was felt that an immediate reward was required for the almost day-to-day acts of gallantry that were being performed. It essentially rewarded those who had been ‘mentioned in dispatches’. The Cross is essentially the same in design as the Belgian Military Cross except that is made entirely of plain bronze, without enamel. The obverse carries the Belgian lion in the centre, with monogram ‘A’ for King Albert on the reverse. The ribbon, red with narrow green stripes, can carry emblems in the form of the Belgian lion in bronze or silver, or palms in bronze, silver or gilt, to distinguish the level of mention (regimental, divisional etc.) or to represent further awards. In 1950 an additional palm emblem was authorised to be worn by those who became prisoners of war. As many

1: The 4th Class of the Order of the Crown 2: The Belgian Croix de Guerre 3: The Medal for Voluntary Service 4: The standard Belgian War Medal 5: The reverse of the Belgian War Medal 6: A typical Belgian group for WWI - Croix de Guerre, Military Decoration (on long service ribbon), Croix de Feu, War Medal, Victory Medal 7: The Belgian Victory Medal, reverse as 5,600 examples of this attractive decoration were awarded to British or Imperial recipients during World War I. Single examples are easily found on the market, at around £25-£35 each, but in a group to a British recipient they can considerably increase the value of the whole, depending on the recipient and the circumstances of award. Original documents sometimes survive and can offer a detailed citation. A retrospective Maritime Decoration was established in 1918 to reward Belgian naval forces (later extended to fishermen and merchant seamen) for WWI service. There were two enamelled crosses, representing first and second classes, and lower-tier medals in gold,

MEDAL FEATURE

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9 silver and bronze. The sea-green ribbon carries an emblem of crossed anchors. Belgium awarded a wide range of war medals reflecting all branches of service and civilian effort. Two in particular were granted for special civil work – the Albert Medal (1919) rewarded outstanding humanitarian and charitable work at home and abroad associated with the relief of Belgium, while the Medal of Queen Elisabeth (de la Reine Elisabeth) was awarded from 1915 to Belgian and foreign women for at least one year’s nursing or other humanitarian services to wounded civilians and soldiers. The highly-regarded Yser Medal was instituted in October 1918 to reward those who had faced the might of the German attack along the River Yser in October 1914, in which the Belgian army lost a third of its total force – 60,000 casualties. The patinated greenish-bronze medal featured on its obverse a male figure carrying a lance, symbolising resistance to the enemy, with date ‘17-31 OCT. 1914’. It has ‘YSER’ on a green enamel background

in an upper medallion. The reverse featured a wounded lion and a view of the battlefield. Converted by decree to a Cross in 1934, recipients could wear either type but since they had to purchase the later version, most seem to have retained the original. Its ribbon was black with a red central stripe. Apart from a number of local and unofficial medals awarded by Belgian towns, associations and communities (like the Liège Medal awarded from 1920 for the defence of the city in 1914), several official, national war medals were produced. The commonest is the commemorative War Medal 1914-18, Belgium’s standard war service award, produced in bronze and in an unusual shape; it is essentially a triangle with rounded edges and curved sides. Its obverse features the profile of a helmeted Belgian soldier with the Belgian lion above and dates ‘1914-1918’ in the bottom corners. The reverse has the royal crown and dates ‘1914 and 1918’, with the inscription ‘Medal Commemorating the Campaign’ in Flemish and French.

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8: British medal group, with 1914-15 trio, Order of Leopold (reverse showing) and Belgian Croix de Guerre. It was common for recipients of a Belgian order also to receive the War Cross 9: British group with Military Cross and showing two Belgian awards for WWI - the Order of the Crown and the Croix de Guerre 10: The Yser Medal, commemorating Belgium’s resistance in 1914: obverse of original circular type 11: The Yser Medal, reverse of original circular type of 1919 12: The Yser Medal in its later version where it has a cross instead The ribbon has stripes of yellow, red and black. A large range of emblems could be worn on the ribbon, of which the following are examples: a gilt crown for those who served voluntarily, narrow metal bars in silver (for one year and then for each six months of active service) or black for POWs, red enamel crosses indicating war wounds, a bronze anchor for naval recipients or two anchors for Marines. As late as 1950, the bar ‘1916-R-1918’ was authorised for service in Russia. Basic examples can be found cheaply on the market, at around £15. The bronze Medal for Combatant Volunteers was authorised in 1930 and was awarded to nationals or foreigners who had rendered voluntary service. It again has an unusual shape – described as oval it is a circle with a crescent-shaped extension to the top. The obverse features two heads, one representing the volunteers of the revolution of 1830 which freed Belgium from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the other a volunteer of 191418. The reverse carries the inscription www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Belgian awards for 1914-18

Above left: A British group whose recipient was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Belgian Military Decoration (on gallantry ribbon, with emblem) and Croix de Guerre. Above right: Group to a British nurse, who was appointed MBE (left) and received the Medal of Queen Elisabeth (far right) for nursing services in Belgium ‘VOLUNTARIIS 1914-18 PATRIA MEMOR’. Its ribbon is plain royal blue. The Fire Cross originated in a simple lapel badge given to those who had received a fire card showing that they had served under enemy fire; in 1934 it was converted into an bronze medal. To avoid the necessity of each Allied power awarding a commemorative war medal to the personnel of all its allies it was decided in 1919 that each participating country would award a standardised type of medal to its own forces, each resembling that of its Allies in terms of ribbon and design elements. The medal’s ribbon for all countries was a colourful double rainbow – thus avoiding national connotations. The obverse was fixed as some form of classical Winged Victory or Nike, although Japan and Siam, with different cultural and religious sensitivities, adopted their own iconography. That of Belgium featured a Winged Victory, head facing right,

with arms outstretched downwards, holding a sword in the right hand and standing on top of a globe. The reverses of the medals were more varied, according to the wishes of the awarding nation, some featuring the coat of arms of the country and the names of the Allies. Several of these medals are rare, since some of the issuing states had only small forces committed during the war. Those of Brazil and Siam are especially uncommon, but dangerous fakes exist. The Belgian version had the arms of Belgium in its centre, surrounded by a laurel wreath and beyond this a circle of nine shields bearing the names of the principal Allied powers. It carries an inscription common to most of the Allied Victory Medals: ‘The Great War for Civilisation’, in Flemish and French. It is estimated that over 300,000 were originally awarded to Belgian recipients; a decree of 1951 extended the award to African troops, the

merchant and fishing fleets and civilian political prisoners. Examples are easily and cheaply available at around £15. There were other special, and less frequently seen, Belgian service medals. One was the Medal for Africa 191417, given to Belgian personnel who had served alongside British forces in the East African campaign or on the frontiers of the Belgian Congo; the obverse has a sitting lion and the reverse the dates ‘1914-16 and the names of the principal areas of operation. The medal was awarded in silver to Europeans and bronze to Africans and in 1934 a single clasp ‘MAHENGE’ was authorised for those present in the Belgian capture of that place in October 1917. Belgian awards of most types and grades are easy to find on the market at reasonable prices. In medal groups to British recipients, they can add greatly to the value of the group, especially those with rarely-seen types. ■

13: The Belgian War Medal with service bars on ribbon representing years of war service. 14: The Croix de Feu (Fire Cross) in its 1934 version. Obverse, with helmet and bayonet over a battlefield scene. 15: Medal de la Reine Elisabeth - given to women for nursing and humanitarian work; many were awarded to British nurses

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A 38th Division Gallantry Certificate to a Battery Sergt. Major whose bravery resulted in the award of the Belgian Croix de Guerre

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Welcome to www.military-collectables.com

The German World War II Gasplane Ian Carpenter looks at an item of gas defence carried by the German soldier during World War II

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he Gasplane was introduced on 15 March 1939 by Heeres Mitteilung 210 and initially it had the two official purposes. The first was as a defence against liquid gases dropped out of aircraft, the second as a blanket to cover poisoned terrain. Army regulations stipulated that the Gasplane had to be carried in the field in addition to the gasmask and be ready for use.

To use the Gasplane as a defence against liquid gases it is removed from the pouch and by holding it by the labels, or coloured squares, it can be quickly unfolded. The Gasplane is then to be thrown over the head. At this point the user should immediately lie down with their legs pulled up under the Gasplane. When used as a cover over suspected contaminated land the Gasplane was to be placed so a person could lay on it lengthwise. The standard Gasplane could only be used once, a later variant made for tropical and arctic environments could be reused a number of times. The pouch designed to carry the Gasplane is a rectangle bag with a flap at the top which is secured with buttons or press studs with pull tabs. The reverse of the pouch has two loops that enable it to be attached to the gasmask cannister. Underneath the flap is where the markings, if present can be found. Generally, the markings on early war examples will be more detailed, showing the name and location of the maker, the date of manufacture and inspection stamps. Mid-war examples usually have an opaque combination of a batch number, the code used by the maker and sometimes a year of production. Finally, there are many original examples with no markings at all. Broadly speaking, the pouch will be encountered in a rubberised or waxy like fabric or made Wartime illustration showing the original method of carrying the Gasplane

entirely of cloth. The standard Gasplane was made of an impregnated paper or paper like material and can be found in assorted colours. When unfolded, it measured approximately 200cm by 120cm. Folded the dimensions were 21cm x 15cm x 3cm and it weighed 450g. The markings on the Gasplane are usually located on a paper label, except for those made for tropical and arctic environments where the markings are ink-stamped directly. These ink stamps are usually complemented with coloured squares. Whilst the manufacturers’ details were of little interest to the individual who had been issued with it, the paper label or colour squares had a practical purpose as it was the area where the Gasplane should be held when in use. There is little standardisation with regards the markings found on the Gasplane. Nevertheless, there are several common attributes which are usually present. These are the makers name or code, a batch number and a production date.

Tropical & arctic variants To be effective in extreme climates such as those encountered in the deserts of North Africa or the winters in Russia, Gasplanes were constructed of more durable materials and at 950g they were more than twice as heavy as the standard issue. Gasplanen designated for these climates are usually marked ‘Tp/ ArK’, ‘Tp ArK’ or ‘Tp’ where Tp is an abbreviation for the German tropisch and ArK is the abbreviation for arktis. Unlike the standard Gasplane, this type could be detoxified and reused by placing it in water for a prescribed number of hours. With their stronger construction a further use for this type

GEAR FEATURE

A 1939 dated Gasplane. Care must be taken – if it looks brittle, don’t open it

A number of the different variety Gasplane pouches that can be encountered

The unauthorised method of carrying the Gasplane was to strap it to the gasmask canister Two of the more common fakes/repro; the more modern Bundeswehr (left) and WIEN (right)

of Gasplane was officially permitted from late 1942 whereby it could be used as a waterproof base in tents, snow huts and similar shelters. After such use the Gasplane had to be dried out and before being folded back into the carrying pouch. The original method for carrying the Gasplane was for the pouch to be attached to the gasmask cannister’s long strap so that it could be worn across the chest and be immediately accessible. This method was not satisfactory so, in early 1940, a revised order specified that the long strap from the gasmask cannister was to be put through the upper loop of the pouch twice to stop the pouch sliding. This was still not satisfactory so a further order from late 1942 introduced a new method whereby the cannister’s long strap was put through the first loop on the gasmask cannister then through the loops on the reverse of the pouch and, finally, fastened to through the loop at the bottom of the gasmask cannister. Despite these orders, the most common but unauthorised method of carrying the Gasplane was for it to be strapped to the gasmask cannister. There are many different fake and

reproduction Gasplane on sale today. Two of the more common examples the collector will encounter are the Bundeswehr and WIEN types. The Bundeswehr type is not a reproduction per se because it is a genuine Gasplane, but it was manufactured post World War II and saw service with the Bundeswehr. There are lots of differences between this type and the World War II Gasplane. The most noticeable being the veins that run throughout the material, quite unlike any known World War II examples. The metal disks on the corner are another feature not seen on wartime era Gasplanen. They are sometimes encountered stamped with spurious eagles and WaA codes. The WIEN type is one of the most common fakes around today. The collector will find examples being sold as originals by dealers, on internet auction sites and at militaria shows. ■ Acknowledgements: This article would not have been possible without the generosity of: Tom Barkmeijer (www. mp44.nl), Jason D Mark (www. leapinghorseman.com), Giancarlo Persic.

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COLLECTORS CORNER

• Empty Gasplane pouches are very common with prices starting at £20. The collector will find myriad examples manufactured using varied materials and containing many different markings.

• Original German World War II Gascapes are also relatively easy to find. Expect to pay between £120 £150 for a mid-war example from a dealer. Pre-war or 1945 dated examples sometimes carry an extra premium as do those designated for tropical\arctic environments. • Examples of the standard Gasplane are usually found in brittle condition and attempts at unfolding may cause damage. If the markings can be viewed, they should be left as is. The tropical\arctic variants have survived in better condition because of the stronger materials used during production.

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Medical evacuation from the field in-progress (US Army)

American nurses in Vietnam A look into the duties and sacrifices made by young women, mostly in their 20s, by John C Pursley

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hen the subject of military combat nurses comes up, what do you imagine? Angels of mercy dressing the wounds of the injured in a field hospital, or holding the hand of a dying soldier, knowing her face will be the last thing he sees? Perhaps even passing instruments to a surgeon as she holds the clamp on a severed artery while mortar rounds explode in the area? If you do, then you have just a hint of what these underappreciated and relatively forgotten group of tenacious and compassionate women did for American wounded during the Vietnam War. In America the practice of using female military combat nurses was

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not commonplace until the Civil War, when Clara Barton (Clarissa Harlowe Barton) bravely broke ground for common sense to prevail. However, Ms Barton was not the military nursing innovator, for that we look to Britain and Florence Nightingale. However, nurses and women serving in the military have been present in all modern conflicts including Korea and Vietnam. There isn’t much official data, but the best estimate is approximately 11,000 American military women served from March 1962 to March 1973 with over 6,250 working as nurses in Vietnam.

Army nurse with her carbine somewhere in Vietnam, 1969

MEDICAL FEATURE Others served as physicians, physical therapists, personnel in the Medical Service Corps, air traffic controllers, communications specialists, intelligence officers, clerks and in other capacities in different branches of the armed services. Not all, but most of the women who served in Vietnam as nurses were volunteers, some recently graduated from college while others were much more experienced. Although the American military involvement in Vietnam officially began in 1962, several US Army nurses were sent to Vietnam in 1956 to teach nursing skills to certain South Vietnamese women. But as the US military presence in South Vietnam grew, so did the numbers of Army nurses required to handle the combat wounded. The nurses spent six weeks in basic training at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas where they were familiarised with Vietnamese villages and learned the basic functions for field hospital emergency room and triage procedures. They were sometimes sent into combat zones with only a basic knowledge of the military and very little practical nursing experience. The US Army stationed nurses at selected hospitals throughout South Vietnam with most allowed to have an influence as to what and where their assignment would be. Once the replacement nurses arrived at their duty station, chief nurses usually allocated them where they were needed to fill-in for shortages caused by rotations, R&R, etc. But no matter where they were or what they were doing in Vietnam, these nurses had to contend with the constant threat of physical danger, living in a jungle, overwhelming casualties and tiring mental stress as almost all hospitals were in areas of heavy combat and always subject to enemy attack. The living conditions for Army nurses were primitive and left a lot to be desired, lacked several basic creature comforts like hot water and privacy, and varied greatly according to where the hospital was located. Most combat nurses lived in Quonset huts as did their male combat counterparts and referred to the quarters as hooches. In these crude shanties women had to share living quarters in a common bay, while others stationed at long-term bases had more permanent facilities

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7 1: These nurses had to contend with physical danger, casualties and mental stress 2: US Army nurses outside their hospital facility 1968 (the moth) 3: Nurses in action somewhere in Vietnam (Star Tribune) 4: The Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington DC (herreandthereus) 5: On 8 June 1969, the 312th Evacuation Hospital was struck by rockets fired by the Viet Cong. One rocket killed two people and wounded another 27. Among the dead was 1st LT Lane, who died instantly of fragmentation wounds to the chest 6: Nurses working on a wounded American soldier in the 71st Evacuation Hospital (Healio) 7: Medical evacuation helicopters were so efficient, 97% of wounded who made it to a hospital survived (Army Nurse Corps Assn.) www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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American nurses in Vietnam 8

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10 and private rooms. While on-duty in the field hospitals during mortar attacks no-one, including the nurses, was safe. When the attacks did come those on duty in the hospital remained at their post while off-duty nurses could run for the bunkers. However, many chose not to due to the fear of being sexually molested by their own soldiers. For this reason, when nurses had to leave their compound for any reason, they were usually escorted by an armed guard. The Viet Cong paid no heed to the Geneva Convention as their attacks were fairly common at most hospitals. During one such incident, in August 1969, the 6th Army Convalescent Hospital was attacked and overrun. Throwing crude hand-made explosives and firing their small-arms weapons, they killed two patients and wounded another 99. A similar attack by the VC at Cam Ranh Bay wounded 20 patients and killed three. Sworn to protect their patients, several nurses dragged their wounded under their beds, and covered those who couldn’t be moved with pillows, or sometimes the nurses laid atop wounded patients. Occasionally nurses were wounded because of the attacks, as in one case in 1964 when four women received Purple Hearts for injuries received in combat. Mortar and artillery attacks weren’t

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8: A nurse and doctor discuss a patient’s condition (Campaign for action) 9: Within less than six months experience, many young nurses found themselves in Vietnam for a year (TPT.org) 10: Sign from the 95th Evacuation hospital 11: To many, she and many like her were angels in white 12: US Army nurse Colonel Martha Maggie Raye, famous American singer, actress and veteran US Army nurse of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam 13: Ariel view of the 85th-Evac hospital 14: US Army nurses even treated wounded enemy soldiers (usmilitariaforum) all the nurses had to fear, they also had to contend with VC infiltrators who, once inside the compound could become a sniper or plant explosives in critical areas. On one occasion at the 71st Evacuation Hospital compound, a maid was caught smuggling 80 pounds of plastic explosives. During the Vietnam War, the rapid helicopter evacuation from the battlefield to various army hospitals and Navy ships in record time achieved an unprecedented success in saving wounded soldiers. The success rate of Army nurses was phenomenal in that less than 2% of the casualties treated died because of their wounds. Operations were conducted around the clock, therefore, the normal working week for an Army nurse was 12-hours per day, six days per week or more if there was a situation resulting

in heavy casualties. Doctors and nurses in these cases worked steadily for several days getting very little sleep. The sheer number of wounded soldiers placed a great deal of physical and mental stress on the nurses and traumatic amputations were recurring because of booby-traps, rifle and pistol fire, mines, and grenades. More amputations were conducted during the Vietnam War than in any previous US war. In past conflicts many soldiers wounded in this manner would have most likely succumbed, but the capacity and speed of the helicopter evacuations meant most were still alive when they reached the medical facility. During the Vietnam War, eight female and two male nurses died in conjunction with performing militaryrelated duties and their names are among the other 58,300 etched into the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC. First Lieutenant Sharon Lane, who served in Ward 4B of the 312th Evacuation Hospital at Chu Lai, was the first and only nurse to be killed by direct enemy fire on June 8, 1969 when a rocket landed in her ward. Two other deaths occurred when 2nd Lieutenant’s Carol Ann Drazba and Elizabeth Jones were killed in a helicopter crash heading to an R&R area in February 18, 1966 with four more dying the following November when 1st Lt.’s Hedwig Diane Orlowski,

MEDICAL FEATURE 14

Kenneth R. Shoemaker, Jr., Jerome Edwin Olmstead and their Captain Eleanor Grace Alexander died in a C47 transport crash. In July 1968 2nd. Lt. Pamela Dorothy Donovan died because of illness and the following month the 91st Evacuation Hospital’s chief nurse Lt. Col. Annie Ruth Graham succumbed to a subarachnoid hemorrhage. The last death of an Army nurse occurred in April 1975. While conducting a humanitarian mission during the final days of the fall of Vietnam, Captain Mary Theresa Klincker was killed when the C141 plane she was in crashed. After the war the nurses who had served in Vietnam had many of the same problems with readjusting to civilian life as their male counterparts, but one major difference was that it took over 20-years for the US Government and the public to recognise the women who had served. In addition to the nurses, almost 10,000 women in uniform served in-country during the war. The Vietnam Women’s Memorial Project was incorporated in 1984 and promoted the healing of Vietnam women veterans by designing the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, enlightening the public on the role the women served and performing research on the psychological effects related to their service. In November 1993,

the Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. in front of approximately 25,000 people. The centerpiece of the memorial is a bronze statue depicting three female nurses tending a wounded soldier. The Memorial created a greater awareness of the women veterans’ many mental and physical health problems as a number still experienced PTSD symptoms, severe depression and multiple physical problems even 43 years after the end of the war. Former Vietnam Army nurse Rhona Marie Knox Prescott summed up her experience, “The tent became our surgery. It was beyond primitive, it was beyond the M.A.S.H. movie and TV show. It was dirty, it was a non-sterile environment. We didn't have enough instruments. We didn't have enough hands. Needless to say, we shared things during surgical procedures that were absolutely needed to save lives, but they weren't sterile. We didn't have suction, we didn't have penicillin to irrigate wounds, didn't have enough blood to transfuse, we just didn't have... We did have so many casualties right out of the field. They just brought them all in there. The First Cav. put their people in that staging unit hoping that we could fix them and send them back into the war. So, we were (in) way above our heads.” ■

Army-nurse-corps-patch (prior service)

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NURSE COLLECTABLES

While the publicity photos of nurses in Vietnam showed starched white dress uniforms, the reality was that most wore the same clothing in Vietnam as everyone else – green fatigues and peaked caps, but sometimes with a patch sown on. The Live Auctioneers website recently sold a blouse, T-shirt and trousers uniform in green, to a US Army nurse from Vietnam, for around $37. That said, the AAF Tank Museum Online Store had, at the time of writing, a white 1966-dated, Dress, Poplin, White, Quarter Sleeves, uniform, belonging to a nurse in Vietnam, for sale at $160. Authentic period nurse insignia can be also purchased from the internet and placed on a period uniform as it would have been worn. The US Army nurses uniform from Vietnam that was sold by Live Auctioneers

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Thomas Alfred Jones Private 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment

Thomas Alfred Jones VC, DCM Neil Thornton recounts the story of a solitary private who was awarded a VC for capturing over 100 German soldiers in WWI

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s a relative of Thomas Alfred ‘Todger’ Jones I learned all about him from an early age. Some of his medals and other items still reside with family members. Years later, I was fortunate enough to be involved in a campaign to have a statue of him installed opposite our local war memorial in Runcorn, Cheshire, our mutual hometown. “How the Dickens did you do it Jones?” This was the question, asked by King George as he presented Private ‘Todger’ Jones with his Victoria Cross. It is difficult to believe how one man could accomplish what he did to earn his VC but, through a combination of bravery, coolness and bluff, and a little bit of luck, Jones succeeded in capturing over 100 enemy soldiers single-handedly before marching them back to his own lines and captivity. By the time he entered France as a

A studio portrait of ‘Todger’ taken during his leave when presented his Victoria Cross reservist in January 1915 ‘Todger’ was in his mid-30s, but, having served in his local unit for many years, he already had a wealth of experience, and was wellknown as an exceptional marksman. He quickly became an extremely popular

member of the battalion and was employed as a sniper, bomber and guide. He distinguished himself in a bombing attack at Hill 60 in May 1915 and was informed by his company commander that he would be recommended for an award, but the officer was killed later that day and nothing materialised. His gallantry was due to be rewarded on several further occasions, but nothing materialised. However, this bad luck changed on 25 September 1916 when his actions on the Somme were recognised with the Victoria Cross. The battalion was ordered to attack the village of Morval and in less than 15 minutes they had stormed the buildings and were securing the position. Whilst digging in on the outskirts of the village, enemy snipers began to fire on them. Private Jones witnessed several men being hit and requested permission to attack the enemy who were now about 150yd away. His officer refused and ordered him to carry on digging. The enemy shots continued to pour in and more men were hit. ‘Todger’

Left: ‘Todger’ Jones VC, DCM, as shown on a contemporary cigarette card ‘Todger’s VC group, as donated to the Cheshire Regiment Museum after his death (Mark Green)

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December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

Above: The reverse of a postcard sent home from the front by ‘Todger’ to his mother, signed as ‘Tom’

PEOPLE FEATURE

‘Todger’ threatens his sca red and surrendering prisoners with bombs Right: A silver cigarette case presented to ‘Todger’ by the Warrant Officers and Sergeants of the regiment. Below: A close up of the engraving (David Copland)

Below left and right: ‘Todger’s Territorial Medal (still with the family), together with a medal from his employer for 25 years’ service, that was awarded in 1938

witnessed one man being shot in the knee and another through the head. He chanced a glance at the German position and saw what he deemed to be a white flag. This flag, coupled with the incoming fire, infuriated him and he asserted his wish to attack. The officer again refused, but by now, ‘Todger’ had completely lost his temper. Throwing down his entrenching tool, he scooped up his rifle, jumped up and shouted out, “If I’ve got to die, I’ll die fighting, not digging!” With that, the private charged towards the enemy trench alone. The enemy sniper began to fire at ‘Todger’ as he made his way across. One bullet smashed into the front of his helmet, which pierced it but did not penetrate far. Instead it span around the inside before shooting down his back, grazing his neck. It had been a lucky escape, but the sniper was not so fortunate. ‘Todger’ returned fire and killed him. He reached the enemy trench and leapt into it. “There were three men in it,” he later explained, “… but jumping in at the end of the trench, I had only one at a time to deal with. I got my back to the wall, and they whipped round on me. I always believe in firing from the hip and very quickly number one

dropped dead. Before the next man could recover his senses I had shot him as well, slipped another cartridge in the breech and got the old magazine going on the third at a yard range. The other men fired at me from the entrance to the dug-outs, but I managed to get there first every time, which is a great thing in jobs of that kind.” ‘Todger’ was attacked by five more Germans but he managed to killed them all. Others, fearing they were under attack by a large enemy force, bolted into the dugouts. Grabbing some German grenades, ‘Todger’ then began to hurl bombs down the steps. Soon, a number of enemy soldiers emerged with their hands up. One who spoke English informed him that there were around 15 soldiers still down there whereupon ‘Todger’ told him to get them out, informing them that his ‘mates’ were coming over any second and if they find anything wrong with him they would all be slaughtered. ‘Todger’s’ bluff worked a treat. Soon, Germans were pouring out of every dugout in the area with their hands up. ‘Todger’ assembled them into a large area in the open and attempted to stall things whilst thinking what to do next. To his relief, he then saw a man start from his own line. It

was his best friend, Sam Poxon, who, hearing about what had happened had told his comrades he was going over to bring ‘Todger’ back, dead or alive. Three other men followed, and between them they helped to escort 102 prisoners back to the British lines. ‘Todger’ reckoned he had captured about 150 enemy soldiers, but some were killed as he walked them back though an artillery barrage. One man, a stretcher-bearer, who was witness to the event, said, “I tell you there was a shout went up when Todger led his prisoners into our lines. They say 11 officers recommended him for the Victoria Cross. He is ‘Top Hole’. He has earned it many a time.” ■

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NICKNAME EXPLAINED

Private Jones explained the origin of his nickname: ‘I was ‘Todger’ at school, and ‘Todger’ followed me to France. It’s like this. As a boy at school I played football, and I suppose I was a bit tricky or artful when it came to dribbling. My schoolfellows nicknamed me ‘Dodger,’ but my front name is Tom, and it wasn’t long before it was ‘Todger’ this and ‘Todger’ that. It was ‘Todger’ with everybody at the Front, and lots of ‘em seemed to know me by no other name.’

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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WEAPONS FEATURE THE MEN BEHIND THE GUN:

John Hall’s legacy John Walter looks at some of the breechloaders that originated prior to the American Civil War, inspired by the success of the Hall rifle

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orn on 18 April 1799 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, William Jenks, by then of Columbia, South Carolina, was granted US Patent 747 of May 1838 to protect a breechloader which may have been the best design of its day. A flintlock musket was tried by the US Army in 1838, followed by 100 .64-calibre smoothbore carbines, and the navy bought a few M1839 .54 cap-lock muskets, with 36in barrels and an overall length of 52.5in. Weighing only about 7.6lb, these guns were very lightly built. The army then acquired 40 caplock carbines, 20 being specially rifled for trials with the dragoons. Trials undertaken in 1841 confirmed their potential, and an endurance test at Fort Adam ended only when the nipple split after 14,813 shots had A Remington-made Jenks carbine. Note the plain bands and the lanyard ring behind the trigger guard (College Hill)

been fired. It is unlikely that any rival breechloading system available in 1840 could have withstood such treatment. The cap-lock Jenks, known as ‘Mule Ear’, had a hammer that swung laterally. Raising an elongated breech cover, pivoted at the back of the action, broke the toggle lock and withdrew the piston (breechblock) to give access to the chamber. The mechanism sealed surprisingly well, and the breech lever deflected escaping gas down and away from the firer’s face. A Board of Officers convened in Washington Arsenal in 1845 recommended that the Jenks carbine be adopted immediately. However, field trials proved catastrophic: attempts had been made to load Hall carbine cartridges, which were much too large, or to fire musket cartridges instead of loose powder and ball. The failure of these trials ended the army career of the Jenks, but the navy, on the other hand, remained convinced of its potential. Nathan Ames delivered 1,000 rifles and 4,250 carbines in 1843-6, and 1,000 carbines then came from E. Remington & Son, which had bought the original production machinery and thousands of parts. Remington-made guns introduced the Maynard Tape Primer and a cast-steel barrel. They also had double-ear actuating levers and straight-shank hammers.

The navy carbines were issued to sail-and-steam warships from 1856, usually on a scale of about 70 per ship, and the inventory stood at 1,359 on 30 December 1858. A few unaltered Jenks carbines saw service during the Civil War, but most had been transformed by James Merrill into sidehammer cap locks. William Jenks, listed in the 1860 and 1870 Federal censuses as a machinist, died in North Carolina on 26 October 1872, survived by his wife Ruth Buften and several of their children.

Christian Sharps The failure of the Jenks army carbine proved a boon to Christian Sharps. Born in Washington Warren, New Jersey, on 2 January 1810, Sharps was apprenticed to a gunmaking business before finding employment in the Harper’s Ferry Rifle Works in 1830. There he worked under the tutelage of John Hall. When work ceased in Harper’s Ferry in 1844, Sharps moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked on an improved breech mechanism patented on 12 September

Above left: Remington’s Jenks carbines, made in Herkimer in New York State, were the first service weapons to be fitted with the Maynard Tape Primer (College Hill). Above right: The Jenks action with the hammer cocked and the lid of the tape primer open (College Hill). Above right: The top of the Jenks breech, showing the double lugs or ears of the breech lever (College Hill) www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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John Hall’s legacy The perfected or Fifth Model Burnside of the Civil War had a conventional wooden fore-end, and an adaptation that allowed the breechblock to move back and down to facilitate loading (iCollector)

The Gibbs carbine relied on a barrel that tipped upward to expose the breech when the ring-tipped underlever was pushed down (Rock Island Auctions)

The 1851-pattern Sharps carbine can be distinguished by the hammer carried inside the lockplate, and the rounded contours of the breech. The breechblock moves vertically. The small tangent back sight is also characteristic of these early guns, though the long straight sling bar on the left side was shared with the M1853 (James D. Julia, Inc., Morphy’s Auctions) 1848 (US 5,763). A massive block slid downward in the action body when the operating lever was depressed, the combustible paper (later linen) cartridge being ignited by an externally mounted side-hammer striking a cap. Tested by the US Army as early as 1850, the earliest guns had the breech lever outside the trigger guard. An improved design appeared in 1851, the so called ‘Slant Breech Sharps’, with the operating lever and trigger guard forged in one piece, a tape primer ahead of the hammer, and the hammer inside the back-action lock plate. The contours of the receiver were distinctly rounded. The Model 1853 provided the basis not only for carbines submitted to the US Army, but also the .56-calibre carbines that were made for trials in Britain. Old Model carbines, generally .52-calibre, were 37.8in overall with a 21.6in barrel. They had brass furniture, and Sharps’ patented pellet magazine in the lock plate. A waterproofed priming disc, stored in a slender brass tube, was placed over the nipple each time the hammer was cocked. The 400 M1855 carbines purchased by the army were essentially similar to the 1853 pattern, with the slant breech, but Maynard Tape Primers replaced Sharps’ pellet feeder. Though Sharps’ Rifle Manufacturing Company marks appeared on the carbine barrels, with ‘EDWARD MAYNARD/PATENTEE 1855’ on the tape-primer gate, the guns were made by Robbins & Lawrence in Hartford, Connecticut. Government property marks and inspector’s initials may be found on the rear of the barrel. The 200 half-stocked .52-calibre rifles acquired by the navy between

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Ambrose Everett Burnside in the uniform of a Major General on the Federal army. His carbine was one of the most successful of the pre-Civil War designs, despite the failure of its first manufacturer (US National Archives, Washington DC) March and September 1856, similar mechanically to the army carbines, were 44.3in long, had 28.3in barrels and weighed 9lb. Back sights were graduated to 800yd, furniture and barrel bands were brass. Trials undertaken in 1854 with a Sharps Carbine had shown accuracy to be poor, though penetration of 7¼in of pine at 30yd was greater than either the Hall or the Jenks. The action was sturdy and durable, but leaked gas. The sharpened upper edge of the breechblock, intended to shear the base off the cartridge as the action closed, inevitably scattered a few grains of powder on the upper surface of the breech. Flash from the cap ignited the loose powder when the gun fired,

making a worn gun unpleasant to use: the blast could actually be strong enough to cut through a neckerchief tied around the breech. The first gas-check to be used successfully was an expanding collar patented on 1 April 1856 by Hezekiah Conant of Hartford, Connecticut (US Patent No. 14,554) - so successfully, indeed, that the Sharps Rifle Company is said to have paid Conant $80,000 for his patent. Born on 28 July 1827 in Dudley, Massachusetts, married three times before his death in 1902, Conant, a prosperous mill owner, is remembered in Hartford as inventor, manufacturer, banker, philanthropist and benefactor. Yet although the Conant seal worked, it did not work as well as had been hoped. A major improvement was made by Richard Smith Lawrence, a partner in Robbins & Lawrence and eventually part-owner of the Sharps Rifle Company. Born on 22 November 1817 in Chester, Vermont, Lawrence had been raised in New York State and served the US Army during the short-lived Canadian Rebellion of 1837. He left the army to join Amos Kendall, who was making guns in what had once been Windsor prison. Lawrence’s untutored skills were honed so quickly that he had been made factory foreman within six months, and by 1843 was a trading partner of Kendall. Kendall & Lawrence obtained a government order for cap-lock rifles in 1844 and, with the aid of a local businessman, formed Robbins, Kendall & Lawrence. Robbins and Lawrence bought the ageing Kendall’s share of the business in 1847 and the reputation of Robbins & Lawrence grew rapidly. A contract to equip the British Royal Small

WEAPONS FEATURE

Above: The original Bristol-made Burnside had a separate breechlocking catch under the hammer, and lacked a fore-end (iCollector)

Left: The M1853 ‘Slant Breech’ Sharps, with a conventional external hammer, had a breechblock that moved diagonally down and forward when the operating lever was pulled down (James D. Julia, Inc., Morphy’s Auctions) Arms Factory with machine tools was accepted in 1851, followed by orders for British Enfields. A factory was opened in Hartford, Connecticut, when Robbins & Lawrence successfully tendered to make Sharps firearms in 1852. Though the business failed in 1854, the factory was bought by the Sharps Rifle Company and Richard Lawrence was retained as the factory superintendent. He retired in 1872 and died on 10 May 1892, renowned as a designer of barrelmaking machinery and other machine tools. The Lawrence gas-seal was patented in the USA on 20 December 1859 (No. 26,501). By 1860, the Marine Corps was optimistically reporting that all the earlier troubles encountered with Sharps Carbine had been corrected. However, the problem was eliminated only by converting caplocks to fire metal-case cartridges after the Civil War had ended.

Ambrose Burnside Among the most successful of the pre-1860 designs, excepting the Sharps, was the carbine designed by Ambrose Everett Burnside. Born on

This drawing, one of a series made by Brigadier-General John Pitman in 1900-10, shows how opening the top lever of the Jenks pulls the breechblock or ‘piston’ backward. A ball and then loose powder can be dropped through the circular port in the barrel

One of the first ships to receive Jenks carbines was USS Merrimack which was captured by the Confederacy and converted to become the ironclad CSS Virginia (US National Archives, Washington DC) 23 May 1824 in Liberty, Indiana, after training as a tailor, Burnside graduated from the US Military Academy, West Point, in the Class of 1847. After tinkering with breechloading firearms, Burnside resigned his commission in 1853 and founded the Bristol Fire Arms Company in Bristol, Rhode Island, in 1855. US Patent 14,491 was granted to Burnside on 25 March 1856 to protect a breechblock which was dropped by an operating lever curling around the base of side-hammer. The copper cartridge case, which was conical, was inserted backward into the block through the top of the frame. As the action closed, the protruding bullet seated in the chamber-mouth. Ignition was provided by the flash of a conventional cap passing through a hole in the centre of the cartridgecase base. A seal of thin waterproofed paper protected

the powder charge from moisture. The first Burnsides to be made by the Bristol Firearms Company had a separate breech-lock lever beneath the hammer and lacked a fore-end. The US Army purchased 200 of them in April 1856, followed by 709 in September 1858. Trials showed the Burnside to be acceptably reliable, but inaccurate. One gun tested at Washington Navy Yard in 1859 fired 500 shots without malfunctioning, but 30 of 470 aimed shots missed the 8ft-square target at 500yd. Penetration at 30yd proved to be 6.15in of pine. However, though grudgingly agreed to be the best of the imperfect systems submitted to army trials in 1857-8, no large-scale orders were placed and the Bristol Fire Arms Company was liquidated. Ironically, the new controller of the patents, the Burnside Rifle www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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John Hall’s legacy

The Greene carbine relied on the barrel swinging laterally to the right when the lever in the front part of the trigger guard was pressed. This example was one of those supplied for large-scale trials in Britain, and has the crown/V.R cypher on the gun’s lockplate (James D. Julia, Inc., Morphy’s Auctions)

The Maynard carbine, destined to be not only successful during the Civil War but also thereafter as a sporting gun, was essentially simple. Depressing the operating lever tipped the barrel to expose the chamber. Like the Burnside, the Maynard used metal-case cartridges and external ignition (James D. Julia, Inc., Morphy’s Auctions)

Company, made tens of thousands of carbines for the Federal Government during the Civil War. Burnside himself, after a chequered career as a military commander in the Civil War, went into politics and became Governor of Rhode Island. He died in Bristol on 13 September 1891.

There were no misfires, and the rate of fire proved to be 12 rounds per minute.

Others designers

Edward Maynard Born on 26 April 1813 in Madison, New York, Edward Maynard resigned from the US Military Academy after his first year, owing to continuous poor health. Instead he turned to dentistry and practised in Washington DC from 1836, virtually until his death in Washington on 4 May 1891. Renowned for the advances he made in dental science, Maynard was feted not only in the USA but also in Europe. Yet he remains best known for the tape-priming system found on Jenks, Sharps and Greene carbines (among others), and firearms

protected by US Patents 8,126 of 27 May 1851 and 26,364 of 6 December 1859. The Maynard Carbine was an unconventional tipping-barrel gun locked by a trigger-guard lever and, like the earliest Burnside, lacked a foreend. Made by the Massachusetts Arms Company, the guns chambered pierced-

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Edward Maynard, renowned for his pioneering work in dentistry as much for his Tape primer and tip-barrel firearms (US National Archives, Washington DC) Below: The open breech of the Gibbs carbine (Rock Island Auctions)

base copper bodied cartridges, ignited by the flash from a cap struck by a central hammer. A test undertaken in 1859 showed the Maynard to be more accurate than the Burnside, owing to better bullet-seating, as all the aimed shots fired at 500 yards hit the target. Even at 1,300yd, 14 shots out of 43 hit a target 10ft high by 30ft broad and penetrated an inch into pine.

One of the most forward-looking steps was taken by George W Morse, born in 1812 in Nachitoches, Louisiana, who obtained US Patents 15,995 and 15,996 in October 1856 to protect a firearm with a lever-operated breechblock that slid backward. Morse’s metal-case cartridge was not especially powerful, but had an internal primer and so was genuinely self-contained. However, little had been done with Morse’s guns until the Civil War began. James Durrell Greene (1828-1902) rose to brevet Brigadier-General in the US Army during the Civil War, but is probably better known known for his bolt action underhammer caplock rifle. Usually made with Lancaster’s oval-bore rifling, this fired a cartridge with the bullet behind the powder - a unique method of effecting a gas seal, though a bullet had to be manually inserted in the breech ahead of the cartridge before the first shot was fired. Greene also designed a carbine with a barrel that unlatched to pivot laterally to the right to expose the chamber. Protected by US Patent 11,157 of 27 June 1854, guns of this type were tested unenthusiastically by the US Army and also, in greater numbers, in Britain with a similar lack of success. Recipient of US 14,057 of 8 January 1856, protecting a cap-lock carbine with a barrel that tipped upward at the breech to load, Lucius Hall Gibbs was born on 15 March 1817 in Hartford, Vermont. Gibbs carbines served in small quantities during the Civil War, until the manufactory, Phoenix Armory, was destroyed in the Draft Riots of 1863.

WEAPONS FEATURE

Gilbert Smith’s carbine was among the simples of all. Pressing up on the latch within the trigger guard, ahead of the trigger, tipped the breech upward. The locking mechanism was nothing but a sturdy spring-steel bar above the breech (James D. Julia, Inc., Morphy’s Auctions)

The carbine designed by John Symmes of the US Army, though obtaining some impressive testimonials, was judged to be a failure. Only about 20 military-trials guns were ever made (Springfield Armory Museum)

Gibbs was listed in the 1860 Federal census as a master machinist, and in the 1865 New York State census as a gunsmith. He died in Kings, New York, on 13 April 1890. Protected by US 15,496 of 5 August 1856, the carbine designed by Gilbert Smith was another pre-1860 design destined to find success in the Civil War. Smith is usually listed as a physician of Buttermilk Falls, New York, but seems to have been born in Massachusetts in 1778. He could be found in Lawrence, New York State, in the 1850 and 1860 Federal censuses, though his profession is noted there as ‘farm hand’ and ‘farmer’ respectively. His gun was amongst the simplest of all the ones described, as it was necessary only to press a latch protruding ahead of the trigger upward to disengage the springsteel bar that locked the tipping barrel to the standing breech. John Cleves Symmes was born on 24 October 1824 in Newport, Kentucky, son of a veteran of the War of 1812. Symmes graduated from the US Military Academy, West Point, to be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the artillery on 1 July 1847. Transferred to the Ordnance Department in 1849, stationed at Watertown Arsenal, he eventually left the army to marry Marie Lipowitz in 1862 and die in Berlin in March 1895. His carbine relied on an underlever to turn the breechblock so that a cartridge could be pushed through it into the chamber, though the patent commonly associated with this gun, US 22,094 of 16 November 1858, protects a check-ring to prevent gas leakage. The army ordered 200 Symmes carbines on 2 April 1856 but only 20 had been delivered by Bruce & Davis of Worcester,

Massachusetts, when the project was cancelled in March 1857.

Epilogue In 1858, the Scientific American revealed in an article entitled Trial of BreechLoading Carbines the result of the match: ‘… shot with breech-loading carbines of their own invention, between Lieut. Symmes, United States Ordnance Corps, and Mr. Gibbs, of New York. In May last a match was shot by the gentlemen above named … to test the relative merits and accuracy of their respective weapons. As we perceive by Boston papers of last week, that the umpire has made his report, and awarded the disputed target, at 600 yards, and the stakes, $200, to Lieut. Symmes; and as it was near sunset of the last day set apart for the trial, he withdrew from the contest at 300 and 100 yards, and conceded to Mr. Gibbs the amounts respectively staked for these distances. The Lieutenant beat his opponent, in a string of 100 shots at 600 yards, over sixty feet. The same parties met again, says a Boston contemporary, at West Point, at the recent trial of breechloaders there, and Lieut. S. beat Mr. Gibbs even worse than at Water-town. In fact, it is stated that Lieut. Symmes made the best target, Poultney & Smith the second, Burnside third, and Maynard fourth’. Acknowledgements: Tim Prince of College Hill for his expertise; iCollector, Rock Island Auctions and, particularly, Sarah Stoltzfus of Morphy’s Auctions for supplying such excellent images; and Alexander Mackenzie of Springfield Armory for details and the photograph of Gibbs’ Carbine. ■

Below: John Durrell Greene, shown in Federal army officer’s uniform c. 1864, designed a bolt-action rifle musket and a swing-barrel carbine (US National Archives, Washington DC)

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COLLECTOR’S CORNER

Prices reflect condition and provenance, as Civil War links understandably demand a premium. Jenks carbines sold in the last two years have commanded prices ranging from $1,610 to $5,900; Sharps sold from £2,750 to $4,000 depending on model; and Maynards from $2,495 to $4,750. There are, however, replica Sharps made by Pedersoli and others which can be obtained for as little as $300/£200. A British-marked Greene carbine sold recently for £5,750, but US-style guns will fetch up to $20,000. Bristol-made Burnsides, Gibbs and Symmes carbines are rarely seen at auction.

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Peace was frequently celebrated with large street parties either exclusively for children such as this one in St Ives or for everyone in a community. These events were ideal times for a borough to show its largesse by distributing commemorative china

COVER STORY

Victory china

Commemorative china produced to mark the end of World War I is full of symbolism, as Edward Hallett discovers

T

he mass production of cheap pottery goods in the late Victorian era led to a craze for souvenir china that swept across Europe. Up until the 1870s the production of china had been

expensive and only the middle classes could afford ornaments. The growing industrial revolution made the production of china goods affordable for the masses and the development of transfers removed the need for laborious and expensive hand-painting of decorate objects. This boom coincided with an increase in disposable income and the rise of working class holidays. Soon cheap souvenir plates and mugs with the names of seaside towns became the must-have reminder of a trip away and as the 20th century dawned, manufacturers began looking for alternative subjects for their goods. One area that potteries soon cashed in on was china ornaments commemorating public events, with special

commemorative pieces produced for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, the Boer War in 1901, King Edward VII’s coronation in 1902 and King George V’s coronation in 1912. The outbreak of World War I saw another flurry of objects released to the public, with items focussing on the moral right of the Allied cause and the coming together of the nations to combat Prussian aggression. These pieces could be jingoistic in tone and often featured the flags of the Allies at that time - Russia, France, Belgium and Great Britain. Production continued throughout the war with miniature models of war machines proving popular, such as tanks, helmets and hand grenades. Production was curtailed somewhat by the war, but potteries continued to turn out sizeable

Commemorative china was produced from the start of the conflict, these two pieces dating back to 1914. The plate in particular reflects the confidence of the early war with the motto ‘Might in the Right Cause Shall Prevail’. The Russian flag on these early pieces would be replaced by those of the US and Italy by 1918

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COLLECTABLES FEATURE These two pieces share the same transfer design of a globe topped by a dove of peace with the flags of the Allied nations and the date peace was formally declared in 1919

This pair of mugs have a design featuring a large dove of peace, surrounded with the laurel wreath of victory. Here the design has the national flags of Belgium, Italy, USA, England, France, Japan quantities of these trinkets and the public continued to purchase them. The world rejoiced at the Armistice in 1918 and Britain waited with baited breath for the final signing of a peace treaty in 1919, ending the Great War. It was only natural therefore that manufacturers would want to cash in on this mood of relief and bring out a selection of designs to celebrate the allied victory. A bank holiday was announced that would take place on 19 July 1919 and parades and civic events were held up and down the country with gifts of commemorative mugs and beakers featuring prominently at most. Although there were only a limited number of designs for the decoration of these pieces, these were used on a variety of different designs of china and were often paired with a message from the local community group making up a large variety of objects for a collector to hunt down. Certain themes come out across the patterns and reveal something of the mood of the nation at this time.

and as many commemorative items were given to children as souvenirs it is unsurprising that the shapes chosen were ones that it would be easy for small hands to manipulate. Other items of pottery can be found produced with victory souvenir logos on them, such as teapots and plates but these are far less common and were unlikely to be given out as souvenirs but rather purchased as individual items. The quality of the base pottery varies, at the cheaper end of the scale they are made of a thick earthenware, glazed white. These objects do not always have manufacturers’ marks on the bottom so it is impossible to determine who originally made them. Slightly more expensive pieces have the makers mark for one of the more well-known potteries, such as Aynsley but are made from similar, if slightly finer materials than the bottom of the range designs. The most expensive pieces were made of

The china The majority of victory china is based around a piece of simple white glazed pottery. The most common designs seem to be mugs and beakers of various sizes. This design is presumably the one that sold most, with the items being easy to use in everyday life. In an age before plastic, china was used for many things given to children in a way we would not do today. Small cups and beakers were made in this material, even for pre-school children,

A second transfer on the side of this mug has a dove of peace and the motto ‘Peace and Justice’

fine bone china and these are far more delicate and pitched to the wealthier customer. Consequently, these are far harder to find today as they were not only produced in lower numbers but as they were more delicate to begin with they have not survived in the same numbers as their cheaper brethren.

The transfers The designs for victory china were applied through the use of full colour transfers. These were provided as printed sheets and applied to the bare pots before they were glazed and fired. The transfers were mass produced and this then explains why the same designs can be found on a number of different designs of pots. The designs chosen were of a standard size and thus fit better on some pieces of china than others. Certain common themes can be seen on the designs which reflect the public’s feelings about the peace as well as national pride and the hope for a better future. Unsurprisingly symbols of peace are common motifs, with doves being one of the most popular designs. Doves have been a symbol for peace since biblical times and are often depicted with an olive twig in their beak. Bells are also symbolically rung out to mark the cessation of hostilities and although less common than doves, pairs of bells do appear in the designs produced in the wake of the Great War. Symbols of international cooperation were also popular, tapping into a feeling that nations needed to work together to prevent another www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Victory china Left: This design is very unusual as it includes the portrait of Lloyd George, the Prime Minister on it. This design was produced for a Welsh town which might explain the inclusion of Lloyd George who was himself also Welsh Above left: The rear of this mug has a design consisting of a trio of bells a traditional symbol of peace and celebration Above centre: Co-operative societies were just one of many organisations that presented the children of their members with commemorative mugs, this example coming from Heckmondwike in the West Riding of Yorkshire Left: The reverse of the mug features a particularly impressive civic seal for the Welsh Urban District Council of Abertillery along with the legend ‘Peace Celebrations 1919’ Above left: Another unusual design has this picture of horses pulling a plough, with the phrase ‘To Peace’ Above centre: This is contrasted with the image on the opposite side of horses pulling a field gun and the phrase ‘From War’ war like the one that had just ended. Depictions of globes are therefore seen on the designs as well as the flags of the allies. These flags are different to those seen in pieces made commemorating the outbreak of hostilities. Gone is the flag of Imperial Russia, this nation having succumbed to revolution and dropped out of the war in 1917. In its place are the flags of Italy, who joined the conflict in 1915, the United States who entered in 1917 and Japan who had been part of the Allied powers since 1914 but had tended to be forgotten about in the United Kingdom at that point. These joined the flags of Britain, Belgium and France who had been in the conflict from the beginning.

Despite this desire for international co-operation, nationalism was far from dead and most in the UK felt that the Allies had won the war and this was a cause for some national pride. Although less jingoistic than the pieces produced at the start of the war, national symbols were still common motifs and Britannia can be found on several designs. Britannia was and remains a British cultural icon dating back to Roman Britain and in the Great War was used as a female representation of the country in the same way that Marianne represented France and Mother Russia represented Russia. With her shield, helmet and trident she was a suitably war like figure for representing

victory and having been represented on pennies, halfpennies and farthings for centuries was a familiar figure to all. Representations of the armed forces themselves were again less common, but one popular design depicted the two figures most associated with the British military at the close of hostilities: Admiral Beatty and Field Marshal Haigh. The British public were still very much enamoured of Haigh at this point, the opprobrium heaped on him as a ‘butcher’ was not to come until the 1960s. Haig was inextricably linked to the major land battles of the Western front in the minds of soldiers and public alike so it is entirely logical that he would appear as one of

Above left: Aynsley was a major manufacturer of commemorative ware and the two mugs with a dove of peace on the front are both marked as having been made by this company on their bases. Above centre: Another design incorporating the motifs of Britannia and the flags of the allied nations. There would have originally been a matching cup, although this has clearly become separated or broken over the years. The scroll at the bottom reads, ‘Liberty Justice Truth Honour’. Above right: Both pieces with portrait designs were manufactured by a company called Grimwades which used a trade name of Swinton for this design of china

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COLLECTABLES FEATURE This beaker and mug both have identical designs featuring portraits of Admiral Beatty and Field Marshall Haigh either side of a central figure of Britannia

The beaker was presented by a county borough, here Dewsbury which is again in the West Riding of Yorkshire. These were most likely manufactured to be presented to children within the borough’s schools the two triumphant commanders on commemorative pieces. Admiral David Beatty was again the most famous British commander on the seas, having led the fleet at the Battle of Jutland. Although now largely seen as a tactical victory for the German High Seas fleet and a strategic one for the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet, during World War I there was no doubt in the public mind that Jutland was a great victory for the Royal Navy in the vein of Trafalgar and as such Beatty was lauded as a new Nelson. Again he swiftly became a household name and it would be entirely logical that his face would appear on the pieces of souvenir china produced from 1919 onwards. Other less common depictions show ships, tanks, aeroplanes and artillery pieces. These are normally fairly small and part of a larger design, but one notable exception is a piece that depicts horses drawing artillery on one side, with the phrase ‘from war’ and has a team of horses pulling a plough and the phrase ‘to peace’ on the opposite. Occasionally examples can be found with dates printed on them for the outbreak of war, when the Armistice came into effect and the signing

of the peace treaty. These often appear on the rear of the item, with a pictorial image on the front.

Commemorative messages These pieces of china commemorating the signing of the Peace of Versailles were sold individually to members of the public. The companies that produced them however would also make small production runs for organisations who purchased them as souvenirs to hand out to their members or community groups. A large purchaser of these sort of commemorative pieces were local councils who often handed them out to all the school children in their region. In these cases, the mugs often have a message saying ‘presented by the Borough of…’ Sometimes they also requested that the town’s coat of arms be included in the design and manufacturers were happy to This mug is unusual in having the key dates of World War I inscribed on the rear. Although today our emphasis on remembrance is 11 November, back in 1919 it was the formal signing of the peace treaty in June 1919 that held the greater significance

oblige. Other groups to purchase commemorative pieces included local co-operative societies and working men’s clubs and social organisations. In all cases these groups would have had members who had gone off to fight in the war and probably most groups had a small number of men who never returned. This presentation of commemorative mugs and beakers had been started in the late Victorian era as part of the growing sense of pride in local community. For the institutions in a locality events such as a royal visit or a coronation were invariably opportunities for commemorative pieces to be distributed.

Collecting the china Despite it being a century since these pieces were first made and given out, they are still fairly easy for the collector to find. Pieces are routinely available on eBay and other online auction sites and here prices vary but, typically, common pieces can be bought for between £20 and £30. Equally they regularly turn up at antique fairs and boot fairs and can often be found for just a few pounds. Buying from these sources also has the advantage that in all likelihood the collector will find items from his local area and towns in the region. Check for condition and make sure there aren’t breaks, chips or cracks. As with most items of china, makers’ marks can be found on the base. ■ www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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ADVENTURE FEATURE An illustration of Colonel Valentine Baker around the time of his trial, two years after his Persian expedition (Zsuzsi Hajdu)

Portrait of William Gill by TB Wirgman (1848-1925) with Gill’s signature below

I

n April 1873, fresh from retirement as colonel of the Tenth Hussars, Valentine Baker departed from London on a much-anticipated expedition to explore the vast and wild frontier. Baker’s main intent was to penetrate the mystery which hung over the Eastern deserts and bring back as much political, geographic, and strategic data valuable to prepare for Russian military intrusions on India’s border. The eightHolland & Holland .450 double-action revolver c. 1877. Baker likely carried a similar model (Holt’s Auctioneers)

The 1873 BakerGill Expedition to Northeast Persia Frank Jastrzembski tells the story of two British officers on a mission to reconnoitre Northeast Persia during The Great Game month expedition tested his endurance, at times threatening his life. But, upon his successful return to London in December 1873, Baker and his companion brought back information of considerable value, helping to safeguard British military interests India.

The Russian threat Recent military excursions into Central Asia by the Russians and growing intrigue in Afghanistan caused panic in London. Though defeated and humiliated in the Crimean War just shy

of two decades earlier, the Russians still posed a major military threat to British India. Baker secured the assistance of two other British Army officers before departing London for the Persia. He needed a professional engineer, and a man who excelled in operating scientific and surveying apparatuses. He selected the wealthy 30-year-old Lieutenant William John Gill of the Royal Engineers. The plucky and eager Captain William ‘Bill’ C Clayton of the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers augmented the duo. All the necessary

The memory of the expedition faded just as fast as the careers of the officers who took part in it. All three officers met unfortunates fates

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The 1873 Baker-Gill Expedition to Northeast Persia

Tehran served as the launching point for the Baker-Gill expedition before heading out into the Northeast Persian frontier help to transport supplies and provisions across the rugged Persian landscape would be hired upon their arrival over 2,000 miles away at their launching point in Tehran. The three English officers trekked across Europe to the Ottoman capital of Constantinople, traveling 1,000 more miles to Tbilisi. They next cut across 400 dreary and depressing miles of the Caucasus by a rickety carriage to the Caspian Sea city of Baku before journeying another 500 miles south to Tehran. While in Tehran, Baker hired an Arab by the name of Shaab to act as his personal servant and to assemble an able-bodied crew to accompany the expedition, bringing the total number of men to 17. Then, 19 mules were procured to transport a surplus of clothes, a small chest of tools, and a large box of instruments for surveying and taking observations. For portable provisions anticipating long hours in the saddle, they brought along lightweight tins of Whitehead’s cakes of concentrated pea and mulligatawny (curry) soup, as well as the pasty alternative to meat, Liebig’s Extract of Meat. Besides a cumbersome load of baggage, tools, and provisions, Baker, Gill, and Clayton arrived well-armed with an armoury of rifles and shotguns. Always strapped to his side for

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Baker, Gill, and Clayton left Tehran with an abundance of baggage, tools, and provisions transported by 19 mules and 17 servants

protection, Baker lugged a bulky nickel-plated Holland & Holland revolver. Unfortunately, Clayton and Baker fell ill shortly after departing Tehran. Gill relieved their suffering by treating them with his own mixture of strong brandy and water. Baker managed to regain his health, but exhibited recurring spells of the fever for the remainder of the expedition. Whatever the sickness may have been (possibly cholera), it shattered Clayton’s health and devastated his fresh and cheery spirit. Baker concluded that for Bill Clayton, “… to attempt the trying journey that we had before us in his condition would be madness.” The sickly lancer turned around and rode back to Tehran, leaving the expedition. Extended hours in the saddle over hundreds of miles, exposure to the elements, digesting brackish water, and sleeping on the dirty, flea infested ground, took a toll on Baker and Gill. The men rarely had the luxury to sleep in anything Far left: Persian broadsword. Iron hilt, with a 33in broad double-edged blade (Faganarms) Left: Naser al-Din Shah Qajar period (1848-1896) Persian double-edged iron broadsword (Faganarms)

comparable to a bed or sit on a flat surface. They passed quickly from wooded and shaded mountain slopes to arid and barren wastelands, causing the temperature to shoot up abruptly. For hundreds of uneventful miles, they travelled over the sandy plains, the sun rays hammering their fair skin, leaving them with leathered faces and cracked lips. The only drinkable fluid along the journey came from wells filled with murky water of a putrid odour. Baker periodically fell victim to intermittent attacks of the illness he suffered after departing Tehran and rapidly lost weight, leaving his clothes dangling from his emaciated frame. Next to fatigue and sickness, Baker had two noteworthy clashes with hostile parties. Most of the Persian frontier towns were surrounded by thick mud walls of about 35 feet high, flanked by towers, providing shelter to their residents. Outside the protection of these walls, lawless brigands had a free reign on the plains, robbing, killing, or holding vulnerable travellers ransom. Baker’s mules carried a significant amount of cash, valuable equipment, and firearms making them a tempting target. Likewise, the prospect of ransoming two of Her Majesty’s officers could be too juicy for Persian bandits to pass up. Scouting well-ahead of the column, Baker, Gill, and Shaab received word from a frantic servant, one August morning, that 100 bandits had ambushed his caravan while under Gerome’s supervision (with all his supplies and money), three miles outside the village of Amol. Mounting up and hastening down the road from Amol, they discovered articles of

ADVENTURE FEATURE

Extended hours in the saddle and exposure to the elements and bad water, took a physical and psychological toll on the British officers clothing and equipment leading in a path to a semicircle barricade of trunks Gerome and the other servants had assembled as a defence. The attackers fell back about 200 yards to the high-grass of a marshy rice field once Gerome and the servants consolidated their position and began to unleash a salvo of bullets. Baker quickly evaluated the situation and weighed his options. Unholstering his Holland revolver and loading his single-barrelled Westley Richards Express shotgun, Baker called for Shaab, Gill, and Gerome to follow and “… trusting to the effect of a sudden initiative,” led a hell-forleather charge straight at 20 Persians obstructing the road. Stunned by the foreigners’ bold manoeuver, the Persians panicked, fleeing to join the rest of their comrades positioned in the adjacent rice field. Once freeing up the road, Baker and his companions next turned toward the main body, mounting a second charge with guns blazing. Before reaching the Persian line, they ran into a 20-foot wide stream that blocked their way. Baker detected a shallow 1 & 2: 19th century Persian flintlock blunderbuss. Total length 16 ¼in. Walnut stock ornamented with bone and mother of pearl (Faganarms)

Persian frontier towns were typically surrounded by thick mud walls of about 35 feet high, flanked by towers

point in the rushing water and plunged his horse straight in, emerging on the opposite bank, trailed by the others. The charge had the desired effect causing the gutless marauders to scatter and flee in all directions. Miraculously, not one of the four riders were hit. Due to Gerome’s “… cool pluck and judgment,” by instantaneously forming the trunk barricade, and Baker’s bold charge, the guns, ammunition, and money bags were all saved. A second ambush occurred days after the first incident as the Baker’s expedition passed through a dense jungle. Baker emerged in the lead at a clearing, only to be faced down by a dozen men armed with spears and only a few rifles. Suddenly a great brawny ill-favoured ruffian reached to seize the bridle of Baker’s horse. Within seconds, Baker had his Westley Richards cocked and the muzzle within feet of the ruffian’s face. Almost simultaneously, dozens of Persians shot up from along the bank and from behind rocks on an overlooking ridge, aiming their weapons directly on the defiant Englishman. Baker kept his finger frozen on the trigger of his gun, signifying he was not one to bluff. The rest of the unassuming caravan arrived to the scene of this standoff.

Spooking the aggressors, a general melee ensued. Baker gave the strict order not to fire, instead ordering his companions to overtake the few Persians armed with firearms. A barrage of rocks chucked from the defenders atop the ridge came crashing down, hitting and injuring Gill, Shaab, and the caravan’s cook. Baker led some of his men to outflank the rock throwers to the right of the ridge. A parley soon followed once they realised they had been outflanked, and the Persian leader professed they ambushed Baker’s men because they believed that they had stolen two ponies (which the party had paid for) and some guns. The leader refused passage on the road to Baker’s caravan until the matter was sorted out, to which Baker, first assuring the Persian of their innocence, warned, “We are Englishmen, and we will not be stopped, and if you attempt it the consequences be on your own head.” Fortunately, two officials representing the local governor of the district rode up upon hearing the commotion, managing to sort things out and deter further bloodshed. The expedition reached the city of Mashhad – located 560 miles from Tehran on the

2 1 Right: Persian broadsword. Iron hilt, with a 33in broad double-edged blade (Faganarms)

❯ www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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The 1873 Baker-Gill Expedition to Northeast Persia

Baker’s men were waylaid outside a jungle clearing by a dozen armed men and a Mexican stand-off ensued. Baker kept his Westley Richards cocked and ready eastern corner of Persia – then passed through the lands of the Mongol-like Turkoman. Friendly residents warned Baker that Englishmen would be killed on sight by these bloodthirsty, scimitarwielding horsemen. The expedition, minus a handful who refused to travel in this dangerous territory, successfully passed through the dreaded Turkoman territory without incident (at times under escort by befriended governors), reaching the Atrak River (located on the Northeastern corner of Persia). Baker and Gill shared in a bottle of warm champagne, purchased in Constantinople just for the occasion. Word reached them that the last steamer departing before the winter was leaving from the Caspian Sea port city of Bandar Anzali. Satisfied with the data gathered, Baker and Gill raced back at a gruelling pace of over 50-100 miles a day to catch the steamer. Baker fell “… miserably ill,” and did whatever he could to remain in the saddle, gulping down large quantiles of quinine, and sipping on barhang tea (a Persian remedy). By the time the officers made it back to Tehran, Baker could only remain sitting upright in the saddle by gripping the mane of his horse. Although not the first or last Europeans to visit Northeast Persia, Baker and Gill received praise for significant information retrieved. Gill with a compass and note-book in hand took down astronomical observations and measured atmospheric pressure with an aneroid barometer and hypsometer along the journey, bringing back route surveys later drafted into a general map of the Persian frontier. The Royal Geographical Society’s

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A period map from Clouds in the East depicting the route taken by Baker and Gill (along with routes of other explorers)

Baker leads a charge against Persian bandits. He warned his readers to: ‘Never halt or retreat in the face of an Eastern enemy: It is always fatal.’

Baker expressed that an explorer must possess the: “… stern resolution to conquer or to die,” to overcome the obstacles in the unknown. He showed this same resolve on the battlefield

For hundreds of uneventful miles, the caravan traveled over sandy plains and traversed the jagged landscape. Clean water and a comfortable surface to sleep on proved to be a luxury

1873-1874 session report testified that the journey: ‘… has added much to our knowledge of the district north of Meshed (Mashhad) and around the head waters of the Attrek (Atrak) and Giurgen (Gorganrud).’ Baker provided a military and political analysis to supplement Gill’s scientific data, jotting down locations worthy to concentrate an army in the event of an AngloRussian war, paying special attention to the topography, as well as various frontier towns and peoples, climate, access to water, and the quality of horses that could be procured cheaply. Baker afterward published his account of the eight-month journey in Clouds in the East, becoming regarded as a foreign and military policy expert on matters related to the ‘Eastern Question.’ However, Baker and Gill admitted that the information they gathered was not as thorough as they would have liked it to have been. The memory of the expedition faded just as fast as the careers of the officers who took part in it. Bill Clayton, tragically died in a polo accident in Delhi on Christmas Eve in 1876. William Gill ran unsuccessfully for Parliament and afterward travelled to China, Tibet, Burma and Afghanistan, but met a gruesome end when murdered in Egypt by Bedouin bandits in August 1882. Colonel Valentine Baker, of course, was thrown out of the British Army after being charged with sexually assaulting a female passenger on a train in 1875. He spent the remainder of his life trying to redeemed his honor and fought an epic rearguard action in Ottoman serivce at Tashkessen in December 1877. ■

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MISSION FEATURE

COVER STORY

First meeting: from left: Naval Captain Vanselow; Count von Oberndorff; Major General Winterfeldt (helmeted) Captain Marriott (RN) Matthias Erzberger, President of the German delegation (standing) seated: Rear Admiral Hope; Admiral Wemyss (First Sea Lord) Marshal Ferdinand Foch (standing) and General Weygand

The secret Armistice arrangements Graham Caldwell recounts the secret arrangements put in place by the Allies’ Marshal Foch to negotiate the end of hostilities on the Western Front

T

he term ‘armistice’ means a cessation of hostilities as a prelude to peace negotiations. The below account is from one of the German delegates present during the three critical days in the second week of November 1918: ‘In the evening, wherever it was, a train stood ready for us. The windows of the carriages were curtained and when we awoke next morning the train stood in the midst of a wood. On the railway line stood two trains, one occupied by Marshal Foch and his people, the other by ours. Here for three days we lived, worked, and deliberated.’

President Wilson’s 14 Points United States President Woodrow Wilson outlined 14 principles for peace terms in a speech to the United

States Congress on 8 January 1918. These included freedom of navigation of the seas; reduction of all nations’ armaments; evacuation and restoration of original territories and frontiers (except Alsace-Lorraine was to be returned to France) and a League of Nations to guarantee sovereign territory. Wilson’s Allied colleagues, Georges Clemenceau of France, David Lloyd George of Britain and Vittorio Orlando of Italy, were opposed to letting Germany off the hook so lightly and wanted their enemy to make reparation payments for the war, but at that time Germany had every reason to think that it could still win. First Quartermaster General, General Erich Ludendorff, leader of the German war effort along with the Chief of the German General Staff, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, acted as a virtual military duel-dictatorship. In his

memoirs Ludendorff wrote: ‘Owing to the breakdown of Russia, the military situation was more favorable to us at New Year 1918 than one could ever have expected.’ Ludendorff launched his Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918 at exactly the position where the French and British forces joined, splitting them apart and pushing them back 40 miles in front of Amiens.

The Foch factor Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) is universally considered to be the leader most responsible for the Allied victory. Commanding the French XX Corps when war broke out, then the French Ninth Army on the Western front, by 1915 he was elevated to command the Northern Group of Armies, but failure during the Somme battles found him relegated to Italy. Called back as Chief www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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The secret Armistice arrangements

Above left: General of Infantry Erich Ludendorff, First Quartermaster General, a misleading title becuase Ludendorff was resoponsible for all German military operations after August 1916. Above centre: Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Chief of the German Genaral Staff and nominally Ludendorff’s superior. Above right: Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch, General-in-Chief of the Allied Armies (photocolorization.net) of the General Staff at the French War Ministry in 1917, his military ability and acceptance by the British Field Marshal Haig and US General Pershing made him a welcomed choice to become the French Military Representative on the Allied Supreme War Council later in that year. Foch’s belated appointment as General-in-Chief of the Allied Armies on 26 March 1918 was entirely due to the crisis caused by the German offensive. By September 1918 though, Ludendorff admitted that there were no reserves left. Army morale was rock-bottom, causing uncontrolled desertions, followed by a revolt of sailors belonging to the German High Seas Fleet at Kiel on 3 November 1918. All this triggered the German revolution that was to sweep aside the monarchy for a new Social Democratic Government which requested an immediate cease fire, hoping for favourable peace terms from President Wilson. Hindenburg and Ludendorff pressed for immediate armistice negotiations to start at once, but only days later Ludendorff had second thoughts and wanted to fight on, only to be forced to resign (and replaced by ex-Russian Front General Wilhelm Groener) for personally attacking the Kaiser and Hindenburg for their defeatism. The Kaiser went into exile in Holland, abdicating 19 days later, after first seeking Groener’s advice and rejecting his response of, “… go and kill yourself at the head of your troops!”

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Secret travel arrangements

Mathias Erzberger, Germany’s Chief Armistice Plenipotentiary, with his two male secretaries, seated in his car ready to set off to negotiate Germany’s armistice terms

Corporal-Bugler Pierre Sellier, the renowned Herald of the Armistice, who stood on the running board of the lead German car as they approached General Debeney’s Sixth Army headquarters

During the night of 6 November the German SPD government sent a dispatch via President Wilson to Marshal Foch providing the names of the plenipotentiaries and asking where to meet. The Chairman of the Ceasefire Commission of the German Supreme Command was General Erich von Gündell, previously the commander of Armee Detachment B, however his appointment was short lived when Foreign Minister Paul von Hintze advised against confronting Foch with a militarist rather than a civil politician known for his anti-war sentiments. Thus newly appointed Secretary of State (without portfolio) Matthias Erzberger got the job. The party included only two German officers of relatively low rank, Generalmajor Detlev von Winterfeldt, an ex divisional commander (representing the Army) and Kapitän zur See Ernst Vanselow (representing the Navy) plus Minister Count Aldred von Oberndorff representing the Foreign Office. Erzberger was told to accept the terms offered whatever the cost. An interpreter, two male secretaries, a domestic servant and Hauptmann (Captain) von Helldorff of the General Staff were added to the party. The convoy left Ludendorff’s GHQ in Spa Belgium at midday on 7 November in five cars. They were told to present themselves at the Chimay-FourmiesLa Capelle-Guise Road, from where they would be taken to an unknown

MISSION FEATURE

The two lead cars displaying large white flags that became vandalised as piecemeal souvenirs (Purnell Publishing) German plenipotentiaries L to R: Matthias Erzberger, Delegation President; Army Generalmajor Detlev von Winterfeldt and Foreign Office Minister Count Aldred von Oberndorff. Not illustrated is Navy representative Kapitän zur See Ernst Vanselow (awesomestories.com)

An aerial photograph of the Armistice carriage signing location, with the Glade of the Armictice Museum visible in the bottom right-hand corner

The preserved location of the Armistice carriage signing at Rethondes clearing in the Forest of Compiegne France. The Glade of the Armictice Museum, that houses carriage 2439D (suitably renumbered 2419D) can be seen in the background location. At 8.20pm they crossed the front line, at which point large white flags were attached to the two lead cars and a Lieutenant of German Lancers stood on the running board blowing short blasts on a trumpet. The French Sixth Army commander, General Debeney, had been pre-warned and put orders in place to let the cars through without challenge. Taken initially to the Villa Pasques in the village of La Capelle, the French bugler, Corporal Sellier, replaced the Lancer on the running board. Sellier later became the legendary Herald of the Armistice after being selected to make the bugle call ‘cease firing’ on the strike of 11am four days later. As the Germans passed through the town of La Capell, soldiers and townsfolk surrounded the cars shouting, “Are you going to end the war?” Suddenly souvenir hunters started ripping pieces off the two large white flags, which ultimately found their way into museums and private collections: one of them, woven into a splendid commemorative flag for the 171st Infantry Regiment, is still on display at Villa Pasques. Met by General Debeney’s head of military intelligence, Colonel Francois de Bourbon-Busset, the Germans were reminded that hostilities were still continuing. At 10pm the motorcade

Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss, First Sea Lord in 1918, who signed the Armistice terms on behalf of Britain (artist Sir William Orpen)

left La Capelle for a two and a half hour drive to the village of Homblières. Here they were served a rather gloomy supper after which General Debeney personally greeted them. He explained that no arrangements had been made for them that night because it was necessary to keep travelling to their final destination. At 1.30am on the 8 November the German’s entrained at Tergnier Station and boarded blackedout windowed carriages fitted with eating and sleeping facilities. At dawn they reached a clearing at Rethondes in the Compiegne forest on a rail track parallel to an identical train which had already arrived. This was occupied by Foch and his entourage. The location was deliberately chosen to be invisible from the air and away from the media. Foch also wanted to prevent raising the hopes of the world if a ceasefire agreement could not be reached.

Railway Carriage 2419D

The main Armistice terms: not listed here was the inclusion to surrender 10 battleships, 6 battlecruisers, 8 cruisers, 50 destroyers and 160 submarines, which was more U-boats than Germany owned!

Marshal Foch’s private train was very lavish indeed. As well as restaurant and sleeping cars there were compartments for French and British officers and their staffs, telephonists, secretaries, and cooks. Carriage 2419D began life in 1913 as a restaurant car, but had long been converted into an www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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The secret Armistice arrangements office comprising a long table down its centre. Foch only appeared twice during the three days of negotiations: on the first day to ask what the German delegation wanted (a ruse to elicit an admission that they request an Armistice) and on the last day as a signatory. The Allied delegation comprised General Maxime Weygand, Foch’s Chief of Staff; Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss, First Sea Lord representing Britain; Rear Admiral George Hope, Deputy First Sea Lord and Captain Jack Marriott RN, naval assistant to Wemyss, plus interpreters. The American’s had only been loosely associated and took no part in the negotiations. Thus each four-man delegation sat opposite each other at the long table. Whilst the Germans expected Wilson’s 14 points to be the basis of negotiation they were soon disappointed, because the Allies were in no mood to negotiate at all. Unable to insert clauses that would salvage the honour of his country, Erzberger, asked to communicate the conditions to his government, which was allowed only by envoy, not radio. Consequently von Helldorff was sent, who returned on 10 November with permission from Hindenburg and Ebert to proceed. Finally, at 5.10am Paris time on 11

November 1918, the four Germans, plus Foch and Wemyss, signed the 34 terms of the Armistice. Although the Armistice was signed at 5am, it did not take effect until 11.am to allow for communication to the entire Western Front. The delay caused fighting to continue after the Armistice was signed, causing an estimated 10,000 casualties in those final, tragic hours. Sadly, in March 1945, Foch’s carriage was destroyed at its hiding place near Crawinkel, Germany by the SS in the face of the advancing US Army. The Rethondes site in the Compiègne forest was restored in 1950 and the Glade of the Armistice Museum built, which houses a carriage correct in every detail because this identical carriage, number 2439D, was also present that day in November 1918, built in the same 1913 batch as the original, but now suitably renumbered 2419D. ■

Celebratory photograph: standing from left are Rear Admiral Hope, General Waygand, Admiral Wemyess, Marshal Foch and Captain Marriott RN. The numbered French ADCs are (6) General Desticker, (7) Captain de Mierry, (8) Commandant Riedinger, (9) OfficerInterpreter Laperche

The front page of the Portsmouth Herald for Monday 11 November 1918

Above left: The replica table inside the Museum’s replacement Armistice carriage, laid out exactly as used at the time Above centre: An interior view of the replacement mueum dining car 2439D after conversion into an office carriage Above right: Not a replica, because although the original Armistice carriage 2419D was destroyed in 1945, carriage 2439D makes a perfect replacement on dislay at the Glade of the Armistice Museum in Rethondes France

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COLLECTING ARMISTICE MEMORABILIA

Collecting Armistice memorabilia need not be expensive. Examples are a 60th anniversary (1978) 1.20F unfranked stamp (value 25p), a 50th anniversary (1968) 68mm diameter bronze medallion (£22) and a vintage copper plated souvenir ashtray 18 x 9.5cms (£21). An original ashtray, purloined by a French ADC, is on display at the Glade of the Armistice Museum, Rethondes France. Even an original 1918 180g solid bronze-silver coin in its presentation box (similar in size and engraving to the one illustrated) was sold recently for only £48.

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WORLD WAR II

NAPOLEONIC

THE GREAT WAR

www.themedalcentre.co.uk CALENDAR OF FAIRS FOR 2018

Sunday 4th November Open to the public from 8am to 1pm

The Durham Militaria & Medal Fair The Community Centre, Bowburn Village, Durham DH6-5AT

Sunday 16th December Open to the public from 8.30am to 1pm Admission £2.00 • Free Car Parking • On site catering For further information or to book a table please contact the organiser.

 THE MUSEUM OF MILITARY MEDICINE Keogh Barracks, Mytchett 

ALDERSHOT, HANTS.

GU12 5RQ, then follow the signs to the museum and book fair (Photo ID may be needed)

Saturday November 2017 Saturday4th 3rd November 10am - 3pm Free admission

Refreshments

We are very pleased to have The Museum of Military Medicine hold the event in one of the most interesting and visually inspiring military museums in the UK. During the fair we expect to host a talk on the French army in the Great War. Meet specialist booksellers from around the UK offering a very wide range of books & ephemera for the collector, researcher & historian.

AVIATION NAVAL REGIMENTS WARFARE BATTLE MAPS MILITARY, AVIATION & NAVAL HISTORY

Outwood Memorial Hall, Victoria Street, off Leeds Road, Outwood, nr Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 2NE

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Wakefield Medal Fair

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Telephone 01892 538465 or visit the website for further details

The Medal Centre, 10b Hencotes, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 2EJ Tel: 01434 609794 or 07950421704

Organised by Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association Tel. 01763 248400 www.pbfa.org

WORLD WAR II

FANTASTIC NEW INDOOR FAIR! FROM THE ORGANISERS OF THETFORD MILITARIA FAIR

SUNDAY 25TH NOVEMBER 2018 •10am - 2pm •Admission £3.50 •Ample free parking •Cafe

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THETFORD MILITARIA FAIR Breckland Leisure Centre, Croxton Road, THETFORD, Norfolk IP24 1JD

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Open 10am-2pm, admission £3.00 (u/16s free)

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Around 100 tables of quality Militaria, Free parking, licensed café Thetford is situated 2 mins off A11 close to Suffolk border.

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CAMPAIGN FEATURE The Japanese targeted the newly constructed Fort Mears, destroying barracks and killing 28 army personnel

The battle for the Aleutian Islands Cynthia J. Notti tells the story of the Aleutian Campaign, the only fighting on American soil in WWII

O

n 18 April 1942 Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle launched an attack on Tokyo, as a reprisal raid for the attack on Pearl Harbour, which led Japan to mistakenly believe the attack had come from the Aleutian Islands, off Alaska. The need to destroy American sea power and the necessity to prevent enemy forces from attacking the homeland again led Imperial General Headquarters, on 5 May to issue Navy Order Eighteen, authorising the operation for the invasion and occupation of the western Aleutians. The Aleutian’s strategic value

was their ability to control Pacific transportation routes, which is why General Billy Mitchell stated to the U.S. Congress, in 1935, “I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world.” Not to mention the thought that if the Japanese took Alaska they would be within three hours bombing distance of the Boeing plant based in Seattle. Losing Alaska would also prevent America from establishing a supply route to Siberia, should the Soviet Union enter the Pacific War. With orders to invade and occupy strategic points in the Western Aleutians, Japanese Naval Captain

Kato’s carriers Ryujo and Junyo dashed to Alaska with an armada of 82 attack planes, heavy cruisers Takao and Maya, three destroyers and an oiler. Supporting the task group was Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya’s cruisers Nachi, Abukuma, Kiso and Tama, nine destroyers, three transports carrying 2,500 Japanese invasion troops and a screen of submarines. The plan was to strike a paralysing blow at Dutch Harbor while troops landed on the islands of Adak, Kiska, and Attu. However, there were greater strategic plans afoot. According to a number of historians, the operation to www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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The battle for the Aleutian Islands

Above left: Attu Village. Above right: The aerial of Dutch Harbor was taken after completion of the naval base and army post

Above left: The Erie Class gunboat Charleston served the longest in Alaska of any naval vessel Above centre: The battleship Pennsylvania survived Pearl Harbor before being committed to support the Attu amphibious assault Above right: Pushing their way through slate seas and fog, from transports, (Higgins) landing boats bearing the fighting men to battle from a destroyer which guards the invasion fleet. This is one of the first US Navy photos of actual fighting scenes at Attu take the Aleutians was also intended to draw the remaining American fleet out from Pearl Harbor and have them steam towards Alaska to counter the Japanese threat. Doing so would then give Admiral Yamamoto more time to conquer the island of Midway in the Pacific. The Aleutian attack was thus also a diversionary attack, yet it reduced Yamamoto’s available carrier aircraft during the fight for Midway, which turned out to be a turning point in the Pacific War with a US victory. However, back north and less than 170 miles from Dutch Harbor, Ryujo and Junyo broke through the forward edge of the storm into the clear where they launched their planes. The attack on the Aleutians was not a surprise to the Americans. Lieutenant Commander Joseph J Rochefort Jr cracked the Japanese naval code and ferreted out the details of the coming attack. On 20 May 1942 the US Navy and Marine Corps dispatched reinforcements to the Aleutians Islands in expectation of an assault. On 3 June 1942 Japan’s attack on Dutch Harbor set in motion a full-scale, 15 month war, known as the Aleutian campaign.

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Since the 1920s Japanese naval codes had relied on codebooks to protect their communications. The Imperial Japanese navy did regularly change their code but they were generally weak and easily broken. The main Japanese naval code had a codebook of 90,000 words and phrases. Deducing the contents of the codebook was essentially an exercise in puzzle solving.

Dutch Harbor In 1922 the United States and Japan had an agreement where the United States would not fortify the Aleutians or any Pacific island west of Hawaii, However this expired in 1936 and in 1938 a US Navy board recommended the establishment of seaplane and submarine bases at Dutch Harbor. At 2:43am, 3 June 1942 Admiral Kakuta’s Second Mobile Force carrier Ryujo launched 11 bombers and six fighters and Junyo launched 15 bombers and 13 fighters. This first attempt failed. Heavy fog and seas caused one of Ryujo’s bombers to crash into the sea at takeoff and all were forced to return. At 5:40am, the U.S. seaplane tender

Gillis picked up more than a dozen pips on radar moving in from the south. Air-raid sirens wailed. Dutch Harbor immediately dispatched a message: ‘... about to be bombed by enemy planes’. P-40 fighters stationed at Cold Bay, 180 miles from Dutch Harbor, were airborne within four minutes of the radio flash. However, the closer of the two stations, nearby Umnak, didn’t receive the communication and didn’t respond. Japanese pilots held the sky uncontested, returning only after all their bombs had been dropped. When Cold Bay P-40s arrived, the fight had been over for 10 minutes. Damage to Dutch Harbor was minimal. The Japanese destroyed two barracks and three Quonset huts and damaged several other building. Flight leader Lieutenant Yamaguchi was amazed at the American antiaircraft guns and lethal concentrations of flak. The failure stemmed in part from the cracking of the Japanese naval code. A Japanese Zero was damaged and eventually crashed landed on nearby Akutan where the greatest prize of the war sat undiscovered for over a month. In 1942 the United States had no

CAMPAIGN FEATURE Left: Lieutenant William Thies (standing behind propeller with notebook) examine the Akutan Zero that was shot down during an attack on Dutch Harbor. Far left: Consolidated B-24Ds Liberators prepare to take off

Plaster mockups of the battle area were used to explain terrain features of those about to be committed to battle

7 June 1942, the Japanese invaded Kiska. All nine crewmen of the U.S. Aerological Detail stationed on the island were captured and survived the war as POWs. Their dog Explosion was cared for by the Japanese

fighter capable of outmaneuvering the Japanese Zero. This was about to change. Japanese pilot Koga was departing Dutch Harbor after his attack when the needle on his oil pressure gauge dropped to zero. Knowing his engine would seize soon he headed towards Akutan Island where he sent a message to the I-boat submarine standing by to pick up downed pilots. Koga was never picked up. On 10 July 1942 Lieutenant William Thies sighted the crash site when returning from patrol. The plane was located just a mile and a half from the beach and a salvage mission immediately took place. Kogo’s Mitsubishi Model 21 Zero was surprisingly intact with the engine unharmed. The plane was dismantled and shipped to Naval Air Station, San Diego where Naval personnel rebuilt it. The Zero was the scourge of the Pacific skies. Fast, lightweight and extremely agile, and thought to be nearly invincible by the American airmen. The United States eventually launched aircraft which were far superior to the Zero, such as the F6F Hellcat, the F4U Corsair, the Lockheed P-38 and finally the P-51 Mustang.

Attu and Kiska

Explosion reunited with Allied troops

Kiska Island housed a 10 man Naval weather station. The station had picked up radio chatter that Admiral Theobald was in the air searching for the enemy but fog prevented their location. On 6 June the men gathered emergency supplies and buried them in a nearby canyon in case the enemy landed. The next morning, on 7 June at 1:20am Japan landed almost 1,250 troops on the beaches of Kiska. That

morning the 10 Americans awoke to machine-gun bullets piercing their cabin walls. In order to escape, eight men, along with their little dog Explosion, crawled into the brush on their bellies. Sailors William House and JL Turner stayed behind to burn their codebooks. Nine of the ten were captured. Only House escaped but he gave himself up 50 days later because of starvation. A few hours after landing at Kiska, Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya’s Northern forces of 1,200 troops had secured Attu. Taking its 43 residents as prisonersof-war eventually transporting them to a prison camp in Yokohoma. The Japanese had taken the western Aleutians and won the second round of the Aleutian Campaign. By 7 June all radio transmission from Kiska and Attu had stopped. On 10 June a break in the clouds allowed an LB30 Liberator to drop below cloud cover and take a look at Kiska’s harbor, discovering a three-stack Natori-class cruiser. After a week’s searching in bad weather the enemy had been discovered. US Congress wanted Kiska back and orders arrived from Washington: ‘Fight back. Push the enemy into the sea. Get Kiska back.’ However, American forces would soon discover that was much easier said than done.

Getting the islands back 10 March would be the last time a Japanese transport ship brought supplies to Attu. America intercepted Japanese radio messages notifying Japanese troops on Attu that supplies were on their way. Admiral McMorris was ordered to prevent the Japanese from resupplying Attu and Kiska. About 100 miles south of www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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The battle for the Aleutian Islands Left: Engineers overcame the steep escarpment by establishing a cableway Below: Troops on top of escarpment, Red Beach

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning bore the brunt of fighter operations during the Aleutian Campaign Left: Haggard faces of the soldiers on Attu. Above centre: Rear Admiral Robert Theobald in front of relief map of Kiska the Soviet Komandorski Islands the Japanese convoy was intercepted by the American picket line. What McMorris thought would be a routine interception of an enemy convoy was grossly misjudged. He had run into Japan’s Northern fleet of two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and four destroyers. The odds suddenly looked terrible. McMorris was outgunned and outnumbered two-to-one. To stop the enemy convoy reaching the Aleutians with supplies and possibly lengthening the campaign McMorris engaged the enemy, his main objective would be to sink the Japanese transports. Both Admirals had requested air support. McMorris received word that the Eleventh Air Force’s bombers had been loaded for an attack against Kiska, they had to be unloaded and rearmed with torpedoes and AP bombs, ultimately not reaching the scene until three hours after the fight had ended. And Hosogaya received word that there were no planes available. Both opposing Admirals had to slug this out without air support. The battle had lasted three and one half hours. No ships on either side had been sunk but the Battle of the Komandorskis had been decisive. One

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American cruiser and two destroyers were damaged, with seven men killed, while for the Japanese two cruisers were damaged with 14 killed. After Hosogaya turned back, no further Japanese convoys would reach the Aleutians, sealing the fate of Japan’s garrisons. In January 1943 a plan to invade Kiska with amphibious forces was put into motion by the US. A trained combat division was brought up from the outside. In part the troops in Alaska were not trained in amphibious operations, and because men were not available to make up a full combat division. Kiska was inaccurately estimated to have 9,000 enemy forces (in reality there were 2,900), so the American response was built up accordingly – which in the end gave them an overwhelming advantage in numbers. When Rear Admiral FW Rockwell found out how many ships would be available to him he concluded that that wouldn’t be enough for the Kiska invasion but would still be enough if they hit Attu instead. By bypassing Kiska and invading Attu the hope was to leave Kiska surrounded by American forces, isolated from the Japanese supply lines. In April, Operation Landcrab began with the Eleventh Air Force flying 1,175

combat sorties. In a single 12-hour period, it made 112 sorties and dropped 184,000 pounds of bombs, with most being dropped on Kiska. This was, in part, because Attu was closed by the weather, but also to divert Japan’s attention from the upcoming invasion of the island. Some 15,000 American forces would land on the arctic beaches. US warships shelled the island and patrolled for possible Japanese ships to support the landing on Attu. The Japanese launched 19 torpedocarrying planes from Paramushiro on 2 May, surprising the US ships Phelps and Charleston. The two ships put up an umbrella of anti-aircraft fire and maneuvered violently, managing to evade all the torpedoes. They shot down one plane and damaged another. The next day the Japanese launched another air raid. 16 planes were intercepted by P-38s from Amchitka. In the ensuing battle, four enemy planes were shot down and eight were damaged. With no air support the Japanese on Attu retreated to high ground and lay in their trenches on the ridge above Massacre Valley. Fog lifted slowly that day, it was not possible for the Americans to see up into the fog, but the Japanese could see down out of it. They watched

CAMPAIGN FEATURE Dawn, 26 March 1943, 100 miles south of the Russian Komandorski Islands, USS Salt Lake City battled in the longest continuous gunnery duel in modern naval history

Above left: A 37-millimeter antitank gun being towed by a jeep on Red Beach Above right: Japanese camouflage their positions on the west arm of Holtz Bay

Left: Admiral Kinkaid proved an aggressive commander who oversaw the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign

Officers in the ward room of the Salt Lake City plot a tract chart (post engagement) of the Battle of the Komandorskis, 29 March 1943 the Americans land and move inland. Two machine gun platoons and two mortar platoons waited for them to come within range. As well as the cold and disease the Americans also had to contend with Japanese booby traps. It took two weeks of fierce fighting before the Japanese were pushed back to a pocket around Chichagof Harbor for a final stand. On 29 March, with no hope of rescue, Yamasaki led his remaining troops in a banzai charge that penetrated the American front line positions and was followed by frenzied hand-to-hand combat in the rear echelons. The fighting continued until almost all the Japanese were killed, including Yamasaki. Only 28 Japanese soldiers remained alive to be taken prisoner. The Americans had lost 549 soldiers killed and 1,200 wounded or incapacitated while the Japanese were virtually wiped out with 2,351 bodies recovered and buried. However, it was thought that hundreds more had been buried by the initial naval bombardment. On 31 May 1943 Imperial Headquarters conceded the loss of Attu and hastily ordered a withdrawal from Kiska. The American’s bombed

Above: Loading 105-millimeter howitzer into Higgins boat abandoned positions on the island for three weeks, landing over 34,000 men before eventually discovering the Japanese were long gone. They still lost another 313 men though, through combinations of friendly fire, Japanese

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ALASKA VETERANS MUSEUM

The Alaska Veterans Museum (AVM) has an impressive display of artifacts donated to them mostly from family members of those who served in the Aleutian Campaign. On display is a very fragile and rusty Japanese 37mm Type 94 gun that could fire high explosive or armor-piercing ammo. The gun could be disassembled into four parts for pack mule transport in rough terrain. The gun was used against American troops when the US invaded to take back the island. AVM’s collection of artifacts includes over 110 personal accounts and historical acts relating to war in Alaska’s history. AVM is currently working on a 75th Anniversary of the battle to be display at the Alaska Aviation Museum. A dedicated staff have made the Alaska Veterans Museum the go-to place for the Aleutian Campaign and continually updates exhibition showcasing The Forgotten War. For more information visit the website: www.alaskaveterans.org

booby traps, disease and frostbite in the bitterly cold environment. However, the campaign was over.

Collecting Aleutian Campaign items eBay.com has commemorative MNH postage stamps where prices vary from $1 up to $22, vintage newspapers headlining Japan bombing Alaska for $15, WWII Alaska defense command uniforms for $25, a few issues of Life magazine c. 1942 covering the war in Alaska for $5. Other listed items include press photos and Alaska WWII unit patches. ■

A 206th Field Artillery WWII Aleutian Islands Battle of Dutch Harbor Pin and Totem on eBay.com for £36.95 and £12 postage www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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East Anglia’s Premier Dealer & Auctioneers of Collectables Our next auction is being held on SATURDAY 17TH AND SUNDAY 18TH NOVEMBER 2018

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WOLVERLEY MILITARIA FAIRS Wolverley Memorial Hall, Wolverley, nr. Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY11 5TN (2 miles north of Kidderminster off the A449)

4th November Future dates: 2nd Dec, 13th Jan, 10th Feb, 10th March, 14th April, 12th May, 2nd June, 1st Sept, 13th Oct, 3rd Nov, 1st Dec

9am - 1.30pm Admission £1.00 FREE VALUATIONS ON ALL MILITARY ITEMS WE ALSO BUY

Phone: 07816 853878 Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/wolverleymilitariafair/

DCM Medals Dealers in Orders, Decorations and Campaign Medals

We buy single medals to whole collections Part exchange welcome. Commission sales at competitive rates

MILITARIA COLLECTORS SWAP SHOP & FAIR

The Hertfordshire

To be held at

Militaria & Medal Fair

BRECON TOWN INDOOR MARKET HALL

10.00 am - 2.00 pm

ND

SUNDAY 2 DECEMBER 10.00am - 2.00pm The aim of this fair is not only to attract the commerical militaria dealer, but to give the collector with surplus items to sell or exchange the opportunity of having his own affordable stall for the day. Do you have any military medals, books, badges, buttons, bayonets, swords, helmets, uniforms, maps, prints etc that you may have been left and wish to move on or just get valued? Don’t be afraid, give it a try, someone is here to help. Share a pitch with a friend or just have a day out.

Tables Full size pitch-10ft/12ft...£30

on

Sunday 25th November at

RICKMANSWORTH SCHOOL Scots Hill, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 3AQ

Tables from £35

Entrance fees Adults £1.50 - no concessions Children 50p Serious collector preview 9am-9.50am... £3

For further information please call:

Future Dates TBC For further information please contact

Roy: 01639 722479 / Jon: 01874 658342 Visit our NEW website, with many new features, including our NEW ONLINE AUCTIONS We are now accepting consignments for our next auction e.mail - [email protected] Website - www.dcmmedals.co.uk 21, The Parade, St Mary’s Place, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1DL Tel: +44(0)1743 600951; Evenings - 07793 707324 or +44(0)1743 361180

Many thanks to those who attended the last event. One of the most heroic battles of all time, the battle of Rorke’s Drift (1879) is commemorated in the South Wales Museum at Brecon Barracks. At Rorke’s Drift 140 soldiers of the regiment faced more than 4,000 Zulu warriors.

SOVEREIGN ARMS FAIRS Tel: 01438 811657 or 01923 448903 www.sovereignfairs.com Email: [email protected]

SPORTING GUNS FEATURE

Three of the best

Gavin Gardiner takes a look at three of the his favourite sporting guns to have come under the auctioneer’s hammer

I

am often asked to pick out my favourite items that I have sold as an auctioneer, and that is truly a difficult task. Favourite items can range from a simple rook rifle, an air rifle, or a magnificent pair of guns… it might just be the combination of quality and condition that makes it stand out, or it could be the history and provenance. For example, I will always remember a trip to Scotland chasing a pair of guns that turned out to be a rather sorry reflection of their former selves, but it was the single gun case and matching cartridge magazine that were originally supplied with the pair that made them memorable. They had never been used and had been placed in the back of a wardrobe for 70 years, they were in perfect unused condition. You see, there had been a delay when the guns were built, and only one was ready, and needed for the start of the season. The gun that was ready was placed in a new single case and taken north to make the first shoot of the season. The following week, the second gun was dispatched to join it, in the double case for the pair together with a cartridge magazine as an apology for the inconvenience. The pair of guns, and their double guncase led a hard and active life, while the now-spare single case and magazine were put away and forgotten about. I have never again seen a pre-war Purdey gun case and magazine in such perfect condition, and it is this that made them a favourite. There have been a few truly stand out guns over the years, and here are just three that came to mind.

Lord Ripon’s guns The auction listed started with: ‘J Purdey & Sons. A rare 12-bore hammer ejector gun, No. 14982. Built in 1895 for Lord Ripon (as Earl de Grey). 30in chopper-lump Whitworth steel barrels with 2½in chambers about 3/4 choke borings, the rounded frame, rebounding hammers, back locks and numbered top lever with fine bouquet and scroll engraving and

The same Lord Ripon Purdey gun on a record book of his game kills retaining traces of original hardening colour, fences with side clips, 14¾in well figured stock, probably a replacement, 6lb. 8½oz, black powder proof, left barrel wall thickness below recommended minimum.’ The gun was built in 1895 as the No. 2 gun of a pair. The guns were originally supplied without chequering on the grip and fore-end. An unusual feature of the gun is the presence of a manual half-cock between full cock and the rebound half-cock. Provenance was

by family descent from Lord Ripon’s head keeper, Chas. Julian. Lord Ripon, Earl de Grey, was born in 1852 and became the second Marquis of Ripon in 1909. He is arguably the greatest game shot of all time with a recorded lifetime’s total of 556,813 head of game. Much of his shooting was conducted with a set of three guns and with great speed of loading is known to have had seven dead birds in the air at one time. He persisted in the use of hammer guns. Using the www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Three of the best

The collected records of kills in de Grey’s Game Books sold for over £48,000

Lord Ripon’s Purdey gun sitting on a case stencilled with his name both still in great condition

ultimate refinement of the hammer gun, the Purdey Hammer Ejector, he continued using this type of gun, over 30 years after the hammerless ejector has made this type of gun obsolete. He was not alone, in fact in very good company, as both King Edward VII and King George V continued using Purdey Hammer ejector gun until their deaths. King George V had a new trio of lightweight hammer ejector gun built as late 1931 and used them until his death in 1936. Certainly the handling qualities of these guns has never been matched, and in the right hands they were far from obsolete. At Studley Royal, his Yorkshire estate, he entertained the royalty and nobility of England and Europe and in turn shot with the greatest sporting estates, such as Holkham, Sandringham and

Elveden in the heyday of the shooting party. He died on 22 September 1923 in the field, having killed 51 grouse on his last drive. While the last birds of the day were being picked up, he fell down dead. The gun sold for £36,000 I had read a great deal about the greats of the Victorian era, and my copy of Jonathan Ruffer’s classic book The Big Shots had been read from cover to cover several times and he was always something of a boyhood hero. Over the years I have had the privilege of handling the sale of a number guns belonging to shots that featured in this book, but it was always the guns of Lord Ripon that held the most appeal. The first was in 1985 and this sold for the astounding sum of £11,000 at the time, and on the back of this result we had another consigned albeit in

Here’s Lord Ripon in action, his loaders to either side – he used three guns at once

Lord Ripon on the right with his two loaders in attendance, guns at the ready. His skill and appetite never dimished, right up until the day he died on a shoot

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poor condition. This we sold in 1986 in an auction that also included Lord Ripon’s game records. These comprised of 53 leather bound volumes for the seasons 1871 to 1923 and were sold at the time for the staggering sum of £48,400. I wonder what they would achieve today? Another Ripon gun passed through my hands in 1999, and this is the example mentioned above, selling for £36,000. Interest in the lot generated full page articles in most of the national newspapers, ‘Lord Terminator’ being the memorably headline in The Sun!

A royal scandal Then there was this one: ‘J. Purdey & Sons. A matched pair of 16-bore self-opening sidelock ejector guns,

SPORTING GUNS FEATURE

The Edward VIII pair of Purdey guns that sold at auction in Geneva in 1991 for a record price No. 19624/20493; built for H.R.H. Edward Prince of Wales in 1909 (later King Edward VIII) the 28½in barrels with 2½in chambers, about improved cylinder and ¼ choke borings, the rounded frames, locks and numbered toplevers with fine bouquet and scroll engraving and retaining much hardening colour, 14in highly figured stocks including leather covered recoil pads, horn tipped Prince of Wales grips, 5lb 5oz nitro proof, in their brass bound oak and leather case inscribed H.R.H. The Prince of Wales.’ This was sold in Geneva in 1991 for 275,000 CHF (Swiss Francs) or £160,800 at the time. Guns from the Royal Family rarely leave the Royal Gunroom, but one notable exception are those of King Edward VIII, known as the Duke of Windsor following his abdication from the throne in 1937. The story of Edward and Mrs Simpson is well known, the love of an American divorcee coming before his duty as monarch. I knew this story well as I had remembered the groundbreaking television series Edward and Mrs Simpson being shown when I was a child. I remembered how controversial it had been and that opinion on the scandal was strongly divided by the generations. My grandmother, who remembered it clearly at the time, saw it as the greatest disgrace to befall the royal family, while my mother saw it as the greatest love story of the 20th century. This pair, a most exquisite pair of Purdey 16-bores, came to us in 1991, having been built for The Prince of Wales when he was just 15 years of age. He shot with them for the early part of his shooting career, and changed to

Edward and Mrs Simpson out on a shooting party – those won’t be fake furs she’s wearing

Edward VIII out in the field shooting – Mrs Wallace looks less than thrilled a pair Churchill XXV’s in 1931, just days after first meeting Wallis Simpson whilst hunting in Leicestershire. The auction in Geneva attracted unprecedented worldwide attention and I can remember very well the moment in the packed saleroom in Geneva when the hammer fell at 275,000 Swiss Francs. A record remaining unmatched to this day.

Jackie Stewart’s guns As an apprentice mechanic in the family Jaguar business, in Dumbarton, it was only natural that Jackie would want to follow his brother Jimmy in to motorsport. However after an accident at Le Mans in which Jimmy was injured, the sport was discouraged and young Jackie took up shooting. Speaking recently, when awarded the Sport Shooting Ambassador Award, he took up the story, “Shooting has played

such an important part in my life. I'm the grandson of a gamekeeper. I was brought up with a gun and a fishing rod in my hand. I think it was one of the best character-building exercises I could ever have had when I started to shoot clay pigeons competitively at the age of 14½. I shot until I was 23 years of age when I retired from shooting to take up motor racing. But in that time I had some of the highest moments of my life in sport.” Sir Jackie, known for his continuing involvement in motor racing, went on to say that the biggest disappointment in his life was failing to gain a place by one lost target in the team for the Rome Olympics of 1964. Joining Ken Tyrell's Formula 3 team in 1964 he won his first race and moved up to Formula 1 for 1965 to partner Graham Hill at BRM. He scored points in his first race and was winning before the end of the year. In 1966 he nearly won the Indianapolis 500, leading until mechanical failure ended his race with eight laps to go. An accident at Spa that year almost ended his career and he has remained a leading campaigner for driver safety ever since. When Ken Tyrell moved to Formula 1, Stewart joined him and, in 1969, won his first World Championship. Further Championships for Tyrell followed in 1971 and in his retirement year 1973. His 27 Grand Prix wins were not equalled for another 20 years. A career as a commentator followed, and he remained involved in all aspects of the sport. The Jackie Stewart shooting school was established at Gleneagles in the early 1980s and its many celebrity shooting events raised large sums of money for charity. www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Racing driver Jackie Stewart at Monaco in 1972. The sport was the height of glamour in the ‘70s

Above left: Now seen in his race car on the circuit at Monaco. Stewart would win the F1 Championship in ’69, ’71 and ’73 Above right: The pair of Purdey guns made for Jackie Stewart had seen relatively little use before being sold In partnership with his son Paul, he returned to Formula 1 as a team owner in 1997 and the Stewart Ford team achieved considerable success in three short years including a second place at Monaco, and a win at the 1999 European Grand Prix. The team was sold to Ford in 2000. Jackie was knighted in 2001 and remains a fixture on the Formula One circuit, currently as motorsport ambassador for Royal Bank of Scotland. The auction listing for a pair of Jackie Stewarts gun went as follows: ‘J. Purdey & Sons. A fine pair of 20-bore single trigger self-opening sidelock ejector guns, No. 28143/4, built for Sir Jackie Stewart: 28in chopper-lump barrels with 2¾in chambers about ¼ and ½ choke borings, the frames, locks and gold numbered top-levers with bouquet and scroll engraving and retaining their original ‘Old English Coin’ finish, lined cocking indicators, single triggers, 14 ½in well figured stocks with pistol grips, inlaid with the initials J.Y.S. in gold, nitro proof, in their maker's lightweight leather case.’ To be asked to handle the sale of the guns of one of motorsports true legends was an honour, and as Jackie Stewart was one of my childhood heroes it was especially thrilling. Formula 1 racing had been a passion that my father had handed down to me, and I had been aware in my childhood of the legends of the sport. Fangio, Sterling Moss, Mike Hawthorn, Jim Clark, Graham

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Hill, Jackie Stewart. I had followed the sport from Stewarts retirement to the present day and he was a frequent presence in the pit lane, and across radio and television all those years later. I had even met Jackie Stewart (along with Sean Connery) at one of our Gleneagles auctions! The guns were a classic modern pair of Purdey 20-bores, built for Sir Jackie upon his retirement from motor racing in 1976. Unusually for the time the guns had 28in barrels (when shorter 26in barrels were the fashion of the day

A side angle view of the engraving on Stewart’s guns that were made in 1976 after his retirement

for small bore guns such as these), Sir Jackie was ahead of the field again as longer barrels have become much more fashionable in recent years. They handled as well as any best pair by Purdey’s, and extra attention had been lavished on the guns at every stage. Talking to former Purdey staff about the guns, they recalled that a great deal of attention had gone in to making the pair, and that the client had been especially demanding about the guns. Recalling one instance that the regulation of the single trigger mechanism came in to question, the client complained that the second pull had some drag, and it felt like, “Weak synchromesh in a racing gearbox.” The maker confirmed that the guns were delivered in October 1976 for Jackie Stewart. The guns appear relatively little used and retain most of their original finish. At a crowded Gleneagles auction they went on to sell very well to a European motorsport enthusiast who shoots with them regularly. The lot sold for a total of £64,800. “To own the guns of such an iconic legend of motorsport is a privilege,” the buyer told me recently. Royalty, Nobility and Celebrity were the three things that made these guns stand out, they each had played a small part in the history of our time and were each stunning examples of their type. Ask me again tomorrow about my favourite three lots and you will likely get a different three altogether. ■

MILITARIA, MEDAL & ARMS COLLECTORS FAIRS

BROMSGROVE Sunday 2nd December 2019 Dates 24th Feb, 26th May, 22nd Sept & 15th Dec The Council House, Parkside/Stourbridge Road, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B61 8DA 9am-1.30pm Admission £2.50 Dealer tables @ £30 each, entry from 07.30 ish

Booking forms from website:

www.militariafairsuk.com (with location maps) & any further information from: [email protected] 07980 608211

PTON KEM

CLASSIC ARMS FAI

R

IncorporatingAir Section 1 &Deactivated, 2 Guns & Incorporating Guns, Ammunition, Antique, Swords, Bayonets and Militaria Flintlock/Percussion, Deactivated and Air Guns, Swords, Bayonets and Militaria • Easy access off M3/M25 • Ample free parking • Trains to Kempton Park • Premier Inn/Travelodge • On and off site ATM’s • Hot/Cold Food/Drinks available

Kempton Park Racecourse Staines Road East, Sunbury-on-Thames TW16 5AQ

SUNDAY SUNDAY 9TH DECEMBER 15th OCTOBER 2018 2017 Gates Open From: 9.30AM TO 2.30PM 3.30PM Admission: £5 TRADE ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT: [email protected] www.kemptonclassicarmsfair.co.uk 2019 Dates: 24th March, 30th June, 29th September, 8th December

PHOTO FEATURE

The Photo Inspector Ray Westlake runs through the uniform of a soldier from the Cambridgeshire Regiment (Territorial Force)

T

he 1st Administrative Battalion of Cambridgeshire Rifle Volunteers was formed with headquarters at March, Isle of Ely, towards the end of 1860. Captain Frederick D Fryer of the 2nd Corps took command, his commission as Major being dated 7 December 1860. To the battalion were added the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 10th Cambridgeshire Corps. The 1st Cambridgeshire, 17th Essex and 1st Huntingdonshire RVC were also included in 1872. The battalion was consolidated as 1st Cambridgeshire RVC with the sub-title, Cambridge, Essex and Hunts, reflecting its three-county Collar badge – the same as the cap badge, but without the scrolls.

Two-piece shoulder title in brass and consisting of the letter ‘T’ over ‘CAMBRIDGESHIRE’.

Brass general service buttons, royal arms, pattern.

Scarlet uniform with white piping, dark blue collar and cuffs. Cap and trousers, dark blue.

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association, in 1880. Headquarters were placed at Cambridge and there were ten companies: A, B, C and D Cambridge (late 1st Cambridgeshire), E Wisbech (late 2nd Cambridgeshire), F Whittlesea (late 4th Cambridgeshire), G March (late 5th Cambridgeshire), H Ely (late 6th Cambridgeshire), I Saffron Walden (late 17th Essex) and J St Neot’s (late 1st Huntingdonshire). General Order 181 of December 1887 notified a change in designation to 3rd (Cambridgeshire) Volunteer Battalion Suffolk Regiment. In 1889 the Hunts company (J) was disbanded. Three cadet corps were affiliated to the 3rd Volunteer

Battalion: Leys School in Cambridge forming a company in 1900, followed by the Perse School (also in Cambridge) in 1905. The last formed was by the Cambridge and County School in 1906. On Sunday 29 March 1908 the Colours presented to the original 1st Corps in May 1860 were committed to the keeping of the vicar and churchwardens of Great St Mary. Two days later the Territorial Force came into being and as the 1st Cambridgeshire RVC stood down, the Cambridgeshire Battalion Suffolk Regiment was born. This, however, was an unpopular title which soon changed to the Cambridgeshire Regiment. ■ Looking more like a three-turreted castle, the crest from the arms of Cambridge is in fact on record as representing the bridge at the farthest navigable part of the River Cam from which the university town takes its name - respected reference books such as Burk’s General Armoury refer to the crest as a ‘bridge’, but Arthur Charles Fox-Davies in Book of Public Arms (1894) queries this. But as a badge of the Cambridgeshire Regiment, the bridge-come-castle has gained an additional heraldic item in the form of a superimposed shield bearing the three open crowns from the arms of the Isle of Ely. Immediately below this is a scroll bearing the title ‘THE CAMBRIDGESHIRE REGT’ and below that another displaying the battle honour ‘SOUTH AFRICA 1900-01’. The badge is in white metal with brass scrolls.

OFFICERS

COLOURS

VINTAGE FIReWORK COLLECTOR DO NOT LIGHT THE BLUE TOUCH PAPER AND BURN BRITISH HERITAGE.

DEALING IN MEDALS OF DISTINCTION AND MILITARIA FOR THE DISCERNING COLLECTOR

PRIVATE COLLECTOR WILL PAY CASH AND COLLECT FROM ANYWHERE.

Specialists in British & Commonwealth decorations and campaign medals as well as varied selection of Foreign medals and Militaria

E-mail: [email protected] Mobile: 07867 805032 web-site: www.officerscolours.com

LICENSED EXPLOSIVE STORAGE.

CALL TONY 07956 506 300

Bob Sims Militaria Bob Sims Militaria

To advertise in the next issue please call Danielle on 01778 391129

www.bobsimsmilitaria.com www.bobsimsmilitaria.com email: [email protected] Email [email protected] Mobile: 07885 443731 American, Briish and Allied Militaria

For Sale & Wanted Special Forces, Paras, Glider Troops, RAF, USAAF, Log Books, Wings,

American, British and Allied Militaria Special Forces, Watches, US Marine Corps and Medals. Para, Glider Troops, RAF USAAF, Log Books,Wings, Single Pieces or Collecions Watches, US Marine Corps and Medals

See Single us and our full stockor at the War and Peace Show 2016 pieces collections Tuesday 19th July unil Saturday 23rd July Stands H15 and H16

STEVEN MORRIS BRITISH ARMY CAP BADGES

MEDALS & MILITARIA 184 GRAVELLY LANE ERDINGTON BIRMINGHAM B23 5SN callers welcome

TEL: 0121 382 1570 [email protected] SEND S.A.E. FOR TRADE BADGE LIST

• Selection of WW1 & WW2 Militaria available • British and German focus • Experienced knowledge Collecting and dealing for over 30 years I have decided to make available a cross section of my stock online: medals, decorations and badges, including a good variety of other militaria

VISIT: WWW.IANFOSTERMILITARIA.COM

ROD FLOOD Cap badges, Helmet plates, Titles, Collars, Cloth insignia and the Headdress of Britain and the Commonwealth. All items original.

I regularly attend the Farnham Military Fair, why not pay us a visit!

PO Box 211, Hedge End, Southampton, SO30 0GA UK Tel: +44(0)1489 782896 Email: [email protected]

www.mindenmilitaria.com

British & Commonwealth - Badges Cloth Insignia Original items only www.gnmilitaria.co.uk • [email protected]

A 132-page guide to collecting Imperial & Third Reich militaria

CO S L PE ED LEC CI IT TO AL IO R N ’S

A GUIDE TO COLLECTING

MEDALS • DOCUMENTATION • AWARDS UNIFORMS • PERSONAL EQUIPMENT WEAPONS • CIVILIAN MEDALS

COLLECTING ADVICE • SPOTTING FAKES • CURRENT PRICES • RARE AWARDS

by visiting https://militaria.ma/germanmilitaria or by calling 01778 392027 On sale 30 November 2018. Orders placed before this time will not be processed before the on sale date.

SIGNALS

reviewsroundup Duncan Evans reviews the latest releases in the world of military history and collecting

The Great War Illustrated: 1918

Europe in Flames JOHN MATUSIAK

WILLIAM LANGFORD & JACK HOLROYD The concluding book in the series ends with the most dramatic and fast-changing year of all. From the German Spring Offensive to the Allies counter attacks and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, this is a pictorial record of the final, tumultuous year of WWI. It’s a big book, at over 500 pages and it needs to be, with over 1,000 photos. There are also maps and explanations of what’s going on, at the start of each chapter. Of course, by this point, most of the western European landscape that the hordes of troops were fighting over was completely

ruined. It’s quite shocking to see photos of thousands of troops massing for a new offensive when they are surrounded by the wreckage of towns that have been blown apart for four years. Add this book to the others in the series and you have the most comprehensive photographic record of WWI. ■ • Pen & Sword • ISBN 978-1-4738-8165-5 • 524 pages • Hardback • £30

Operation Market Garden

While it may seem inconceivable to us today in the first half of the 17th century war raged for 30 years with vast armies rampaging across Europe. It started in Bohemia in 1618 with a bitter political and, inevitably, religious battle between all the major players of the time – the Habsburg monarchs of Spain, the Bourbon rulers of France, the Swedes, Danes, English and Dutch. John Matusiak sets the scene by describing the religious-political events of the late 16th century that were to shape events to come. There’s a good deal of insight here, describing not only what was happening but why those decisions were made. The story then moves on to the

SIMON FORTY & TOM TIMMERMANS

Italian Naval Camouflage of World War II

The flood of books about Arnhem and Operation Market Garden are coming thick and fast now. This one is printed on high quality, glossy paper throughout and is in a large format. While there’s plenty of text describing what’s going on it’s the copious use of photos that makes it easy to dip in and out of. The design shows period photos from the fighting in 1944 set next to photos of the same locations today. One or two would be interesting, but endless drab, featureless European streets as they are today aren’t. It’s different when you get the big aerial shots of the bridges or the landscapes, because

While crazy pattern camouflage is more reminiscent of the battleships of WWI, when Italy entered WWII in June 1940 its ships were painted in peacetime colours. This wideformat, nicely produced book shows how camouflage designs were created during the war, from small tugs to the biggest battleships. The book is essentially in two parts, with the first 60 pages covering the development phase, merchant ships and what happened to the ships after Italy crashed out of the Axis partnership. The second part is packed with illustrations of all the ship types showing their

major events of the 30 Year War itself, largely from the perspective of the leaders of each faction. While the book is well written and relatively easy to digest, it doesn’t really get under the skin of the either the people involved or bring to life the misery inflicted on the general population. ■ • The History Press • ISBN 978-0-7509-8551-2 • 324 pages • Hardback • £20

MARCO GHIGLINO

that put the battles into context. Still, at least there’s room to show both the bravery of the troops and some of the suffering of the native Dutch population, who helped the Allied forces.. Consider this a companion book to the more detail-heavy text accounts. ■ • Casemate Publishers • ISBN 978-1-6120-0586-7 • 196 pages • Hardback • £25

camouflage schemes. Each section here has an introduction to the type of ship and then details on each individual vessel, along with port and starboard camo schemes. Every now and then you’ll get some cracking photos showing the actual ship all painted up. While this is obviously a niche subject, it’s done impressively well, aside from erroneously claiming that Italy entered WWII in 1942 on the back cover that is. ■ • Seaforth Publishing • ISBN 978-1-5267-3539-3 • 244 pages • Hardback • £35

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Contact Dave at [email protected] or 07805 399132 www.dbgmilitaria.co.uk DBG Militaria would like to offer you original WW1 and WW2 British and German Militaria of all types with some Polish and Canadian equipment included. I will also offer for sale military watches from WW1 and WW2 and a good selection of military books on equipment and events from the Boer war to post war period.

Please be aware items are posted daily from DBG Militaria so you can buy today and have your item delivered the next day to a UK address with items that have a postage charge. Always seeking items to buy!

www.billfriarmedals.co.uk

Dealing exclusively in British Medals Victorian and World War I Medals always wanted

Tel: 01942 671 980 E-mail: [email protected]

York Military Books Military, Naval, Aviation & Militaria Books bought & sold. Relevant part or whole collections always sought Tel: 01423 360828 Mob: 07717 155619

www.yorkmilitarybooks.co.uk

Militaria from WW1 to present day, including USAAF, RAF, Airborne, Briish Army, US Army, Royal Navy, Badges, Patches and medals Always looking to buy, sell and trade.

07835771445

www.harrismilitaria.com

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Fortress Militaria Welcome to Fortress Militaria We offer a wide range of Collectable WW1 and WW2 Axis and Allied militaria: Uniforms, Headgear, Field/Personal equipment, Weapons and military collectables etc. In addition you may well find the odd item from an earlier or later period. All our offerings are of the period described and we offer a money back guarantee. We also operate a layaway plan, see terms for details. All our items are offered as collectors pieces and the ideas or political regimes involved are not supported in any way.

www.fortressmilitaria.co.uk

Q & C MILITARIA 22 Suffolk Road, Cheltenham GL50 2AQ RFD Glos D167 Telephone: 01242 519815 Mobile Telephone: 07778 613977 [email protected] www.qcmilitaria.com

We Wish to Buy for Cash All items of Uniform, Helmets & Headwear, Swords & Bayonets, Medals, Orders & Decorations, Badges & Uniform Furniture, Military Memorabilia, Trench Art Top Prices Paid Absolute Discretion Assured Medals mounted for wearing Cased for Display & Refurbished Miniature Medals and Mess Dress Accoutrements Supplied Send S.A.E. for free list

Phoenix Militaria To advertise in the next issue please call Danielle on 01778 391129

Militaria bought & sold www.phoenixmilitaria.net Exhibits can be seen at the Farnham Collectors Fair.

Books and militaria reviews Augustus at War

River Gunboats

LINDSAY POWELL

ROGER BRANFILL-COOK The subtitle of this hefty book is ‘The struggle for the Pax Augusta’, which was supposedly a period of peace across the Roman Empire. The reality was that through his military and political skills Imperator Caesar Augustus kept the peace at home while destroying his enemies abroad. During his reign he nearly doubled the size of the Roman Empire and outperformed even Julius Caesar in terms of conquests. There’s a lot of padding to get through before this fairly scholarly tome gets going, but the chronology, starting in 31BC, is a very useful guide to the events that are then described. As well as the military campaigns, equal time is devoted to how Augustus maintained his control at home, through canny appointments and marriages. However, it’s the management of battlefields all

over the Empire that kept the populace happy at home. The main story ends on page 220, which leaves a staggering 230+ pages in appendix that cover orders of battle, family connections, coinage and propaganda. For any students of the period it’s a valuable resource but it does move the title out of the realm of the casual reader. ■ • Pen & Sword • ISBN 978-1-7838-3184-5 • 460 pages • Hardback • £30

them. The downside is that the content is delivered piecemeal. There’s a mixture of period photos, illustrations and technical specifications, as well as drawing and sketches. Each boat listed gets a historical story, some being more notable than others. It’s an interesting book, with a novel approach, though some may find the scattergun approach off-putting. ■ • Seaforth Publishing • ISBN 978-1-8483-2365-0 • 340 pages • Hardback • £14.99

Nazi Millionaires

The Escape Artists

THEODORE P SAVAS & KENNETH D ALFORD

NEAL BASCOMB While everyone knows of the mass breakout from Stalag Luft III, during WWII, popularised by the film, The Great Escape, the story of a similar escape from Holzminden camp in WWI, by pilots of the Royal Flying Corps, has been largely untold, until now. The most troublesome Allied prisoners, who had tried escaping from different camps, were rounded up and sent to the camp with a brutal commander, watchtowers with machine guns and round-theclock patrols. The 29 officers were half starved when they broke out in the summer of 1918 and made a dash for neutral Holland, 150 miles away. The book is split into four parts, starting with how the main characters were captured,

If you mention the word gunboats to anyone, different image probably come to mind. To some it will be the armoured steamers on African lakes of rivers in WWI, others will think of the Fast Patrol Craft, surging up the rivers of Vietnam, or maybe it’s the Motor Torpedo Boats of WWII, hunting bigger ships. Whatever your thoughts though, they are bound to be captured in this large format, heavily illustrated guide to gunboats, organised by the country whose flag they flew. That means that the gunboats of Victorian Britain that were used in the fight against the Mahdi in Sudan are listed under Egypt. The plus side of this is that if you are interested in a specific country’s boats it’s easy to find

then dispatched to Hellminden. Part three is the tunnelling, which was done with little more than spoons, covered 55m and took nine months to complete, while the final section covers the breakout and progress of the escapees. It’s a little known story, told with great detail and really does scream out for film treatment. ■ • John Murray Publishers • ISBN 978-1-4736-8677-9 • 314 pages • Hardback • £20

Ever since the conclusion of WWII there have been stories of stashes of looted Nazi gold. Usually it turns out to be false but there’s no doubt that having stripped Europe’s Jews of their possessions, as well as their lives, and looted every country they invaded, a number of senior Nazis were sat on fortunes in gold, silver and art. This pocket-sized book makes the case that during the final days of WWII German SS officers stuffed cars, trucks and trains with stolen loot and headed for hills. The post-war investigation by the Allies recovered only a small amount of this treasure, despite what films like The Monuments Men might have you believe. So what happened to the rest of it? That’s what the authors of this book seek to address,

as they trace the war careers of those who had the greatest opportunity to make off with hoards of loot. Some of the narrative though, is a laboured recounting of personal history, rather than any hard facts and the tiny font used doesn’t make it any easier either. It could have been a thrilling story, but it thrills only in spurts, while dragging along in others. ■ • Casemate • ISBN 978-1-5267-3416-7 • 254 pages • Paperback • £9.99

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Books and militaria reviews

Advance to Victory

This Dark Business

ANDREW RAWSON

TIM CLAYTON

Subtitled July to September 1918, this pitches Andrew Rawson’s latest WWI book firmly into the final phase of 1918, the Allied offensives that finally broke the Germans thanks to speedy assaults and newly developed combined arms tactics. Plus the arrival of two million American soldiers as well. This account takes in the BEF attack on the Aisne, driving the Germans back over the Somme and Artois and the advance to the Hindenburg Line. It has over 50 maps, some better quality than others, divisional diary notes and a section of photos. The main problem with this book is that it’s very much a chunk from the middle of 1918 and leaves off the beginning and end of the year. ■

Everyone knows Napoleon as the diminutive battlefield General who eventually came a cropper at Waterloo but the British government actually spend the preceding 15 years also trying to rid themselves of the Corsican menace. It mounted two attempts to assassinate the French Emperor in 1800 and 1804 and then launched a campaign of black propaganda to demonise him, all to encourage the public back home to fight the Napoleonic Wars. There’s a great deal of detail in this story, which involves politics, religion, the monarchy, spies and the fight to decide who would be the leading world power. At times it gets bogged down, but it’s an interesting read at others. ■

• Pen & Sword • ISBN 978-1-5267-2340-6 • 222 pages • Hardback • £19.99

• Little, Brown • ISBN 978-1-4087-0864-4 • 426 pages • Hardback • £25

Adventures of a Cold War Fast-Jet Navigator

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RENÉ CHARTRAND

This is book 517 in Osprey’s Men-at-Arms series which details the uniforms and arms of the French troops and also those raised in countries under its control in Africa and the Pacific region. Most of it is in mono but there is a colour section in the middle that shows off the various uniforms. There’s also a chronology of events, some maps showing overseas actions and a combination of illustrations and period photos. Very much one for the enthusiast, the design is now terribly dated and there’s not really a lot of information here. ■

the Hedgehog force, roaming the deserts of WWI and proving the scourge of the Ottoman Empire and their German allies. That’s the focus of this book, which is pretty short with the main story ending on page 143 but it does offer plenty of quotes from Lawrence and details of his escapades. Using small forces, fast attacks against easy targets, before melting away into the desert, Lawrence perfected the type of warfare that would be taken up by irregular forces in future conflicts. There are photos and details of the operations which then increased in size until they became part of the key offensives against the Turks. ■

• Osprey Publishing • ISBN 978-1-4728-2619-0 • 50 pages • Softcover • £10.99

• Casemate Publishers • ISBN 978-1-6120-0574-4 • 188 pages • Hardback • £19.99

Roman Legionaries SIMON ELLIOT

DAVID HERRIOT This book is about David Herriot's escapades as a navigator in a Blackburn Buccaneer. It starts at Nav School and but almost straight away gets into the fun part – the anecdotes of life outside the cockpit, starting with groin surgery! It’s all a mix of technical details about navigating fast jets at low altitude and the shenanigans that the crews got

French Naval Masters of Mayhem & Colonial Troops 1872- JAMES STEJSKAL Before the SAS, Commandos and 1914 LRPG there was TE Lawrence and

up to. The layout could have been better but it’s printed on quality paper and is a solid read. ■ • Pen & Sword • ISBN 978-1-5267-0659-1 • 310 pages • Hardback • £25

December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

Another of the pocket-sized short history series that provides and introduction to military topics, this one being the soldiers of the Legions. It starts with a story of the Republic and the Roman Empire then covers the legionary, life on campaign and fighting, jobs they had to do outside of crushing opponents and the state of the latter day Roman Army. There are key events in the Roman occupation of Britain, and plenty of insights into Roman

tactics, weapons and leaders. It’s a handy, pocket size guide to the Roman military. ■ • Casemate Short History • ISBN 978-1-6120-0611-6 • 162 pages • Softback • £7.99

COLLECTOR WANTS: -anything-

Coldstream Guards: We Buy, Sell & Part Exchange Militaria, Deactivated Guns & Replica Weapons For Re-Enacment, Film & Theatre Use. Vintage & Collectable Airguns Bought & Sold. Please View Our Website Or Make An Appointment To Visit Our Shop Unit One, Walnut Tree Farm, Silver Street, Besthorpe, Norfolk NR17 2LF • Tel: 01953 454744

www.grahamcurriemilitaria.co.uk

Especially: • Orig. Brown Bess bayonet & scabbard • Waistbelt clasp OR and WOI/II • OR’s service dress tunic WWI • White buff drum carriage (brass buttons large, medium, small)

Contact with other collectors wanted Please offer to: Wilfried Drygala, Email: [email protected] Tel: 049 421 44 53 81 • Fax: 049 421 44 53 61

JEMSWORDS BULLDOG MILITARIA Specialising in British Militaria & Badges

Fine Quality Antiques Swords For Sale Website - www.jemswords.com email - [email protected] Phone - 07736 777266

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Buying militaria

Auction & Fair AUCTIONS 1 - 2 November Adam Partridge Auctioneers T: 01625 431788 www.adampartridge.co.uk [email protected] 5th - 23rd November Hermann Historica T: 00 49 89 54726490 www.hermann-historica.com contact@hermann-historica. com 6 November C & T Auctions T: 01233 510050 www.candtauctions.co.uk matthew.tredwen@ candtauctions.co.uk 7 November Bosleys T: 01628 488188 www.bosleys.co.uk [email protected] 14 - 15 November Brightwells T: 01568 611222 www.brightwells.com [email protected] 17 - 18 November Lockdales T: 01473 627110 www.lockdales.com [email protected] 21 November Woolley & Wallis T: 01722 341469 www.wooleyandwallis.co.uk nc@ wooleyandwallis.co.uk 22 November Marlows T: 07789 628030 www.marlowsauctions.com [email protected] 27 November Wallis & Wallis T: 01273 480208 www.wallisandwallis.co.uk [email protected]

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27 - 28 November The Canterbury Auction Galleries T: 01227 763337 www.thecanterburyauctiongalleries. com

[email protected] 28 - 29 November Morton & Eden T: 020 7493 5344 www.mortonandeden.com [email protected] 29 November Reeman Dansie T: 01206 754754 www.reemandansie.com [email protected] 30 November - 2 December Rock Island Auction Company T: +001 309797 1500 www.rockislandauction.com [email protected] 5 - 6 December Dix Noonan Webb T: 020 7016 1700 www.dnw.co.uk [email protected]

FAIRS 3 November Military, Aviation and Naval Book Fair T: 01763 248400 www.pbfa.org [email protected] 4 November Mark Carter Aldershot MIlitaria & Medal Fair T: 01753 534777 or 07871 777062 www.milweb.net/dealers/ trader/markcarter/htm [email protected] 4 November Preston Arms & Militaria Fair T: 01254 263260 www.prestonarmsfair.co.uk [email protected] 4 November Wolverley Militaria Fair T: 07816 853878 www.facebook.com/ wolverleymilitariafair

December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

4 November Wakefield Medal Fair T: 01434 609794 www.themedalcentre.co.uk 4 November Newark Militaria Fair T: 01302 739000 www.newarkmilitariafair.com 11 November The International Antique Arms & Militaria Fair T: 07710 274452 www.birminghamarmsfair.com [email protected] 11 November The Bedford Militaria Fair T: 01832 274050 www.arms-and-armour-uk.com [email protected] 11 November Chatham Militaria Fair T: 07595 511981 www.chathammilitariafairs.co.uk james@chathammilitariafairs. co.uk 18 November The Scotch Corner Northern Arms Fair T: 01423 780759 www.northernarmsfair.co.uk 18 November Malvern Militaria Fair T: 07976 777117 www.militariashows.com [email protected] 24 November Royal Gunpowder Mills Study Day T: 01992 707370 www.royalgunpowdermills.com [email protected] 25 November The Liverpool Northern Arms Fair T: 01423 780759 www.northernarmsfair.co.uk 25 November The Hertfordshire Militaria & Medal Fair T: 01438 811657 www.sovereignfairs.com [email protected]

25 November Hildenborough Militaria Fair T: 01322 523531 www.bexleymedalsandmilitaria. co.uk rick@bexleymedalsandmilitaria. co.uk 25 November Whitwick Militaria Fair T: 07596 4362601 www.norfolkfairs.com [email protected] 25 November Mark Carter Bristol MIlitaria & Medal Fair T: 01753 534777 or 07871 777062 www.milweb.net/dealers/ trader/markcarter/htm [email protected] 2 December The Newark Northern Arms Fair T: 01423 780759 www.northernarmsfair.co.uk 2 December Militaria Collectors Fair T: 01639 722479 or 01874 658342 2 December Bromsgrove Collectors Fair T: 07980 608211 www.militariafairsuk.com [email protected] 2 December Wolverley Militaria Fair T: 07816 853878 www.facebook.com/ wolverleymilitariafair 2 December Farnham Fair T: 07919 455799 www.ghq.uk.com [email protected] 2 December Wakefield Medal Fair T: 01434 609794 www.themedalcentre.co.uk 2 December GHQ Fairs T: 07919 4557994 www.ghq.uk.com

AUCTIONEER LISTING Stafford, Tel: 01785 214100

[email protected] www.candtauctions.co.uk

or 07789 628030 www.marlowsauctions.co.uk

Canterbury,

Marlow, Tel: 01628 488188 [email protected] www.bosleys.co.uk

CHESHIRE ■ Adam Partridge Auctioneers & Valuers Macclesfield, Tel: 01625 431788 [email protected] www.adampartridge.co.uk

SUFFOLK Beccles, Tel: 01502 713490

AGRICULTURAL

■ Durrants

Tel: 01227 763337

AUCTION ROOMS

■ The Canterbury Auction Galleries

www.thecanterburyauctiongalleries.com

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ■ Bosleys

[email protected]

ON SITE AUCTIONS

www.eastbristol.co.uk

Kenardington, Tel: 01233 510050

COMMERCIAL

Hanham, Tel: 0117 967 1000 [email protected]

■ Marlows

[email protected]

LINCOLNSHIRE

WARWICKSHIRE

■ Golding, Young & Mawer

■ Warwick & Warwick

Bourne Tel: 01778 422686

Warwick, Tel: 01926 499031

Grantham Tel: 01476 565118

www.warwickandwarwick.com

Lincoln Tel: 01522 524984 www.goldingyoung.com

WEST SUSSEX ■ Tooveys

LONDON

Washington, Tel: 01903 891955

■ Dix Noonan Webb

[email protected]

London, Tel: 020 70161 700

www.tooveys.com

CUMBRIA

[email protected]

■ Laidlaw Auctioneers & Valuers

www.dnw.co.uk

■ Gavin Gardiner

■ Baldwins of St James London, Tel: +44(0)207 930 7888

Pulborough, Tel: 01798 875300 [email protected] Gavin Gardiner Limited

[email protected]

www.gavingardiner.com

Carlisle, Tel: 01228 904905 [email protected] www.laidlawauctioneers.co.uk

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Auctioneers of Fine Modern and Vintage Sporting Guns, Rifles and Accessories

DEVON

www.bsjauctions.com

■ Greenslade Taylor Hunt

■ Morton & Eden

WILTSHIRE

Tiverton, Tel: 01823 332525 www.gth.net

London, Tel: 020 7493 5344

■ Woolley & Wallis

[email protected]

Salisbury, 01722 341469

[email protected]

www.mortonandeden.com

[email protected] www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk

ESSEX

NORTHUMBERLAND

■ Reeman Dansie Auctions

■ Anderson & Garland Ltd

YORKSHIRE

Colchester, Tel : 01206 754754 [email protected]

Newcastle Upon Tyne,

■ Tennants Auctioneers

Tel: 0191 4303000

Leyburn, Tel: 01969 623780

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.andersonandgarland.com

www.tennants.co.uk

Essex, 01279 817778 [email protected]

SHROPSHIRE

■ Sheffield Auction Gallery

www.sworder.co.uk

■ Mullocks Specialist Auctioneers & Valuer

Sheffield, Tel: 0114 281 6161

Church Stretton,

www.sheffieldauctiongallery.com

www.reemandansie.com

■ Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers

Mullock’s

GLOUCESTERSHIRE ■ Dominic Winter

Tel: 01694 771771

[email protected]

Cirencester, Tel: 01285 860006 [email protected] www.dominicwinter.co.uk

■ David Duggleby Auctioneers

www.mullocksauctions.co.uk

Scarborough, Tel: 01723 5071111

HEREFORDSHIRE

■ Greenslade Taylor Hunt

■ Brightwells Leominster, Tel: 01568 611122 www.brightwells.com/antiques-fine-art

Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers

[email protected]

SOMERSET

www.davidduggleby.com

Taunton, Tel: 01823 332525

■ Gary Don Auctioneers & Valuers

www.gth.net

Leeds, Tel:0113 248 3333

[email protected]

[email protected] www.garydon.co.uk

HOLIDAY COTTAGES

BRISTOL ■ East Bristol Auctions

■ C&T Auctioneers and Valuers

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

www.southamsauction.co.uk

STAFFORDSHIRE

BUILDING CONSULTANCY

Bedford, Tel: 01234 266366 [email protected]

KENT

RESIDENTIAL

BEDFORDSHIRE ■ Southams Auctioneers

Gifts

Christmas militaria gifts Duncan Evans presents a list of 10 great gift ideas for your militaria-loving family member. Or yourself, of course

£35 Classic Spitfire Jumper It wouldn’t be Christmas without a new jumper to wear and fortunately this one, with a tiny Spitfire motif, is a lot subtler than last year’s effort from the Imperial War Museum Shop. It comes in sizes small to XXL and is made of 50% cotton and 50% acrylic. And you can wear it well after all the tinsel and baubles are back in the loft.

£29.99 RAF Centenary Gift Set It’s the 100th anniversary of the RAF, if you’ve been out of the country for the past 11 months, and here’s a gift set to mark the occasion. The 1:72 scale set includes an aeroplane from three different eras, comprising the Sopwith Camel 2F.1, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. 1a and a Eurofighter Typhoon F Mk. 2. It comes with 12 acrylic paints, cement and two brushes. Contact: www.airfix.com

Contact: www.iwmshop.org.uk

£195

£18 Field Poppy toiletries bag

Whether you want one for re-enacting or just like to hang it on the wall of your man-cave here’s a deactivated Polish PPS-43 from the 1950s. Designed in 1942 to combat the Germans at Leningrad, this post-war example comes with three spare magazines, oil bottle, sling and cleaning rods. Plus a current de-ac certificate.

One for the vintage-loving lady in your life next. Utilising the poppy motif across a variety of products as part of the WWI commemorations, this is a cotton canvas bag made by Fair Trade workers in Vietnam and is designed for lugging toiletries and cosmetics about. It has a waterproof lining and is machine washable.

Contact: www.dandbmilitaria.com

Contact: www.iwmshop.org.uk

PPS-43 SMG

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December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

SIGNALS Post Scriptum If you like your WWII first person shooters to have a bit more emphasis on squad play and tactics in large battles and rather less of tedious camping and sniping then have a look at this new game for the PC. The initial maps are all about the assault on Arnhem so this is your chance to defend or take the bridges. Available through the Steam Store.

£23.79

Contact: http://postscriptumgame.com

Spitfire The new documentary on the iconic British fighter is available on Blu-ray or DVD. Features include interviews with some of the last pilots from WWII, restored footage from the ‘40s and fantastic aerial footage of the plane in action. One for any lover of the best fighter plane ever built.

£14.40 Arnhem: Battle for the Bridges, 1944 This year’s effort from leading historian Antony Beevor tackles the subject of Arnhem and the glorious failure of Operation Market Garden. Beevor has trawled sources from all sides in order to produce a balanced and insightful look into what really happened. It’s full of human detail as well, showing the tragedy of an operation that was deeply flawed from the start. Contact: www.amazon.co.uk

£3.99

£14.99/ Contact: £9.99 www.amazon.co.uk

Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition

Russian WWII playing cards A deck of 36 playing cards, styled after those from WWII, and featuring the Germans and Japan as two of the suites and Russia and American as the hearts and diamonds. Comes with the basic rules for playing the Russian card game of Durak or make up your own games. Ideal for re-enactors whiling away the hours between actions.

There have been a number of different versions of this board game classic over the years but this is the latest with the Anniversary Edition. It’s all about resource management, tactical troop movements and then crushing the enemy. It’s massive game for 2-5 players and expect to invest a minimum of two hours at a time. Contact: avalonhill. wizards.com

£85

Contact: www.epicmilitaria.com

£9.99

Allied Arnhem and Oosterbeek Map 1944 If you’re digging the Arnhem vibe then how about a reprint of the actual maps that the British 6th Airborne would have been issued with for Market Garden. It’s printed on period paper to make it look old and measures 70cm x 50cm. The map features the town centres of Arnhem, Oosterbeek and various dropzones for the parachute divisions. Available from Soldier of Fortune. Contact: www.sofmilitary.co.uk

www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Get in touch

yourletters your Let us know what you think of your favourite militaria magazine or ask other readers a question Facebook: www.facebook.com/armourermagazine Twitter: @The_Armourer Post: Letters Page, The Armourer, Warners Group Publications, West Street, Bourne, Lincs. PE10 9PH Email: [email protected]

SNOWFLAKES Further to NYMR’s irresponsible decision (to ban German re-enactors from the Pickering War Weekend – Ed), we have had yet another idiotic one over the summer. The National Trust and Laycock Abbey have had their knuckles rapped for having a 1940s re-enactment event – headlined as ‘Don't Mansion the War’ in The Sun newspaper. Someone said that they were so appalled that there were Nazis present - at a 1940s re-enactment - that they felt that they had to complain.

re-enactors? Have we really got to the point where we have to put out warnings that an event, about the war years, may have the enemy represented? David Grant Cleghorn by email

I'm sorry, but what were they expecting at a 1940s re-enactment event?! Were they only expecting British, American, Canadian etc

Ed says: To me this was even worse than NYMR’s spineless caving in to local press comments. One woman says she was offended by Nazis at a 1940s event so the National Trust immediately tells the MVT,

which organised the event, that they can’t have German representation. Anyone with half a brain understands that these events do not promote Nazism, they represent history. Aside from that, there was no evidence that anyone was dressed in SS uniform. The yellow ‘Jude’ patch that was on display was actually given by the elderly Jewish woman who wore it, to a collector, to show at the event. What sums the entire farce up is the comment from the complainant when she said that, “I was bewildered that nobody else seemed to be offended by what was going on.”

WAR FILMS WAR TOYS Regarding George Prescott's excellent article on British war toys, I thought you might be interested in these WWI games. The first is a pack of playing cards from the magazine The Bystander made by Chas Goodall & Son Ltd. They depict Bruce Bairnsfather's cartoon character, Old Bill. The board game, Old Bill's Race, by HP Gibson & Sons, is based on the Snakes and Ladders game, with Old Bill being Bairnsfather's creation. Considering the brutality of the war, some of the captions on the board are quite graphic, ie. ‘Killed, go to base’, ‘Gassed go

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December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

to base hospital’, ‘Bridge blown up, go back to…’. It comes with 12 lead soldiers of different colours. Tom Stafford, by email Ed says: Thanks for sending the photos through, we’ve published a couple of them here. Truly fascinating and, as you say, no punches pulled with Old Bill’s Race.

As well as being a collector since my teenage years I also enjoy a good war film. Half the fun comes from seeing how wrong the equipment and uniforms are, though that isn't I suspect, what the average person is looking for. However, as you have covered war toys recently I wondered if there was any merit in The Armourer covering a spread of lesser known war films, or classic war films, either on the streaming services or DVD/Blu-ray. For my money the best classic film is Zulu and in modern times Saving Private Ryan. The absolute worst was My Loyalty is Honor. Robert Partridge, by email Ed says: I think it might be something we do as a kind of Reviews Extra, rather than as a feature. Of course, the big film of last year was Dunkirk, which was a real disappointment.

SIGNALS ZULU WARS I enjoyed the article concerning the battle of Hlobane (October issue of The Armourer) but as a Zulu War enthusiast noticed the revolver shown was a percussion Adams revolver and not the correct .450 centre fire revolver in use at the time. I do own one but it is sadly deactivated. John Needham, by email

Ed says: Thank you for that information John. Also, one eagle-eyed reader spotted an error in the Welcome column for that month where I wrote that the action at Hlobane led to the events at Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, whereas it, of course, it was the other way round. Hlobane came after those epic encounters.

IRON CROSS, OR IS IT? A friend of mine has come into the possession of a badge which he thinks is one of the Rifle Brigade but I think that it is an Iron Cross. Can you help to identify it please. Thank you. David Birchall by email Ed says: You’re both wrong, but you were closest… It’s a British-made, WWI-era, anti-German propaganda medal, in the shape of an Iron Cross, that was for sale to the general public.

MYSTERY MEDAL BUST Can any of your readers help me with the Territorial War medal that is in a friend’s collection. Instead of just the head of King George V on the issued medal, this one has a full bust of the King instead. It has a yellow and green ribbon and is named to ‘2nd LIEUT. J H JONES N STAFFS’. Jim Skeldon, by email Ed says: It’s interesting because the Territorial War medal should feature the head of the King as you say. However that exact same bust is on the Territorial Force Efficiency medal, but that’s a different shape entirely. If anyone knows why this medal has a bust instead of the head of the King on it, please write in.

NEXT MONTH January 2019 issue On sale 4 December

With the activities of Russian secret agents all over the news what better time than to turn the clock back to WWII and take a look at Britain’s own agency of deception and mayhem, The Special Operations Executive. With Europe under the German jackboot, it was down to the British to help organise resistance groups, sabotage installations and gather vital intelligence. We take a look at how the Executive operated and some of the dangerous missions they undertook – make no mistake the penalty for those caught was usually torture and death. To support the main story there are collectors features on the edged weapons that agents used, from standard daggers and knives to those hidden inside other objects. Then we take a look at the typical equipment for a spy and trace the development of the archetypical SMG issued to agents and resistance members on the ground – the Sten gun. On the classic arms side we’re taking a look at the French formations in the Crimean War, regaling you with another story from the Anglo-Zulu War and following up our feature on Japanese Samurai with a look at a range of highly collectable items that recently went under the hammer. There’s also another classic sportgun gun feature from Gavin Gardiner. Away from those two eras, you can also look forward to phantom German awards – these are ones to stay clear of as they were never officially made. Or were they? Some were locally produced by beseiged forces, others are just figments of imagination from fakers - essential reading for collectors of German awards; then there's the fleet that never was – a deception organised by the Navy; the state of the Home Front in 1918; the story of female railway workers in WWII; collecting Christmas cards from the Tank Regiment in WWII and a look at the Alaska Territorial Guard. Plus, of course, the usual roundup of militaria news, auctions and events. ■

JANUARY 2019 ISSUE ON SALE 4 DECEMBER Subscribe to receive the next issue at www.armourer.co.uk www.armourer.co.uk // December 2018

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Competition

Book competition

ENTER ONLINE TODAY!

WORTH

WIN each year of… The Great War Illustrated 1914-1918 Reviewed this month, is the final instalment of The Great War Illustrated: 1918, by William Langford and Jack Holroyd. The latest title in the five book series details the events of WWI in colour and mono photos. It covers everything, from the German Spring Offensive, the Allies Advance to Victory, the contribution of the American Expeditionary Force and even the fighting on the Italian front, Salonika, Palestine and Mesopotamia. There’s a section of colourised images as well as details on the Zeebrugge Raid, the continued fighting in Russia, the Spanish Flu and the Armenian Genocide to finish off. In total, there are over 1,000 images plus maps showing the major offensives. After four years of stalemate, 1918 was characterised by armies surging back and forth across the ruined landscape, as first the Germans pressed for victory, were repelled, before the Allies swept them aside and the Germans sued for peace. Now, for one lucky reader, and thanks to our friends at Pen & Sword, we have one copy of each book in this series to give away. Yes, the lucky name pulled out of the hat will win a copy of every book in the illustrated series, from 1914 to the concluding edition of 1918. To win the entire series of five books, worth a staggering £150, answer the question below and get your answer in online. ■

£150

RULES AND REGULATIONS Entries close at midnight 4 December 2018. One entry per person. To enter you must answer the question correctly and entries received after this date will not be accepted. Full terms and conditions can be found at

HOW TO ENTER We have five books to win for one lucky reader, consisting of The Great War Illustrated: 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, all thanks to specialist military book publisher, Pen & Sword. See the full range of military books at www.penand-sword.co.uk. The winner of this sensational bundle will be drawn at random from those with the correct answer. All you have to do is answer the following question and go to www.armourer.co.uk to enter.

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December 2018 // www.armourer.co.uk

QUESTION The Allies called it the German Spring Offensive of 1918, but by what name was the offensive known to German troops?

ANSWER (A) Kaiserschlacht (B) Frühjahrsoffensive (C) Deutscher Angriff

Some of the men and women behind the lots in our 7th November Auction www.bosleys.co.uk Telephone 01628 488188 [email protected]