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All belonging, awarded, and worn by WW1 veteran, Pvt L. Jackson, of the Gordon Highlanders Machine Gun Corps. Comprising of his Glengarry cap with badge and tartan patch, his pair of WW1 service medals [named], his sporran with belt, his pair of gaiters in canvas, shoulder titles both Gordons and Machine Gun Corps, his Machine Gun Corps cap badge and sock tassles. Photos for illustration only including a Gordon Highlanders machine gun corps, photographed in June 1914. Captain Hume Gore, who was later to lead George Ramage's platoon, is seated third from right in the front row. [National Library of Scotland reference: Acc.7660 (part)]. The Regiment raised a total of 21 battalions and was awarded 57 battle honours, 4 Victoria Crosses and lost 8,870 men during the course of the war. The Gordon Highlanders was an Infantry Battalion that would have had an MG Section as part of its Battalion Headquarters. These weapons would have been brigaded when the Machine Gun Corps was formed in 1915. The guns, and crews, would have been formed into a Machine Gun Company. The 1st Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front; they suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Le Cateau in August 1914. The 2nd Battalion landed at Zeebrugge as part of the 20th Brigade in the 7th Division in October 1914 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Italy in November 1917. Territorial Force The 1/4th (City of Aberdeen) Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in February 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 1/5th (Buchan and Formartin) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 153rd Brigade in the 51st (Highland) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 1/6th (Banff and Donside) Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 20th Brigade in the 7th Division for service on the Western Front. The 1/7th (Deeside Highland) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 153rd Brigade in the 51st (Highland) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front. New Armies The 8th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 26th Brigade in the 9th (Scottish) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front.[10] The 9th (Service) Battalion and the 10th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 44th Brigade in the 15th (Scottish) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front. The folk singer and Scottish Traveller Jimmy MacBeath served with the regiment during the war . Just some of the engagements he may have taken part in with his regimental comrades; During 1916 The Battle of Albert, The Battle of Bazentin and the attacks on High Wood, The Battle of Delville Wood, The Battle of Guillemont, Operations on the Ancre. The attacks on High Wood, The Battle of the Ancre. During 1917 The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, The Battle of Polygon Wood, The Battle of Broodseinde, The Battle of Poelcapelle, The Second Battle of Passchendaele. The First and Second Battles of the Scarpe, The Battle of Pilkem Ridge, The Battle of Menin Road Ridge, The capture of Bourlon Wood, part of the Cambrai Operations. Nov 1917 Moved to Italy to strengthen the Italian resistance. 04.11.1918The Battle of St Quentin, The Battle of Bapaume, The Battle of Estaires, The Battle of Hazebrouck, The Battle of the Tardenois, The Battle of the Scarpe, The pursuit to the Selle, The Battle of the Selle, Final Advance in Picardy.
Code: 20851
750.00 GBP
Probably for many collectors, especially Australian, it is the most desirable and rarest regulation bayonet ever made or issued. This is an original 1907 Pattern SMLE sword bayonet, but, most importantly, it is the early example, with its long hook quillon still intact. The adapted removed or shortened type outnumber the rare original hook quillon type, probably, by several tens of thousand to 1. This example was made in 1911, bearing it's original King Edwards Crown, with ER stamp and Enfield maker stamp. And as was standard issue to the WW1, ANZAC, Australian Light Horse. The hook quillon SMLE issue bayonet, is a the very pinnacle of Great War bayonet collecting. They were used predominantly by the Australian Infantry and Light Horse Brigade in WW1, and due to their use in Gallipoli and the dessert were never returned to the ordnance for regulatory quillon removal as was instructed. In over 45 years we have had barely a handful of these rarest full hook quillon bayonets in original condition and unaltered, but the regular type we have handled, by comparison, many many thousands in the same period of time. Australian Light horse were like mounted infantry in that they usually fought dismounted, using their horses as transport to the battlefield and as a means of swift disengagement when retreating or retiring. A famous exception to this rule though was the charge of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments at Beersheba on 31 October 1917. In 1918, some light horse regiments were equipped with sabres, enabling them to fight in a conventional cavalry role in the advance on Damascus. However, unlike mounted infantry, the light horse also performed certain cavalry roles, such as scouting and screening, while mounted. The light horse were organised along cavalry rather than infantry lines. A light horse regiment, although technically equivalent to an infantry battalion in terms of command level, contained only 25 officers and 400 men as opposed to an infantry battalion that consisted of around 1,000 men. Around a quarter of this nominal strength (or one man in each section of 4) could be allotted to horse-holding duties when the regiment entered combat. A regiment was divided into three squadrons, designated "A", "B" and "C" (equivalent to a company), and a squadron divided into four troops (equivalent to but smaller than a platoon). Each troop was divided into about 10 four-man sections. When dismounting for combat, one man from each section would take the reins of the other three men's horses and lead them out of the firing line where he would remain until called upon. By the outbreak of World War I, there were 23 light horse regiments within Australia's part-time military force, consisting of 9,000 personnel. These were organised as follows: 1st Light Horse Brigade (Queensland): 1st (Central Queensland), 2nd (Queensland Mounted Infantry), 3rd (Darling Downs), 4th (Northern Rivers Lancers) and 27th (North Queensland) Light Horse Regiments 2nd Light Horse Brigade (New South Wales): 5th (New England) and 6th (Hunter River Lancers) Light Horse Regiments 3rd Light Horse Brigade (New South Wales): 7th (New South Wales Lancers), 9th (New South Wales Mounted Rifles), 11th (Australian Horse) and 28th (Illawarra) Light Horse Regiments 5th Light Horse Brigade (Victoria): 13th (Gippsland), 15th (Victorian Mounted Rifles), and 16th (Indi) Light Horse Regiments 7th Light Horse Brigade (Victoria): 17th (Campaspe), 19th (Yarrowee), and 20th (Corangamite) and 29th (Port Phillip Horse) Light Horse Regiments 8th Light Horse Brigade (South Australia): 22nd (South Australian Mounted Rifles), 23rd (Barossa), and 24th (Flinders) Light Horse Regiments 25th (Western Australian Mounted Infantry) Light Horse Regiment 26th (Tasmanian Mounted Infantry) Light Horse Regiment. The bayonet has excellent markings to the blade and it's scabbard leather but the any surviving regt markings on the steel hilt mounts are now fully obscured by age.
Code: 19952
1550.00 GBP
Double sided, black printed, with colour, silk escape map of Greece, Crete, Bulgaria, Italy Bulgaria Rumania, Austria Hungary etc. effectively the eastern Mediterranean. With the owner's rare MI9 SOE/OSS early pattern compass. Designed to conceal in a button. One side, marked 'S2', on a scale of 1:175,000, shows Greece and Crete in detail. The other side, marked 'S3', on a scale of 1:3,000,000, shows Italy, Greece, the Balkans and the Aegean Sea. There is a key in the lower left corner of 'S3' to convert kilometres to English miles.These silk maps were developed for MI9 by Charles Clayton Hutton to help British troops find their way back to their regiments if their planes were shot down in hostile territory or if they were captured in POW camps. Hutton had to find a material that was water-resistant, crease-resistant, and could be easily hidden and noiselessly manipulated. After extensive testing, Hutton found the perfect material: silk. Printed on silk, Hutton’s maps could be folded and hidden in boot heels, jacket linings, or even-most ingeniously-Monopoly game boards, and go completely undetected. ‘Bartholomew’ maps The earliest E&E maps produced by MI9 were based on maps of Europe published by John Bartholomew and Son. ‘Bartholomew’ maps were initially printed on silk, but some later issues may be on rayon. These are usually simple black and white maps, with little to no extra colour. Maps covered Western Europe (including the Mediterranean), Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Malay Peninsula, North Africa and other parts of Africa.They are undated, sometimes untitled and usually have a numbering system of an upper case letter combined with a number, or just a letter. Later maps have some extra colour and are printed on silk or rayon. The maps were printed by John Waddington – the maker of Monopoly and other board games. Another identical example as this is in the Australian War Museum and was the escape map that was used in Greece by NX3048 Sergeant Richard Sydney Turner who was born in Sydney in 1916. He enlisted on 28 October 1939 and served with 6 Division Supply Column, Australian Army Service Corps. After service in Africa he was captured by the Germans near Megara during the Greek campaign in June 1941, but escaped from the train taking him to Germany. He was initially sheltered by the Greeks but this became too dangerous when Italian troops offered large rewards for the capture of Allied soldiers and threatened to shoot anyone harbouring them. Turner and a companion hid in the mountains south of Thessaly during the winter of 1941-1942. Weak from malnutrition and malaria he was considering of giving himself up when he met Ioannis Kallinikos from the village of Livanatas, who sheltered him for the next year and a half. Turner joined the Greek resistance in the summer of 1943 and led a band of fifty Greek andartes. He later joined the British Military Mission in Greece (Force 133), which operated behind German lines. He was awarded the Military Medal for his endurance and service in Greece. Turner was killed by Greek communist insurgents, during the civil war which broke out in Greece following the withdrawal of the Axis forces, on 17 December 1944 while in a truck on his way to Athens airport to be repatriated to Australia. The map is in excellent condition just in need of light ironing.
Code: 23547
575.00 GBP
Initially designed an anti-aircraft gun, the 88mm German cannon was also used to incredible effect by General Rommel, and his Afrika Korps artillery, as an anti-tank gun. His 88mm guns, when used as an anti-tank gun, had a remarkable near 100% success rate against any allied tank up to 2,000 metres distant [remarkable for him, tragic for us!]. This superb site is a WW2 Issue, maker code stamped site, made by Emil Busch AG, Rathanow, and it bears the additional rare stamp mark [the blue triangle] that shows it was specifically designed especially for use in extreme temperatures, up to 50 centigrade down to minus 40 centigrade, perfect for both the African desert and the Russian Eastern Front. The standard issue non triangle manufactured examples could develop faults in extreme temperatures. In good optical condition. This 88mm gun could use both gun sites, the more common binocular version, and this, the much scarcer monocular version, with side sun filter adjustment, as opposed to a top filter adjustment on the binocular version. We were told, by a former Afrika Korps German artillery officer around 30 years ago, that the double sized binocular vision was very good for mounted gun emplacements, for artillery in fixed positions [such as anti-aircraft flak cannon] but more mobile 88mm artillery [when used against short range land based targets such as tanks and armoured vehicles ] faired much better with the monocular version as it was smaller, lighter, and easier to transport. During the North African campaign, Rommel made the most effective use of the weapon, as he lured tanks of the British Eighth Army into traps by baiting them with apparently retreating German panzers. A mere two flak battalions destroyed 264 British tanks in 1941. Repeated high tank loss from well-placed 8.8 cm Flak guns in the battles of Halfaya Pass earned it the nickname "Hellfire Pass". Later in that theatre, in the Battle of Faid in Tunisia, Rommel camouflaged many 8.8 cm Flaks (with additional 7.5 cm Pak 40s and 5 cm Pak 38s) in cactus-filled areas. Inexperienced U.S. tankers and commanders rushed into a valley at Faid only to be obliterated. When the U.S. Army's M3 Stuart and M4 Sherman tanks pursued, concealed German guns picked them off at ranges far beyond those of their 37 mm and 75 mm guns respectively. Even the heavily armoured British M3 Grant tanks [made under the lend lease programme] could not survive a direct hit from Rommel’s 88 guns.
Code: 17794
495.00 GBP
Used in WW2. Fully etched combat blade with full regimental name of the 14th Kavallerie and an etched panel of a cavalry charge, with all the troop wearing steel combat helmets. Steel P hilt, black celluliod grip with wire binding. Black painted steel scabbard. Fully etched blade with 14th Kavallerie etched, with cavalry combat charges, a horse's head profile and florid d?cor. The same type of sword worn by General der Kavallerie Edwin Graf von Rothkirch und Trach, who joined the 14th Kavellerie, aged 42, in 1930, as a major. In September 1939 he was made Chief of the General Staff of the XXXIV Corps Command. Serving in the war for two years on the Eastern Front he was promoted in November 1944 to Commanding General of the LIII Army. General Graf von Rothkirch und Trach was captured at Neunkirchen by Lieutenant Colonel Abrams' 37th Tank Battalion in March 1945. The remnants of Graf von Rothkirch und Trachs LIII Army Corps fell back across the Rhine River but was destroyed a month later in the Ruhr pocket. Kavallerie was drawn down somewhat in the German armed forces after the French campaign, but soon after the invasion of Russia it was realised an increase in Cavalry was essential for anti-partisan policing and for recce in terrain unsuitable for vehicles. In the picture gallery their shows an original photo of a WW2 German cavalry trooper who has his identical sword mounted on his saddle. During the war German cavalry units increased in numbers from a single brigade to a larger but still limited force of six cavalry divisions and two corps HQ. All regular cavalry troops served on the Eastern Front and the Balkans and a few Cossack battalions served on the Western Front. The German Army of 1941 had a single cavalry division assigned to Heinz Guderian's panzer group. Continuously engaged against Soviet troops, it increased in size to six regiments and in the beginning of 1942 was reformed into the 24th Panzer Division that later perished in the Battle of Stalingrad. In April?June 1943 the Germans set up three separate cavalry regiments (Nord, Mitte, S?d) ? horse units reinforced with tanks and halftrack-mounted infantry. In August 1944 these regiments were reformed into two brigades and a division forming, together with the Hungarian 1st Cavalry Division, Gustav Harteneck?s Cavalry Corps that operated in Belorussia. In February 1945 the brigades were reformed into cavalry divisions (German stud farms in East Prussia were not affected by the Allied air raids that crippled German industry The SS operated both paramilitary horse units (23 cavalry regiments in 1941) and military Waffen SS cavalry. The SS Cavalry Brigade, formed in 1940, was engaged against civilians and guerrillas in the occupied territories and then severely checked by the Soviet Rzhev-Sychevka offensive. In 1942 the SS reformed the brigade into the 8th SS Cavalry Division manned by volksdeutsche, which operated on the Eastern Front until October 1943. In December 1943 the 8th Cavalry spun off the 22nd SS Cavalry Division manned with Hungarian Germans. These divisions were properly augmented with heavy, field and anti-aircraft artillery. Another SS cavalry division, the 33rd Cavalry, was formed in 1944 but never deployed to full strength. The Germans recruited anti-Soviet cossacks since the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, although Hitler did not approve the practice until April 1942. Army Cossacks of 1942 formed four regiments and in August 1943 were merged into the 1st Cossack Division (six regiments, up to 13,000 men) trained in Poland and deployed in Yugoslavia. In November 1944 the division was split in two and reformed into the XVth Cossack Corps. The Kalmyks formed another cavalry corps, employed in rear guard duties. In February 1945 German and Hungarian cavalry divisions were thrown into the Lake Balaton offensive; after a limited success, German forces were ground down by the Soviet counteroffensive. Remnants of Army cavalry fell back into Austria; 22,000 men surrendered to the Western allies, bringing with them 16,000 horses. Remnants of SS cavalry, merged into the 37th SS Division, followed the same route Expected areas of service wear to the scabbard paint and light surface pitting on areas of the blade and hilt. Very bright polished overall
Code: 21358
1250.00 GBP
With excellent original gilt and ruby gemstone eyes inset in the lion's head pommel. Original officer's leather and stitched wire sword knot portopee, in equally fine condition. A most rare version of the 1930's Nazi officer's sword hilt, by Holler. With eagle and swastika emblem knuckle bow and a Wagnerian Sword of Siegfried quillon. The Wehrmacht was the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1946. It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe (air force).The designation Wehrmacht replaced the previously used term Reichswehr, and was the manifestation of Nazi Germany's efforts to rearm the nation to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, one of Adolf Hitler's most overt and audacious moves was to establish the Wehrmacht, a modern armed force fully capable of offensive use. Fulfilling the Nazi regime's long-term goals of regaining lost territory and dominating its neighbours required the reinstatement of conscription and massive investment and spending on the armaments industry. In December 1941, Hitler designated himself as commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht. The Wehrmacht formed the heart of Germany's politico-military power. In the early part of World War II, Hitler's generals employed the Wehrmacht through innovative combined arms tactics (close cover air-support, mechanized armor, and infantry) to devastating effect in what was called a Blitzkrieg (lightning war). The Wehrmacht's new military structure, unique combat techniques, newly developed weapons, and unprecedented speed and brutality crushed their opponents. By the time the war ended in Europe in May 1945, the Wehrmacht had lost approximately 11,300,000 men, about half of whom were missing or killed during the war.
Code: 21240
1195.00 GBP
A fine and classic example, in silver nickel, very good condition with crisp definition. Pin clasp. The Observer's Badge) was a German military decoration that was awarded before and during World War II to members of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe). They qualified for the badge after completing two months of qualifying service and five operational flight's in the role of observer, navigator or bombardier; also, it could be awarded after a member of the German Air Force was wounded while acting in the capacity of an observer during a qualifying flight. It was worn on the left breast tunic pocket of an air force or political uniform tunic. A citation was issued with the awarded badge. Thereafter, Luftwaffe service personnel who had already been awarded the Pilot's Badge and Observer's Badge could qualify for the Pilot/Observer Badge. After 31 July 1944 the regulations were changed and the recipient had to have held both qualification certificates for at least one year to qualify for the Pilot/Observer Badge. The badge was approved in November 1935 and first issued on 26 March 1936. It was made by C. E. Juncker, P. Meybauer and several others. The badge was oval in shape and had a silver-plated oakleaf wreath around the outside. The middle of the wreath had an "oxydized" national eagle "in a watching attitude", clutching a Nazi swastika in the middle of the outside wreath. Originally made of silver nickel, after 1937 they were made of aluminium and during World War II it was made of metal alloy. The badge measured. There was also a cloth version of the badge. Weight 40 grams
Code: 21947
1295.00 GBP
A most impressive award. Maker marked And numbered. Pin back.. The tests for the award consisted of three groups: physical exercises, defence exercises and field exercises: Group 1. Physical Exercise a) 100 yard sprint b) Long Jump c) Putting the Weight d) Long-distance throw (with dummy grenade) e) 3000 metre run Group 2.Defence Exercise (Wehrsport) a) 25 kilometre route march with a 27.5 lb pack b) Small calibre arms fire c) Aimed grenade throwing d) 200 metre race in gas-mask, over 4 obstacles a miniature "assault course" e) Swimming or cycling speed test f) Test of elementray First Aid techniques Group 3. Field Exercises (Gelandedienst) a) Map reading b) Judging terrain and estimating ranges c) Signalling d) Reconnaissance work Only members of the SA was eligible for this award 1933-1935. Instituted as the SA
Code: 19665
155.00 GBP
Originally from a deceased WW2 veteran's estate., thence by descent. Two very inexpensive FS pattern knives, one the early type IInd pattern, with Wilkinson pattern etched maker panel at the ricasso of the blade to the obverse, and F S knife logo to the reverse ricasso. The other is more like a so-called American type FS knife, with much narrower stiletto blade. The Wilkinson is most certainly a post war made copy, but has been used in service by the grandson of the World War II veteran, who used it during his time in the Commandos. He served in the early 80s in the Falklands, and later in the desert. He did not wish to take his father’s knife, and possibly lose it, [that originally belonged to his grandfather] but he wanted something to use that felt authentic and looked exactly the same. The other, likely post war too, he used as well [in the 80’s] but that knife doesn't really conform to a regular pattern. They came with superb original Wilkinson FS knife blade, a Korean War to Falklands War period example, likely a spare blade acquired to replace a broken blade but never used. The British Commando knife was first designed in 1940 by close combat legends William Fairbairn and Eric Sykes, who established and taught the combative training methods for wartime special forces such as the independent companies, SOE, Commandos, U.S Rangers and OSS. Though known as the FS Fighting knife, this was not designed to be a knife fighting knife, but primarily designed to be used in silent killing actions such as sentry take-outs. The techniques of effective use were taught to various special forces at Highland training centres such as Lochailort Special Training Centre (STC) and Achnacarry, which was the Commando Basic Training Centre (CBTC) from 1942-1945. The 1st pattern knife was originally manufactured exclusively by Wilkinson Sword Company, and was in great demand from first production. Original 1st pattern knives are highly collectable and sought after today with top quality examples selling for thousands. The 2nd pattern was manufactured by many companies throughout the UK, and has often been regarded as the most effective pattern of Commando knife ever made. The diamond knurled brass grip provides excellent purchase in wet or dry climates. No scabbards.
Code: 23540
595.00 GBP
3rd Pattern, grip stamped Broad Arrow 13, no maker's mark. The number 1 of the 13 is miss-struck. This inspectors mark was used on knives supplied by John Clark and Son, supplier to the Government of FS knives and Smatchets. Apparently used by Sgt Sid Meddings B Troop. 4 Commando. He served in No 4 Commando Under Lord Lovat. No. 4 Commando was a battalion-sized British Army commando unit, formed in 1940 early in the Second World War. Although it was raised to conduct small-scale raids and harass garrisons along the coast of German occupied France, it was mainly employed as a highly trained infantry assault unit. The unit's first operation was the successful raid on the Lofoten Islands on 4 March 1941. The next two planned operations were both cancelled and it was not until 22 April 1942 that No. 4 Commando took part in another raid, Operation Abercrombie, a raid on the French coastal town of Hardelot. On 22 August 1942, No. 4 was one of three commando units selected for the Dieppe raid. Under the command of Lord Lovat, No. 4 Commando landed on the right flank of the main landings and successfully silenced a German gun battery. This was the only complete success of the operation, which was eventually aborted, after less than 10 hours, following heavy losses. As part of the 1st Special Service Brigade, No. 4 Commando took part in the Normandy Landings in June 1944. Landing on Sword beach 30 minutes before the rest of the brigade, their first objectives were to capture a strong point and gun battery in Ouistreham. After the commandos eliminated these positions they rejoined the brigade, reinforcing the 6th Airborne Division at the Orne bridges. Before the invasion the brigade had been informed that they would stay in France for only a few days. The commando remained there for a further 82 days, protecting the beachhead's left flank. During that period, No. 4 Commando endured over 50 percent casualties. Finally withdrawn to Britain in September 1944, they were reassigned to the 4th Special Service Brigade for the assault on Walcheren island. At the end of the war No. 4 Commando became part of the occupation force in Germany, but together with all other army commando units were disbanded in 1946. The knife and the medals were given to his friend/relative in the 1970's, from whom we acquired them, the full size medals were kept by Mr Meddings.
Code: 23534
645.00 GBP
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