This is an original M35 helmet with the standard double decal. It is marked EF60 indicating production by Emaillierwerke Fulda. The 60 is the smallest size helmet made and were produced in very small numbers. This example was oversprayed in a weird purple which I carefully removed although some remains where the decal is as I didnt want to ruin that.
A very fragile new add to my collection is this Type 98 Sun Helmet. Designed to be worn over the Type 90 helmet these were manufactured from a variety of materials including woven straw bamboo and wooden slats. This one is the type 3 with no vents. The manufacture of these was discontinued in 1941.
Nice simple pickup last weekend at the local antique fair. This is a souvenir belt put together from a Prussian infantry belt and the tunic buttons from a wide range of Allied and German units. This example has a predominance of Canadian buttons so I am guessing that it was Canadian in origin. The rest are French, Australian, New Zealand, German and one single U.S. General Service button. You see these in all sorts of configurations, some on Allied belts, some with cap badges and other oddments. The legend is that these were put together from souvenirs taken from dead bodies but that sounds overly complex to me and likely nonsense. More likely most of the buttons were swapped at rear area camps between bored soldiers making up a souvenir. The U.S. button suggests a late war job, 1917-19. The Empire buttons make sense as often these units found themselves together in the line. The Canadian Regiments are from different divisions so that’s why I think this is a rear area put together. Still, a great belt, in fine condition and worth it just for the buttons and belt IMHO.
Simple little add here. This is a metal, bakelite and cloth roundel or cockade in the national colours used on enlisted men’s soft caps in all three services. In this case the KM Donald Duck cap below was missing one when I got it, although it had the slots where one would have fitted. An easy cheap fix, unlike most of the rabbit holes I go down.
I have field caps for the Luftwaffe and Heer and have been looking for a KM one for a while. This one came relatively cheap from a trip to Belleville although it is missing its cockade on the front. I will look for one of these in the meantime but I am happy with the look of this. Note, the post-war hats are almost identical except that the inside liner is white in colour.
Ever since that KM Dagger walked into my life a few months ago I have been looking for a good Officer belt and buckle to hang it off. The dagger came with the narrow undress belt but I wanted the broader undress belt. Here it is, lovely.
Being a Kiwi I have an attachment to the Gallipoli campaign of 1915. When I visited Turkey in 2012 I made sure that I got to Anzac Cove and Chunik Bair. I scooped a little bit of soil from there into a container and dragged that home. Elsewhere here I have an Ottoman award and have been looking for an Ottoman era belt buckle for a while. This one has the toghra (personal cypher) of Mehmet V, the penultimate Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, under the national emblem. Notice how similar this buckle is in design to the Jerry ones. The Germans had both feet in the Turkish Army prior to the Great War, providing technical advice and equipment designs.
Turkish soldiers at Sedd el Barr in 1915, prior to the invasion
I have had my Prussian Infantry Pickelhaube for about 10 years and in all that time have only see two of the cloth field covers for them. This one was just last week and I snapped it up now that I know how rare they are. In the photos you can see it still has its fastenings intact. You can also see that I had it on backwards. Ha.
Here’s a single shoulder title for New Zealand Infantry, dating from ww2. I received it in a big bunch of stuff for a guy who was in Hiroshima in 1945.
This is the second pattern cap badge for the New Zealand Army Service Corps. We never used to care about these guys unless they were late delivering our breakfast.
This is the cap badge for the New Zealand Cadet Corps. The cadet Corps is an affiliated organization, run by the NZDF with a focus on army training for youth. There are sibling groups for the air force and navy. I use lower case here deliberately because I found them to be annoying little shits.
These are a pair of collar badges for the New Zealand Armoured Corps. Just so we are clear here, the New Zealand Armoured “Corps” is not corps sized. It’s two guys with a BBQ and a LAV III for overwatch.
This is a WW1 era collar dog for the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry, or 1st Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
The 1st (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry) Regiment was officially raised on 17 March 1911. It was one of 12 regionally based mounted rifles regiments formed as part of the new Territorial Force (TF) organisation that came into existence on that day. This part-time Territorial Force and a tiny regular force of professional soldiers formed the basis of New Zealand’s army at the outbreak of the First World War.
Instead of mobilising the TF, however, the government decided to raise a separate force to send overseas to fight – the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). In 1914 the new mounted regiments of the NZEF were given provincial names corresponding to the military district in which they were raised – Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury or Otago. This gave them some sense of regional identity.
The NZEF mounted regiments were instructed to affiliate each of the three squadrons under their command with a TF mounted rifles regiment from their military district, and to issue the regiment’s badge to the squadron. The idea was to foster linkages with the established TF regiments that were not being sent overseas. So the badge of the 1st (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry), TF, was worn by the 1st (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry) Squadron of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment, NZEF, throughout its service in the Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine campaigns.
These are a pair of current issue collar badges for the New Zealand Army Pay Corps.
This badge, for the 11th North Auckland Mounted Rifles, is the left facing collar badge. This badge is twice as rare as the right facing example since the right hand one served as both the cap badge and a collar dog. You can see these examples here.
This cap badge is from the modern Federal German army. In this case it is a paratrooper badge. Note the similarity in the eagle design to the WW2 Fallshirmjäger War Badge.
This is a cap badge for the 4th Waikato Mounted Rifles.
The 4th (Waikato) Mounted Rifles was formed on March 17, 1911. They were mobilised during World War I and formed part of the Auckland Mounted Rifle Regiment, and served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I and first saw action during the Battle of Gallipoli. As a part of the larger New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (of the Anzac Mounted Division) they went on to serve in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign
This is a cap badge for the 6th Manawatu Mounted Rifles.
The 6th (Manawatu) Mounted Rifles was formed on March 17, 1911. They were mobilised during World War I as a squadron of the Wellington Mounted Rifle Regiment. They served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I and first saw action during the Battle of Gallipoli. As a part of the larger New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (of the Anzac Mounted Division) they went on to serve in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign
The New Zealand Regiment was formed in 1957. The infantry has always been the heart of the New Zealand Army and the New Zealnd Regiment was raised as an organisational formation to support the deployment of New Zealand soldiers in Malaya during the Emergency there. It was reformed and renamed in 1964 as NZ withdrew from Malaya and began the deployment into Vietnam.
This is a WW1 issue collar dog for the 3rd Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment. The 3rd (Auckland) Mounted Rifles was formed on March 17, 1911. They were mobilised during World War I as a squadron of the Auckland Mounted Rilfe Regiment. They served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I and first saw action during the Battle of Gallipoli. As a part of the larger New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (of the Anzac Mounted Division) they went on to serve in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign.
This ia a collar dog for the 16th Waikato Infantry Regiment, dating to WW1. Raised in 1915 and sent to Egypt and then Gallipoli, the 16th Waikato was slaughtered at Chunik Bair.
Yeah that’s right, pride. Meh, jingoism dates poorly
These are a pair of WW1 era New Zealand Forces tunic buttons. One of these is an infantry button and one is from an artillery uniform. They are both manufactured by Gaunt of London.
This cap badge is for the 4th Otago Rifles. The badge has the battle honour “South Africa 1901-1902” making it a pre WW1 2nd pattern badge.
The history of the 4th Battalion (Otago and Southland) Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment can be traced back to February 1860 when the Dunedin and Invercargill Militia Battalions were established. The militiamen of the day were not volunteer soldiers as all males between the age of 18 and 60 were liable for military service at that time. In 1861 the Tokomairiro and Clutha Battalions were formed. Local enthusiasm was not enough to gain Government recognition so volunteer soldiering was conducted on a quasi-official manner for some time. The first officially recognised volunteer unit in the Otago and Southland provinces was the Otago Rifle Volunteers, which was gazetted as a Company on 5th February 1862. In 1898 the 1st Battalion Otago Rifle Volunteers was established. The formation of this unit apparently stimulated further public interest as by 1892 the Battalion consisted of fifteen Rifle Companies.
During World War I the provinces produced the Otago Regiment with companies from the 4th Otago, 8th Southland, 10th North Otago and 20th South Otago battalions. The Otago Regiment served with distinction in Gallipoli and France taking particularly heavy losses in the battle of Passchendaele. New Zealand’s most decorated soldier ever, Sgt Dick Travis earned his VC and other medals serving with the Otago Regiment.
These are the current issue New Zealand Army Logistics Corps Cap badge and Collar Dog set. These are not as awful as the Education Officers ones, ha bloody ha.
This patch is an official New Zealand Army distinguishing patch from the 1990’s. This was used on the Singapore extended deployment.
Kiwi Medals 