Archive for United Kingdom

Large British Propaganda Ashtray

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , , , on August 15, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is another one of a series of faux chamber pots put out by imitators of Fieldings of Staffordshire, England. Made early in 1939 to take advantage of the, then recent, “Violation of Poland” by Hitler’s armies. It is much larger in size than the other examples I have here. On the back of the inside rim it says ‘What would you do chums?”.

Inside is a caricature image of Hitler, this one not by David Low, the cartoonist responsible for the Hitler images on the other pots. They got some stick for these pots as they were plainly mini-chamber pots and they were accused of poor taste. This one has Ash Tray stamped rather prominently on the front, I am guessing in an attempt at deniability.

 

A Birchall on the Battleship Valiant in the Mediterranean

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , , , , , , , , on August 14, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis group belongs to Thomas William Burchell. They are unnamed except for the Naval LSGC which is impressed to D/J109394 Petty Officer T.W.Burchell, H.M.S. Valiant. The LSGC was issued on June 12th 1941. I have his papers up until 1929 and can see that when he was made P.O. in May 1941 he was on the Valiant. In this case he would have had an action packed war with convoy runs to Gibraltar, the defeat of the Italian Fleet at Cape Matapan and the Greek Campaign.

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A Palestine NGSM to a Birchall

Posted in 1945 + Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , , , on August 12, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis Naval General Service Medal, impressed to C/JX 155864 E.Burchell A/B R.N. has the 1945-1948 Palestine Bar. Most of the naval personnel involved in this brush fire war were offshore patrol craft crews attempting to interdict arms and illegal immigrant traffic into what was still the British Mandate territory of Palestine.

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1939 Daily Express War Map of Europe

Posted in Paper with tags , , , , on August 11, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is the 1939 version of the Daily Express War Map of Europe. These maps were printed by the large dailies in the UK, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express and so on. Subscribers were expected to keep track of campaigns on these maps, the newspapers supplied flags to be stuck on pins. Of course the war was a little more fast moving than WW1 and in consequence these weren’t used for this purpose by many people.

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German Surrender Documents May 1945

Posted in Paper with tags , , , , , , on August 11, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_StatesThis is a fascimile of the surrender documents signed by Germany on the 8th May 1945. These copies were created by the US National Archives. I have a pdf copy available here if you want one, Germany Surrenders Facsimile.

 

Anti-Mussolini Propaganda Pot

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , , , , on August 11, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is the fourth one of a series of faux chamber pots put out by Fieldings of Staffordshire, England. On the front it says ‘Wop No. 1” and “Albania-Taranto-Bardia”. On the rear it says “We’ve got him on the run″. Inside is a cartoon image of Mussolini. The design is a tongue in cheek one executed by the outstanding designer Enoch Boulton. These pots were viewed as being a little bad taste at the time, especially the ultra-rare large one that rotated on a wooden base and played “Rule Britannia”. I truly wish I could find that one someday. The date of this piece is sometime between November and December 1940 since this is when Bardia fell to General Wavell and the Italian Fleet was torpedoed at Taranto. These Mussolini ones are much harder to find than the Hitler ones.

 

Hitler Hate Club Badge

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , on August 10, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis badge, depicting a lion attacking a snake with Hitler’s head, obviously belongs to some obscure British jingoist “club”. A lot of Home Front propaganda items were produced in the first year of the war, partly to stir up pro-war fervour, mostly to generate a profit. The badge has the words “Protected Design” on the rear. Despite using my l33t googling skills I have not been able to discover an origin for the badge. This example is intended for men as it has the buttonhole attachment. There is a women’s pinback version as well.

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The Arctic Star Medal

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals, Fakes & Replicas with tags , , on August 10, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is an example of the newly issued Arctic Star.

The Arctic Star is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom, awarded for service in World War II. The medal is awarded for any length of service above the Arctic Circle by members of the British Armed Forces and the Merchant Navy. The Arctic Star is a retrospective award, coming nearly seventy years after the end of World War II, being announced in late 2012. The Arctic Star was formally approved by The Queen, and began production in early 2013. There are not many of these out there yet as so few have been issued. Those that are sold through are generally part of a group. This is a reproduction made by a Birmingham company. The indicators are the large ribbon ring as well as the way the VI do not intersect with the raised ring.

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The Italy Star

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags , , on August 1, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is my Italy Star. The Italy Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.
The medal was awarded for operational service (on land) in Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Pantelleria, the Aegean area and Dodecanese Islands, and Elba at any time between 11 June 1943 and 8 May 1945. Other areas to qualify for the award are:

  • Sicily – between 11 June 1943 – 17 August 1943
  • Sardinia – between 11 June 1943 – 19 September 1943
  • Corsica – between 11 June 1943 – 4 October 1943

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Bahawalpur 1939-1945 Overseas Service Medal

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags , , , , on August 1, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_PakistanIn 1945 Bahawalpur, while part of the administration of British India, was still nominally independent, run by its Maharajah. In consequence it was never a British possession. After Independence in 1947-48 it became part of Pakistan. It’s rulers produced this Overseas Service Medal medal in 1945.

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The Burma Star

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags , , on August 1, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThe Burma Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.

The medal was awarded for service in the Burma Campaign between 11 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. This medal was also awarded for certain specified service in China, Hong Kong, Malaya and Sumatra:

  • Hong Kong – between 26 December 1941 and 2 September 1945
  • China and Malaya – between 16 February 1942 and 2 September 1945
  • Sumatra – between 24 March 1942 and 2 September 1945
  • Second World War service in China, Hong Kong, Malaya and Sumatra after 8 December 1941 but prior to the above start dates was recognised by the award of the Pacific Star.

British uniform regulations stipulated that the Pacific Star would not be awarded to a prior recipient of the Burma Star. Subsequent entitlement to the Pacific Star was denoted by the award of the Pacific clasp.

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Bahawalpur Victory Medal 1945

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags , , , on August 1, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_PakistanIn 1945 Bahawalpur, while part of the administration of British India, was still nominally independent, run by its Maharajah. In consequence it was never a British possession. After Independence in 1947-48 it became part of Pakistan. It’s rulers produced this Victory medal in 1945.

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The Africa Star

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags , , on August 1, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThe Africa Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.

The Star was awarded for a minimum one day service in an operational area of North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943.

The whole of the area between the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar is included, together with Malta, Abyssinia, Kenya, Sudan, The Solmalilands and Eritrea. The areas not bordering the Mediterranean only qualified for the Africa Star from 10 June 1940 to 27 November 1941.
Members of the Australian Imperial Force qualified for the Star for service in Syria from 8 June 1941 and 11 July 1941.

This example has no bar.

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The Kings Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom

Posted in Rare Medals, Valour Medals with tags , , on August 1, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThe Kings Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom. This medal was issued to foreigners who put themselves in harms way assisting the Allied cause. Examples would be helping run one of the escape and evasion networks getting Allied airmen out of Occupied Europe. Approximately 3200 of these medals were awarded from 1947. I have two of them, the other one here has its case.

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The Kings Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals, Rare Medals with tags , on August 1, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis, along with the companion for courage, is one of my favourite WW2 medals.

From Wikipedia, “The King’s Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom is a British medal instituted by the The Sovereign, on 23 August 1945. Its was to recognize civilian foreign nationals, mainly of allied countries, who had given meritorious service to further the interests of the British Commonwealth or the Allied cause during World War II. The medal was awarded 2,539 times. Those who helped British military personnel to escape the enemy and escape from occupied areas or for other dangerous work for the British or Allied cause during the war were eligible for the King’s Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom.”

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Air Crew Europe Star

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals, Rare Medals with tags , , on August 1, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThe Air Crew Europe Star is one of the rarest of the Commonwealth WW2 Service Stars. As a consequence it is valuable and heavily faked.

I have two here, one original and one reproduction. In this case the only way to really tell one from the other is that the cypher of King George in the center is slightly rotated in the fake so that the bottom of the V is lined up with the center of the W in crew instead of with the left hand leg of the W. If you look at the right hand foot of the W on the repro, you can see that it doesn’t align with the spine of the lower star point as it should.

And finally, repros usually age to a mid brown colour. The originals retain some colour and age to a red-brown patina, rather like a penny.

Original at left, Repro at right

Original at left, Repro at right

Reproduction

Reproduction

Original

Original

A Birchall Killed In The 1918 German Spring Offensive

Posted in 1914-1918 Service Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , on July 27, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is a late Great War pair to 202339, Frederick C. Birchall of 6th Battalion, The Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment. Frederick was killed on the 30th of March 1918, during Germany’s last throw Spring Offensive. He is buried at Doullens Communal Cemetery, Extension #1.
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British Anti-Hitler Po Pot

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , , , , on July 27, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is the third one of a series of faux chamber pots put out by Fieldings of Staffordshire, England early in 1939 to take advantage of the, then recent, “Violation of Poland” by Hitler’s armies. It is slightly larger in size than the other example I have. On the front it says ‘Flip Your Ashes On Old Nasty” and “The Violation of Poland”. On the rear it says “Gets-a-po″. Inside is a cartoon image of Hitler, probably by David Low, a prominent political cartoonist of the period. The design is a tongue in cheek one executed by the outstanding designer Enoch Boulton. These pots were viewed as being a little bad taste at the time, especially the ultra-rare large one that rotated on a wooden base and played “Rule Britannia”. I truly wish I could find that one someday.

A Birchall Casualty from the Gloucestershire Regiment

Posted in 1914-1918 Service Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , on June 29, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomWilliam Birchall, the son of William and Jessie Birchall and the husband of Alice was from Bradley Green, Whitchurch, Salop. he enlisted in Chester. He was a private, 34582, in C Company, 13th Bn, The Gloucesters when he died of wounds (gun shot wound to the abdomen) on the 31st of March, 1918, aged 32. The cemetery he is buried in, Namps-Au-Val was used by the 41st, 50th and 55th Casualty Clearing Stations when they operated here during the German Picardy Offensive of March 1918.

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Anti-Nazi Ashtray

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , , , , on June 29, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is another one of a series of faux chamber pots put out by imitators of Fieldings of Staffordshire, England early in 1939 to take advantage of the, then recent, “Violation of Poland” by Hitler’s armies. It is slightly larger in size than the other example I have. On the front it says ‘Chums, what would you do?”. Inside is a cartoon image of Hitler, this time not by David Low. The design is a tongue in cheek one imitating the more common Fieldings designs. These are not as well executed as the Fieldings/Crown Lynn ones.

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40th Anniversary Medallion of the 1st Matabele War

Posted in Medallions & Badges with tags , on May 9, 2013 by The Dude

800px-Flag_of_Southern_RhodesiaThis is a souvenir commemorative medallion commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1st Matabele War where Matabeleland was conquered and absorbed into what was then Rhodesia.

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A Single to a Birchall Who Habitually Lost His Medals

Posted in 1914-1918 Service Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , , on April 24, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis single British War Medal belongs to Thomas Birchall. It is impressed to 11114 T.Birchall N. Staffs. Ex-Private Birchall seemed to be in the habit of losing his medals since his Victory Medal was reported lost in 1922. The police subsequently found and handed in his lost medal which was returned to him.

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A Birchall Single from the ASC

Posted in 1914-1918 Service Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , , on April 23, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis British War Medal belonged to John H. Birchall. It is impressed to DM2-208049 Pte J.H.Birchall A.S.C. John Henry Birchall was a sanitary worker in civilian life and enlisted on the 5th of June 1915. He served in the Motor Corps.

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A Birchall Casualty sent to Gallipoli and Retired Unfit in WW1

Posted in 1914-1918 Service Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , , , on April 23, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis single is a 1914-1915 Star belonging to William Birchall. It is impressed to 20177 Pte. W. Birchall Essex R. William deployed to the Balkans on the 19th of September 1915. He was discharged on the 30th of March 1917 under category 16, “No longer fit for war service”, in this case because of wounds. William was also entitled to the Silver Wound Badge 152379.

Update: I found his Victory Medal in the UK, 4 years later!

 

A Birchall Officer Single, Promoted From the Ranks

Posted in 1914-1918 Service Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , , on April 23, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is an orphan medal for 2nd Lieutenant George Birchall. This medal single is impressed for 21176 2 Lieut. G Birchall H.Light.Inf. He enlisted as a Private soldier in the Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was transferred to the Highland Light Infantry as a Corporal and then promoted from the ranks to Temporary 2nd Lieutenant and then confirmed as 2nd Lieutenant.

He was removed from the suspense list and then placed on the retired list on the 20th of October 1921. In the meantime he had reenlisted in the Royal Scottish Rifles as a Private on the 1st of December 1919. His new Regt. Number was 3122424. Why would someone reenlist in the army having survived WW1?

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