This 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.
This 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.
This 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.
This 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.
This 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.
This 78 RPM record is an example of the US groundswell of anti-Japanese propaganda that appeared directly after Pearl Harbour in 1941. This record has two songs by Carson Robison, on side A “We’re Gonna Have To Slap The Dirty Little Jap” and on the b-side “Remember Pearl Harbour”. I have the sheet music for the first song here.
This is the miniature medal matching the full size one listed elsewhere here, from the Principality of Transjordan, and issued to all citizens of the mandate who served in WW2. Trans-Jordan later became the Kingdom of Jordan. It’s Arabic name is “Midalat al-Zarari al-Herb al-Iradani Lasanat 1939-1945“.
The Australia Service Medal 1939–45 recognises service by Australia’s armed forces, Mercantile Marine and Volunteer Defence Corps during World War II.
Initially, the qualifying period was those members who served overseas for at least 18 months full-time service or three years’ part-time service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. On 16 August 1996, the qualifying period was reduced to 30 days for full-time service and 90 days for part-time service.
My one is named to Q191735 E.E.G. Finlay. Staff Sergeant Eric Edward George Finlay died on the 15th of March, 1942, aged 29, while serving in the Australian Army, 4 Supply Company AASC. His place of death is recorded as Australia, but a bit more googling reveals more. Eric was the son of Albert Edward and Elizabeth Marie Finlay, of Bardon, Queensland; Husband of Barbara Mary Finlay, of Bardon, Queensland. His grave is in Adelaide River War Cemetery in the Northern Territory. In this cemetery are buried the men who died building the “track” to Darwin during WW2. His death notices, placed by his wife and other family in the Brisbane Courier Mail on the 15th of March 1942, describe him dying in a “burning accident” at Mount Isa. How awful.
This 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:
In 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.
The 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:
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.
In 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.
The 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.
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.
The 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.
This, 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.”
The 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
Reproduction
Original
This 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.
This 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.
In late 1941, the American Legion, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, formed the “Slap-A-Jap Club”. The public was encouraged to join by purchasing one 25c Defense Stamp per week for the duration of the war. This card below is the membership card for that club.
This is the cap badge of the New Zealand Women’s Royal Army Corp. The New Zealand Women’s Royal Army Corps (NZWRAC) had its beginnings in the New Zealand Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (NZWAAC) which was established as part of the New Zealand Defence Force in July 1942. Prior to this the first detachment of women of the Women’s War Service Auxiliary (WWSA), who became known as the “Tuis” sailed for the Middle East in September 1941.
They were attached to the New Zealand Forces Club, Cairo where they carried out welfare duties. NZWAAC became a regular corps of the New Zealand Army in April 1948 and the name was changed to New Zealand Women’s Army Corps. The Corps was granted the title ‘Royal’ in July 1952. In 1977 the Corps was deactivated. The NZWRAC Depot in Burnham Military Camp was established in 1948 for the training of all new recruits, non-commissioned officers, and later on officers also. The Depot was closed on deactivation of the Corps.
This is the cap badge for the New Zealand Women’s Land Service.
The Women’s Land Service was formed to supply labour to keep New Zealand agriculture going during the War. From 1940, city girls from the age of seventeen were sent to assist on sheep, cattle, dairy, orchard and poultry properties. Many had the experience of arriving at a remote destination late at night and starting work the next morning as a farm-hand, when they had never been close-up to a sheep. They learned to ride horses, train and whistle up dogs, muster and shear sheep, plough and harvest crops, and to master all the myriad tasks of rural industries, often without electricity.
This is the miniature medal for this medal here. What is a little odd is the ribbon. My Danish contact Sune tells me the device is absolutely non-official. As well the ribbon appears to be that used on the Order of Dannebrog.
This is the technische betriebsanleitung or operations manual for the DKE38 Radio. I have the radio here.
The symbol on this badge was based on the so-called ‘Moustique’ or mosquito. The badge could only be worn by men and women who had joined the Forces Françaises Libres before August 1943, when their units were amalgamated with the French Army of North Africa.
This little set of badges is numbered 29202. They came with my King’s Medal for courage in the Cause of Freedom. I believe if I could find the listings for this badge number I could find the identity of the recipient of the King’s Medal.
Kiwi Medals 