s45 y4s5 s

PLUS RHODESIA MEDAL • BATTLE OF HILL 112 • INSIDE THE LUGER

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TRENCH WARFARE

REVOLUTION How new tactics at the Second Battle of Arras resulted in rapid gains on the Western Front HRH Prince Philip at war The Duke’s Royal Navy career in WWII

The Russian Empire occupying Alaska How expansion was stopped by the Tlingits

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Military daggers of the Third Reich Collect the decorative German weapons

The Battle of the Nile medal Nelson’s prize agent issued the award for the famous victory

Russian Crimean War helmet

Collecting from the WWI battle

Taking a close look at a trophy from the Battle of Inkerman

Uniforms, medals and weapons of the forces involved

Display until 1 July 2021

WEAPONS // ARMOUR // UNIFORMS // MEDALS // BADGES

LONDON SPECIALIST AUCTIONEERS

2021 REGULAR AUCTIONS OF

Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria 16th June • 14th July • 18th August

www.dnw.co.uk Dix Noonan Webb 16 Bolton Street Mayfair London W1J 8BQ 020 7016 1700 medals@dnw.co.uk

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Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH Tel: 01778 391000 Fax: 01778 392422 Publisher Rob McDonnell robm@warnersgroup.co.uk Editor Duncan Evans duncane@warnersgroup.co.uk Tel: 01778 391103 Head of Design and Production Lynn Wright ADVERTISING Sales Executive Kristina Green kristina.green@warnersgroup.co.uk Tel: 01778 392096 Production Manager Nicola Glossop nicola.glossop@warnersgroup.co.uk Tel: 01778 392420 Production Assistant Charlotte Bamford charlotte.bamford@warnersgroup.co.uk Tel: 01778 395081 MARKETING Marketing Manager Katherine Brown katherine.brown@warnersgroup.co.uk Tel: 01778 395092 Marketing Executive Luke Hider luke.hider@warnersgroup.co.uk Tel: 01778 395085 DISTRIBUTION Warners Distribution Andy Perry Tel: 01778 391152 This publication is printed by Warners 01778 395111

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Welcome A

s I write this month we are on the cusp of stage three of lockdown lifting, which will mean indoor hospitality can now re-open. That, of course, also means museums, exhibitor centres, castles, country homes and historical sites. The pandemic has, as well as taking a terrible toll in terms of lives lost, played havoc with businesses, many of which will not recover. If you’ve had your jabs, now is the time to get out there and support your favourite places, auction houses and dealers. You can also help The Armourer by subscribing – the latest offers are on page 6.

Although all restrictions are expected to be lifted by 21 June, the uncertainty has made planning for large scale outdoor events something of a lottery so this month I asked Tim Heath to go through all the annual militaria events planned for the summer and find out what was happening with them. You can read the feature, starting on page 15. Here you will see that some are going ahead, some have been cancelled, while others are still waiting to see what is happening on the ground. Contact details have been provided so that you can check with the events themselves, nearer the proposed dates.

To this issue then and the Battle of Arras, or the Second Battle, to be more precise. The year was 1917 and planners were desperate to avoid the mistakes that lead to the slaughter at The Somme and the stalemate at Verdun.

An overwhelming French assault in the Chemin des Dames sector was to be preceded, the week before, by a Britishled attack at Arras, using a combination of creative new techniques. Extensive tunnels were built, gas projectiles were

readied but unknown to the Allied armies, the Germans had plans of their own. Read on to see how it all unfolded.

Also in this issue, we pay tribute to the late HRH Prince Philip by taking a look at his wartime record in the Royal Navy and the various ships he served on; there’s the fierce Battle of Hill 112 in the Normandy campaign after D-Day; and John Pursley tackles the next in his series on edged display and ceremonial weapons of the Third Reich by looking at military daggers.

Now, in the Letters page, one reader has written in at length about various goings on at auction houses which brought to mind the classic series Lovejoy, staring Ian McShane and Phyllis Logan. I recently discovered that the entire series was available on the streaming platform UKTV Play and have enjoyed making my re-acquaintance with East Anglian loveable rogue. All the shady dealings that our letter writer has mentioned are in the show, for dramatic or comedic intent. The thing is, where there is money involved, there will always be those looking to make a little extra or take a short cut for their advantage. The point is that auctions aren’t charities, they are businesses, and that you, as the buyer, are at liberty to take your custom wherever you like. In the world of militaria, it pays to do your research, canvas opinions of experts, and stick to your budgets for what something is worth to you.

Duncan Evans • Editor

Save over 15% a year when you subscribe to The Armourer Subscribe from just £4.17 an issue. Turn to page 6 to find out more about this great saving.

Visit www.armourer.co.uk www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

3

Contents

Inside

WIN!

JULY 2021 // ISSUE 191

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36 40

15Militaria shows 2021

REGULARS

3

Welcome

What the Editor has to say about this month’s issue as we head to the Western Front and a combined arms battle that resulted in the biggest gains of WWI to that point.

7

News

What’s happening in the world of militaria, museums, exhibitions, collections and events.

This month we’re reporting on what’s coming up at the National Army Museum and a new auction from the Tank Museum.

10Militaria for sale

Let’s have a look at what’s gone under the hammer in auction rooms, with a Victoria Cross and other medals at DNW, Japanese swords at C&T Auctions, and uniforms and equipment at Tennants.

Following the passing of HRH Prince Philip, we take a look at his wartime service in the Royal Navy, which started when he was appointed as a Midshipman on HMS Ramilles.

the sale 13Inrooms

July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

20 Under the hammer

31

Philip at war 31Prince

EVENTS

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44

FEATURES

Lenny Warren takes a trip around the internet in search of rare, interesting and desirable collectables.

Discover what’s coming up for auction at Hermann Historica’s set of auctions, early in the month. There are international orders and then some quite incredible items tied directly to leading members of the NSDAP regime.

Tim Heath goes through the Summer event calendar looking to see what shows are going ahead, who is undecided and which ones have been cancelled, as we emerge from the pandemic.

military daggers 36German

52

John C Pursley continues his series on edged weapons of the Third Reich by looking at the daggers of the military, including the Heer, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe.

54

REGULAR COVER FEATURES

24

The Battle of Arras

COVER STORY

The British and Canadians at Arras in WWI introduced advanced tactics, winning all their objectives, but the decisive breakthrough remained elusive, as Graham Caldwell reveals.

58Collecting the battle

Edward Hallett considers some of the new tactics used during the Battle of Arras and focussing a collection based around the weapons, uniforms and equipment.

The Russian occupation 40 of Alaska Before Alaska became the 49th state of America, it was the capital of Russian America, providing lucrative trade in furs.

Cynthia J Notti explores the key battles of 1802 and 1804 against Russian expansion in the region.

deadly battles of the Normandy campaign, in the Summer of 1944.

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1980 48

44

Crimean War helmet

Robert Attard takes a look at a Russian helmet from the Crimean War. After close examination, our writer draws the conclusion that this was a war trophy from the Battle of Inkerman.

Peter Duckers takes a look at a medal for a country that was moving from a white, colonial government, to independence under African majority rule.

54

The Jeffries family connection

The period of the early breach loading sporting gun, is one of the most fascinating in all of the history of gunmaking. Gavin Gardiner looks at a gun from the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

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66

Medal for the Battle of the Nile

Duncan Evans casts his eye over a commemorative medal awarded in various grades, in 1798, to those who took part in the famous sea battle.

Battle of Hill 112

While D-Day was a success, there was harder fighting to come. Jonathan Trigg takes you into the heart of one of the most

The Rhodesia medal of

MBG: The Luger

John Walter takes a look at the iconic German handgun of two world wars called the Borchardt-Luger, which better known simply as the Luger.

Print Inspector

Ray Westlake examines an officer of the 2nd Life Guards from 1837 from an original watercolour, 16.3cm x 18.4cm, by Richard Simkin, dated by the artist as 1837.

SIGNALS

68 Militaria reviews

Duncan Evans takes a look at the latest releases including No Wider War from Osprey, 75 Years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Wellington’s Infantry and a new audio book drama set in the War of the Roses period.

70Your Letters

Your comments on what you’ve been reading and doing. This month we’re discussing RAF men gardening to relieve the stress, the English Civil War and a lengthy piece on auctions.

72 Auction & Fair Diary

Lockdown is starting to lift so check out the online arrangements for the auctions where you can top up your militaria collection and what fairs will soon be opening.

74Competition

Thanks to our friends at Osprey Publishing we have two prize bundles up for grabs, comprising copies of 75 Years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Soviet T-62 MBT and US Soldier v British Soldier 1812.

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SUBSCRIPTION OFFER

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REGULAR

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

EVENTS

With a life-long fascination in Napoleonic history, Patrick Mercer OBE will trace the conflicted loyalties of these turbulent times and show just what a debt King George owed to his fighting Irishmen.

Events at the National Army Museum Although all museums were allowed to reopen on 17 May, some of the special events are still being held online.

Here’s what to expect from the National Army Museum in June.

For the online events, go to the website www.nam.ac.uk to register for Crowdcast.

British Army Horse Power in the Great War 4 June, 12noon.

Online only, free World War I was a conflict closely associated with technological development and the industrialisation of warfare.

However, horses and mules continued to play an important role in military operations.

In this talk, Lucy BetteridgeDyson will consider the equine experience during World War I and explore the many ways in which horses and mules were used by the British Army. She will consider the vital role that these animals played in supporting military operations and delivering victory.

Kensington and Chelsea's Great War 9 June, 11am. £15 (members £10) Much of Chelsea around the National Army Museum has military and wartime connections, both happy and sad. Led by AnneMarie Craven, an art historian by

profession, with a particular interest in military history, this walk will explore some of the fine memorials found between the Museum and Sloane Square and the moving stories attached.

The Irish Wars: The Irish Against Napoleon (Lecture 1/3) 9 June, 6.30pm.

Members only, free At the end of the 18th century, Ireland was a tricky place for the Crown to recruit soldiers. But, despite a wholesale and bloody rebellion in 1798, Ireland provided more than her fair share of men to serve in the ranks. There were the old, Regular regiments of Horse and Foot such as the 18th Royal Irish and 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, but war with France saw a host of new, Irish regiments being raised. Some, like the 83rd (County of Dublin) and 88th (Connaught Rangers) had long, hard-fought careers, while regiment like the 134th (Loyal Limerick) were disbanded almost as soon as they were embodied.

In the Falklands with 2 Para 11 June, 12noon. Online, free Join Lieutenant Colonel Philip Neame as he shares what it was like to serve as a company commander during the Falklands War. 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment was the only land force unit to fight in two battles during the Falklands War (1982).

One of these was Goose Green, the first major land engagement of the war, which saw the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel ‘H’ Jones, killed and awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. The other was Wireless Ridge, which took place on the last night of the conflict and ended in the collapse of the Argentine Army.

Philip Neame was in command of D Company during the Falklands War. In this talk, he will explore these questions and share his experiences of serving during the conflict.

Saintly and Sinful 16 June, 11am. £15 (members £10)

This walk weaves its way west of Chelsea and skirts the north bank of the River Thames following the tales of saints and sinners.

Led by Anne-Marie Craven this walk takes us westwards from the National Army Museum. We hear about the demise of Thomas More, caused by King Henry VIII, and still very much remembered today in Chelsea. And we finish near the riverside by a house transported brick by brick from the City of London.

The Men Who Decided Waterloo 18 June, 12noon. Online, free Professor Brendan Simms examines the story and legacy of the men of the King’s German Legion who turned the tide at the Battle of Waterloo. There were many victors at Waterloo in June 1815 but those with the best claim to have turned the tide of the battle are the 400-odd riflemen from the King’s German Legion who held off Napoleon for most of the afternoon at the crucial strongpoint of La Haye Sainte. The rank and file were largely German; the officers both British and German. In this talk, Brendan Simms tells their story and explores what significance their legacy might have for the defence of Europe today.

Victoria Cross Recipients at Brompton Cemetery 23 June, 11am. £15 (members £10) This stroll weaves along the pathways of the Grade I listed cemetery following tales of fame, fortune and heroism. A wonderful repository of fame, fortune and heroism, Brompton Cemetery provides an opportunity to explore the lives and feats of some of the bravest soldiers who fought and lost their lives in battle from Waterloo onwards. ■ www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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❯

News AUCTIONS

Tank Museum to host militaria fair and auction The Tank Museum is partnering with Dorset auction house Duke’s to present a new autumn militaria fair and auction. Taking place on 6 November 2021, The Tank Museum will host an array of trade stalls, selling a range of military collectables and memorabilia, vintage uniforms and insignia, plus second-hand

books and reproduction militaria for re-enactors.

Museum spokesman Nik Wyness said, “This is the first time The Tank Museum has

held a militaria fair, and we are now welcoming applications for traders for what we hope will become one of the leading militaria events on the circuit.”

The highlight of the event is set to be the Duke’s militaria and medals auction, featuring an estimated 300–400 lots ranging from medals, militaria, arms, armour and even military vehicles. Previous Duke’s auctions have included a cigar box belonging to Winston Churchill, which was sold for £79,000 earlier this month.

Julian Smith of Duke’s said, “We are delighted to participate in this joint event with The Tank Museum. The historic venue

partnered the wide variety of military themed items to be offered, from medals to military vehicles, will hopefully attract exciting international bidding.”

The auction will take place on Saturday, 6 November 2021, with all lots on public display for browsing at the Museum between 3 and 5 November.

The auction will be live streamed on easylive.com, thesaleroom. com and The Tank Museum's YouTube channel.

For visitors, normal ticket prices will apply, with Annual Passes valid for the event – but booking in advance will be essential due to expected capacity limitations. ■

BOOKS Photos: © West Dean College of Arts and Conservation

Rare tank books to be republished

EDUCATION

Medieval armouring course West Dean College is offering students the chance to create an Italian 15th century style gauntlet on its armouring course.

It’s aimed at beginners or those with some basic metal working skills; introducing everyone to the skills required to size and make a working 15th century Italian style gauntlet. The gauntlet you will be making was the product of approximately 150 years of near constant European warfare and represents, for many, a design that has never been bettered. Made from three or four interlocking plates that do not interfere with human movement it offers near complete protection.

It offers the opportunity to

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

make something truly historical and aesthetically wonderful that once represented the very pinnacle of science and military research.

Starting with a look at pictures of some original armour and a pair made by the instructor the course will teach you how to properly size patterns, shape, planish, clean and fix the plates creating an articulated, working piece of sculpture.

Depending upon your skill level, it is hoped that everyone will be able to finish one complete gauntlet. Any time left over will be used to start another gauntlet or the associated forearm defence (vambrace). To allow for the required skill for the course and to ensure that there is enough time left, some parts of the build involving hand tools like power shears and grinders may be done by the instructor. The course on medieval armouring runs from 20-24 June and costs £564. ■

A successful crowdfunding campaign by The Tank Museum has resulted in David Fletcher’s twovolume history of British WWII tank development being reprinted. The Great Tank Scandal and Universal Tank, were originally published in 1989. Both editions will be reissued with David Fletcher’s original text, complete with rescanned highresolution images.

Initially a target to sell 150 editions was needed to secure publication. However, less than 24 hours after starting the campaign, 600 people had bought this special signed double-edition and the numbers had to be capped.

The Great Tank Scandal and Universal Tank are now available to pre-order for £29 on The Tank Museum Online Shop.

Museum Curator David Willey said, “These books offer a critique of the military authorities, industry and government, all presented in David’s unique and witty style.

In Volume 1 - The Great Tank Scandal, he looks at the confusion and indecision that left Britain seemingly unprepared the threat of Nazi Germany. In Volume 2 The Universal Tank, he examines the lessons learned from combat, which ultimately gave rise to one of the most successful tank designs ever – the Centurion. David Fletcher is a leading authority on the history of British military vehicles and this collection is a must have for die-hard tank aficionados.”

This latest success follows the Museum’s appeal to crowdfund the first English translation of the wartime German Panther-Fibel. This was achieved within days of being launched and The Tank Museum is now looking to republish more out-of-print tank books. ■

EST.

2013

C&T AUCTIONEERS VALUERS

Regular Auctions of Militaria and Antique Arms & Armour Single Items or Entire Collections

KENT

Fine Militaria Auction Including Items From The Jerry Withers Collection

Wednesday 7th July 2021

www.candtauctions.co.uk Please contact our Military Specialist Matthew Tredwen for more information regarding consignments and valuations:

Tel: +44 (0) 1233510050 Email: matthew.tredwen@candtauctions.co.uk

Buying and collecting

Militaria for sale Lenny Warren trawls the internet to find bargains, rare, interesting or bizarre items of militaria

My wife picked up a new car this week, nothing much to do with militaria you might be thinking. Well, apart from the fact that the car was a Skoda, which made me think of its arms/tank manufacturing and subsequent German takeover in WWII. Needless to say, I didn’t share my thoughts with the car salesman. One of the things that impressed me with the new car was the very clever satellite navigation system, as well as an inbuilt radar for car avoidance, parking etc. It got me thinking about just how far technology has progressed, including ideas or concepts that started off being used in the military, but then filter down to everyday objects.

We’re all used to computers in our everyday lives, but during WWII things were very different.

Colossus at Bletchley park is well known, but we often forget the variety of smaller navigational and computing devices that were in their infancy

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

but would lead on to the modern technological world we live in today.

An example of this is a very rare WWII German ARG 1 celestial computer used for extremely accurate navigational readings, primarily used by the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. The body is of aluminium and bakelite construction with a glass screen that is illuminated when plugged in, an azimuth with microscope eyepiece and cross hairs. On the front of the instrument are four information plates in luminous yellow. The reverse has a switch with the words 'Dunkel Aus Hell' (dark from light). Includes connecting cable and wooden storage box in good condition with all parts intact and original, information labels included. Priced at £795 from www. treasurebunker.co.uk.

Here we have a rare and interesting piece of technology. The Eureka Mk III B was part of a short-range radio navigation system, designed initially to assist in the delivery of supplies to the Army or

F OR SA L E

Resistance in occupied Europe. It consisted of two parts, the Rebecca airborne transceiver and antenna system, and the Eureka groundbased transponder. Rebecca calculated the range to the Eureka based on the timing of the return signals, and its relative position using a highly directional antenna. The Rebecca name comes from the phrase ‘Recognition of beacons’. The Eureka name comes from the Greek word meaning ‘I have found it!’. For sale is the transponder part, consisting of the central pole with pull out top section, lower securing thread with long section of cable and lower fixing plug. Priced at £160 from www. bulldogmilitaria.co.uk.

Finally, we have a cased WWI-era British observation balloon troops pocket barometer and altimeter with compass. Although unsigned this altimeter was most likely made by the quality optics manufacturer Negretti & Zambra around 1910. The instrument is contained in a leather over wood, green velvet lined case which has a brass button release catch.

A beautiful instrument in full working order.

Priced at £475 from www.jcmilitaria.com. ■

ANTIQUE & OBSOLETE CALIBRE ANTIQUE & OBSOLETE CALIBRE OUR PRICES INCLUDE UK DELIVERY 1866 Winchester ‘Yellowboy’ Lever Action Rifle in .44 Henry Rim Fire, 1873.......£8750.00 Rare 1855 Colt’s .56 cal Revolving Rifle, Prize Rifle, Middlesex Rifle Vols ............£9975.00 1850 Scarce, Beattie & Sons Liverpool 50 bore Under hammer boot pistol ...........£795.00 MK II Martini Henry 577x450 short lever rifle, sold out service, WD marked........£1200.00 1860 Colt Army .44 cal Perc Revolver all matching , incl cylinder, VGC ...............£1875.00 1849 Colt Pocket .31 perc 5 shotrevolver, l matching, Oct barrel dates to 1851 ..£1250.00 C1850 George Waller Horsham Dble 15B Percussion Shotgun with grip safety ....£675.00 C 1770 English Colcomb London 54 Bore Flintlock Pocket pistol, cannon barrel ...£675.00 C1850 Gough & Bowen steel Frame .38 bore travelling Pistol Octagonal Barrel....£695.00 1840 English Transitional Bar hammer 6 shot Perc revolver, 6 inch Oct Barrel ......£745.00 1850 Cased Deane Adams Deane 54 bore D.A. Spurless Revolver, Accessories..£2400.00 1860 Patt Colt .44 Army Percussion revolver, all matching dates to 1862, Exc ....£2200.00 1880 Cased Tranter S.A. 7 shot .32 RF, John Rigby London with Accessories .....£1475.00 1856 US Civil War, Starr Arms Co N.Y. .44 S.A. Percussion Revolver. VGC ............£1875.00 1858 Remington New Model Army 6 shot .44 S.A. Revolver, US Civil War ...........£1875.00 1871-75 Hopkins & Allen XL No2 .30 RF, 5 shot revolver, octagonal barrel............£595.00 C1850 Pair Ward No 471 80 bore Over & Under Turn Over Perc Pistols ...............£1900.00 C1850 Italian Piemontese 17mm Cavalry Carbine Percussion Brass Furniture......£975.00 Superb Silver Inlaid & carved Martini Carbine 11 x 57R Obsolete. VGC Bore .........£975.00 C1840 English Transitional .38 Bar Hammer 6 shot Percussion Revolver ............. £795.00.

Schmidt Rubin Mint & Matching Model 1889 7.5 x 53.5 Straight Pull Rifle ...........£975.00 1869 BSA Co Snider .577 Rifle, 3 band, 54 1/2 inch, clean & crisp rifling ...........£1275.00 1849 Pagett George III .700 Rifled Cavalry Carbine, Tiger Stripe Stock................£2750.00 1800 Patt Baker Rifle, Officer’s Private Purchase by Barnett London. VGC..........£6750.00

V. Rare Cased Kerr’s Patent .54 bore SA Perc Revolver LAC Side Hammer ..............£4950.00 US Civil War Savage Revolving Firearms Navy 1st Model .36 Cal Revolver..............£2750.00 Trials Rifle Mint Bore George Henry Daw Enfield 1856 Converted to .577 B.L .........£2400.00 1843-46 Pair Scottish Form 54b Steel Conv to Perc Pistols. Irish KE-256 Reg ........£2450.00 1860 Deane & Son London Bridge, Adams Patt .38 bore 5 shot Perc Revolver .......£1895.00 Superb 1863 .577 Snider Rifle, London Arms Co. Nipple Protector, Mint Bore .........£1575.00 Spencer Rifle Model 1865 .52 Cal Mint Bore, 7 shot Tube mag. No 563..................£2750.00 1870 Dble Percussion Big Game .577 Rifle & 12 bore Shotgun,, Irish Reg ................£995.00 Model 1862 Sharps .52RF Naval Carbine Leather Covered Barrel All Original .........£2250.00 Napoleonic Belgian Sea Service .700 Flintlock Royal Navy Pistol Original .................£975.00 Smith’s 1863 .50 cal Cavalry Carbine Poultney & Trimble Mass. Break Action ........£1695.00 Nock London 1800 Pair 50b cased belt Travelling Pistols & Sprung bayonets .........£1675.00 US Civil War 7th Army 1828 Charleville .700 Rifled Musket Conv Flintlock ..............£1875.00 Sharps New Model 1863 .52 Breech Loading Rifle in excellent original cond .........£4250.00 Mint Bore 5.5mm Volo Dog Revolver & holster, exceptional condition........................£695.00 Napoleonic George III Enfield .650 Light Dragoon Flintlock Pistol, Re-finished...........£975.00 Colt No3 .41RF nickel Derringer Pistol, excellent original condition............................£675.00 1894 .32 Long RF A J Stevens ‘Take Down’ Under Lever Hunting / Rook Rifle ..........£745.00 1844 Enfield Yeomanry .650 Percussion Cavalry Carbine Saddle Bar......................£1375.00 1857-1865 US Civil War Burnside .54 calibre Cavalry Carbine with saddle bar.......£1495.00 Holland & Holland .380 long Break Action Rook Rifle with Perkes underlever..........£2200.00 1870-1880 Colt No1 .41 RF ‘Knuckleduster’ Derringer Nickel Plated, VGC..............£1200.00 1785-1819 Cased Pair Flintlock.54 bore Pocket Pistols, Ketland & accessories .....£1495.00 1850 French Lafaure Paris Gold Inlaid, Double 20 bore Perc. ML Shotgun ..............£1495.00

www.militaryantiques.co.uk Some of the items currently for sale on our website include: ■ THIRD REICH ITEMS Rare Luftwaffe Flak Unit Kill Pennant .....................................................................£850 Veteran purchase 100 x 170 German Naval Battle Flag ...........................................£685 Scarce 1934 NSDAP Reichparteitag bevo cycle pennant .........................................£285 Third Reich DDAC (German Automobile Association) car pennant on metal frame .£385 Late War issue Third Reich U Boat War Badge ........................................................£250 Third Reich German Horse Carriage Drivers Badge ...................................................£85 Third Reich Police 25 Year Service gilt cross ............................................................£110 Third Reich DJ Hitler Youth dark blue wool ski cap..................................................£385 Scarce Third Reich SA Nordmark Kepi for leader. Gold piping and green top.........£1485 Third Reich Afrika Korps field made tropical ski cap and belt ...................................£695 Third Reich Fire Police Dress Sidearm. Scarce saw back variation.............................£580 Excellent set of RAD Officers dagger hangers. Brown leather..................................£595 Third Reich NCOs SA M43 style Ski cap for Sudmark District..................................£895 ■ FIRST WAR MILITARIA WWI German gas bottle. Known as the Clark D gas bottle .......................................£85 Imperial German Prussian Regimental Bugle ...........................................................£225 Scarce WWI Bavarian Other Ranks telegraphists belt buckle ...................................£325 Scarce and seldom found Imperial German Naval Air ship ratings cap .....................£865 Near mint condition WWI German MG08 ZF gun sight ..........................................£550 Scarce WWI German Garde du Korps Other Ranks pork pie cap .............................£650 Imperial German Iron Cross 2nd Class in Presentation Case ....................................£250 Scarce 1916 dated broom handled Mauser open flap leather holster ......................£850 ■ BRITISH MILITARIA Officers Dragoon Guards helmet of the 5th Princess Charlotte of Wales .................£885 British 1900s Officers Lance Cap of the Bedfordshire Imperial Yeomanry ..............£4900 Regimental mess plate from famous regiment 24th of Foot South Wales Borderers ..£75 Grenadier Guards Officers Parade Cap circa 1930s with bullion badge .....................£85 Victorian period Other Ranks Home Service helmet plate - Connaught Rangers .....£190 Other Ranks buckle of the Honourable Artillery Company. Circa 1930s ....................£88

BRINGING HISTORY TO YOUR DOOR

All Items guaranteed original of the period stated with full money back cover.

The price you see is the price you pay.

WANTED - SINGLE ITEMS OR COLLECTIONS TOP OFFERS GIVEN CONTACT US WITH DETAILS

Military Antiques PO BOX 376, West Malling,Kent, ME6 9DP England Email: robert.tredwen@btinternet.com 07850 031056

MUCH MORE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE @ www.militaryantiques.co.uk

The Summer Sales of Sporting Guns & Antique Arms

THREE AUCTIONS SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 2021

EVENTS

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

Four auctions at Hermann Historica

Two of the four take place at the end of May, but we’re going to look at the two at the start of June, which include the International Orders & Military Collectibles and International Military History from 1919. First up then the Order of Leopold, a commander’s cross with war decoration. It comes in the red award case. Bidding starts at €1,950.

You’ll need deep pockets for the next, spectacular award. It’s the Order of St. Stanislaus, c.

1870. This order for officials was introduced in 1839 and was only awarded to the chancellor of the Order of St. Stanislaus, the master of ceremonies, two heralds and the secretary of the order. Good condition, extremely rare so bidding starts at €35,000.

Next, an attractive Pour Le Mérite with award document to Lieutenant Colonel Erich Böhme.

Wartime version of gilt silver with the domed clasp characteristic of Wagner. Portrait photograph of Böhme wearing the Pour le Mérite order. Bidding starts at €8,000.

A real piece of history next with a Congressional Medal of Honour to Sergeant Jophn Karr who was a member of the escort for the remains of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. It features the dedication: ‘The Congress to Sergt. John Karr Co. D 14th Vet.

Res.Corps of Escort to Remains of President Abraham Lincoln April 1865’ inscribed on the back.

Bidding starts at €3,500.

An interesting one now, a helmet of the Khedive life guard, from 1867. Featuring a one-piece iron bell with neck protection. It has a conical crown rosette with iron crescent and adjustable arrowshaped nose iron (small defect).

Bidding starts at €1,350.

On to the post-1919 auction, which starts on 2 June. First up, an interesting photo book covering torpedo boats from 1928-1930.

Featuring a blue linen cover with corresponding gold embossing.

It has 50 pages, each with two photos in 9cm x 14cm format along with explanatory text, as well as dating of the ships, the technology, exercises, trips abroad and scenes from the life of a sailor.

Bidding to start at €300.

There are a number of items previously owned by or associated with Hermann Göring and one of the most eye catching is this Reichsmarshall's Goblet of Honour for the 1941 Schorfheide Prize.

The trophy comes direct from the estate of the winning jockey. You’re under starters orders at €3,500.

Sticking with the NSDAP leadership, how about a pair of cuff links given to Rudolf Hess by Heinrich Himmler? Round cufflinks with a pearl edge and SS runes in relief in an oak leaf edge on a dark patinated, grained background.

Bidding starts at €2,800.

Right to the top of the Nazi pile next, with Hitler’s personal writing

case from his apartment in Munich.

The large-format, lime green leather case with a gold-embossed national eagle, also outlined in gold, on the cover. A barely legible embossed stamp ‘Pfaff ... Berlin’ on the back for the famous Berlin bookbinding workshop of Otto Pfaff and Otto Dorfner.

Inside are three blank double sheets of personal writing paper with the national eagle, the inscription ‘Adolf Hitler’ and ‘München, den’ in gold relief, along with three unused envelopes.

Seized by Siegfried F. Brand of the US Military Intelligence Service, in Hitler's apartment on Prinzregentenplatz at the beginning of May 1945. Comes with a confirmation of authenticity letter from Albert Speer! Bidding starts at €9,000 but this one will run.

Well if you liked that one, how about this next item. It’s the writing desk of Erwin Rommel and a leather waste basket, from his mansion in Herlingen. Along with those comes a leather writing case and leather-bound notepad with ‘DR’ embossed monogram.

Wooden utensil box, the lid veneered with root wood, leather desk pad with inlaid blotting paper, wooden ink blotter and a pair of wooden bookends. The items were sold by Lucie, Erwin’s widow, to a solicitor, in 1955.

Bidding starts at €12,500. ■ www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

13

SPECIAL EDITIONS Special collector editions available in print or as a digital edition.

ARMS & ARMOUR MEDALS & MILITARIA AUCTION 22ND JUNE 2021

A very fine embossed steel burgonet in the 16th Century North Italian manner Estimate £5,000­8,000* Ned Cowell | +44 (0)1722 341469 | nc@woolleyandwallis.co.uk 51­61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3SU, UK

w w w.wo o l l eyan d wal l i s . co . u k *Visit woolleyandwallis.co.uk/buying for additional charges on final hammer price

To buy print go to: militaria.ma/specials To buy digital go to: pocketmags.com/ the-armourer-magazine/specialissues

Napoleon I letters signed by his own hand

NEXT AUCTIONS:

International Orders & Military Collectibles

A British steel helmet Mk I with chain mail visor, circa 1917

The Günter Adlung Helmet Collection International Military History from 1919

June 1 - 2, 2021

A sabre for Bavarian militia officers, in the style worn around 1840

LIVE AUCTION

June 24 - 25, 2021 ONLINE AUCTION

Further Information:

www.hermann-historica.com

Hermann Historica GmbH ❘ Bretonischer Ring 3 ❘ 85630 Grasbrunn / Munich ❘ Germany

A visor cap for the tropical uniform for officers of the Schutztruppe, circa 1900

EVENTS 6 JUNE The Malvern Militaria Show, Three Counties Showground, Wye Hall, Malvern, Worcestershire WR13 6NW This is one of those shows you won’t want to miss if you are a collector of anything military. The show boasts dealers from Europe and is one of the finest of its kind in the UK. 19-21 JUNE Barnard Castle 1940s Weekend, County Durham DL12 8AA A nostalgic weekend of living history with costume, vehicles and wartime music in combination with re-enactment events to the backdrop of beautiful Barnard Castle. Whether this event is going ahead is not certain yet.

Call 03000 262626 nearer the time to check.

20-21 JUNE Keith and Dufftown Railway 1940s Weekend, Banffshire AB55 4BA An increasingly popular wartime themed event where the railway returns to the 1940s. The event includes exhibits, shops offering wartime memorabilia and live demonstrations.

Looks likely to go ahead but call 01340 821181 to confirm.

20-21 JUNE Wartime in the Vale The organisers regret to have to announce that this year’s event has been cancelled.

Militaria summer

2021

announce that this year’s event will be taking place. It will be a great opportunity to take in the unique atmosphere of this event which will be including 1940s music and dance, re-enactments, vintage apparel and stalls.

For further details contact info@hevercastle.co.uk.

Tim Heath rounds up what’s happening with militaria shows this summer in light of restrictions easing over Covid-19

Springwell Village 1940s Weekend, Gateshead NE9 7RP The organisers of this event are at present still unsure as to whether confirm the dates 25, 26 and 27 June for this event to go ahead.

Updates on the situation can be found on the Springwell Village 1940s Weekend Facebook page where an update will be given once dates are finalised.

21 JUNE Bressingham 1940s Day, Bressingham Steam and Gardens, Low Road Bressingham Whether this event is going ahead this year is currently not known and it is advisable to contact general enquiries regarding this event on 01379 686900.

22-23 JUNE 1940s Steam Weekend, Epping Ongar Railway, Essex CM5 9BN There is no website update to confirm that this event will be going ahead this year so it would be advisable to contact general enquiries on 01277 365200.

26-27 JUNE Hever Castle Home Front Weekend, Hever Castle, Kent TN8 7NG The organisers are happy to

Step Back to the 1940s.

Severn Valley Railway, Kidderminster DY10 1QR Embark upon an evocative journey down memory lane and back to the 1940s to a backdrop of the beautiful Severn Valley Railway. There will be a host of attractions up and down the line to include period dress, re-enactment, live music, and displays of living history. For further information contact: contact@svrlive.com 2-3 JULY Meltham Memories, West Yorkshire HD9 4AG Following on from previous pandemic free years this popular weekend event returns in a celebration of 40s, 50s and 60s

❯ www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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Shows and fairs

British culture encompassing period dress, vehicles, stalls, and live music. For more information contact 01484 521760.

2-4 JULY Ingleton 1940s Weekend, Lancashire LA6 3HF Step back in time to the 1940s for a truly nostalgic mix of period entertainment whilst learning the history of World War II. There will be live music, fashion along with other attractions. For more information contact 01524 241683.

3-4 JULY Thorpe Camp 1940s Weekend, Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Tattershall, Thorpe LN4 4PL Re-enactment groups from around the country will be in attendance for the return of this event bringing together military and civilian vehicles, trade stalls and much more. For more information contact 01526 342249.

South Devon 1940s Festival, Buckfastleigh TQ11 0DZ As no further updates have been issued via the official website as to whether this year’s event is going ahead advice should be sought by contacting trains@ southdevonrailway.co.uk.

10-11 JULY Battles for Victory, Quex Park, Birchington, Kent CT7 0H. An array of military and vintage vehicles, re-enactment, vintage stalls are expected to return to

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

what is regarded as an excellent event. For further information contact 01843 583783.

9-11 JULY Vintage for Victory, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 7XA A three-day event which takes its inspiration from the romance, glamour and fashion of Britain’s bygone era. The wearing of period dress is encouraged, and their will be a host of vintage retailers, re-enactment, and displays. For further information contact 02920 312611.

Black Country Living Museum, 1940s Weekend, Dudley, West Midlands DY1 4SQ An events schedule has yet to be published at time of going to press. For further information contact 01215 579643.

Woodhall Spa 1940s Festival, Lincolnshire, LN10 6QD The organisers have announced that the 2021 festival is cancelled and hoping to return in 2022.

Appleby 1940s Festival The organisers have announced that the festival has been cancelled for this year and due to return in 2022.

Leyburn 1940s Weekend The organisers regret to announce that this year’s event has been cancelled.

Morecambe 1940s Revival Weekend The organisers regret to have to

EVENTS

announce that this year’s event is cancelled.

7-8 AUGUST Mid Norfolk Railway at War 1940s weekend, Dereham NR19 1DF Various 1940s themed events and displays will be taking place along the line throughout this nostalgic wartime themed event to the backdrop of the beautiful and picturesque mid-Norfolk Railway.

For further details contact www.mnr40sweekend.co.uk.

7-8 AUGUST Harborough at War, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 9QB A 1940s themed event which presents a living history spectacular of re-enactment, military vehicles, classic cars, displays and trade stalls. For further information contact info@harboroughatwar.co.uk.

7-8 AUGUST The Yanks Are Back in Saddleworth show, Saddleworth, Oldham, Greater Manchester OL3 6BU 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of this popular event. The

event promises to bring an extravaganza of fabulous 1940s re-enactment, period dress, entertainment, displays and stalls in what promises to be an unforgettable experience as Saddleworth turns back the clocks to the 1940s. For further information contact visitorinformation@ manchester.gov.uk.

Lincoln 1940s Weekend As far as can be ascertained from the Facebook page regarding this event, it appears to have been cancelled this year.

13-15 AUGUST The Yorkshire Wartime Experience, Hunsworth nr Bradford BD4 6RN The north of England’s largest military show is back in fine form with a huge turn out of military vehicles, living history displays, battle re-enactments, militaria stalls and much more.

For more information contact 07794 405671.

13-15 AUGUST August Retro Festival, Newbury Showground RG18 9QZ

A unique show encompassing all eras this is one of the largest and finest shows of its kind in the UK. There will be live period music in the Black Hangar and Spitfire Pavilion, various events in the arena and showground, shopping village, military and civilian vehicles plus many other attractions. For further information contact info@retrofestival.co.uk.

Echoes of History Show, Maldon, Essex CM9 4RE The organisers regret to announce this event has been cancelled.

events plus educational talks with demonstrations throughout the weekend.

21-22 AUGUST Ramsey 1940s Weekend, Cambridgeshire PE26 2XB Another popular event which is back with a bang! This event includes living history, trade stalls, displays and the everpopular Saturday night dance with the Telstar Big Band to give that authentic 1940s experience.

M5 Spetchley Living History Show, Worcester WR5 1RS The organisers are hoping to go ahead with this event on a date yet to be confirmed. For more information contact www. worcesterreenactors.uk/m5.

The War and Peace Revival Show, Paddock Wood, Kent TN12 6PY It is with some regret that the organisers of the biggest show of the year have decided to cancel this year’s show with the hope of returning as normal in 2022. For further information and updates contact warandpeacerevival. com.

14-15 AUGUST Lytham 1940s Wartime Weekend FY8 5LB A unique event held at Lytham Green which will be incorporating historical vehicles, memorabilia and 1940s music and dance.

There will be re-enactment

27-30 AUGUST Twinwood Festival, Bedford MK41 6AB This huge celebration of multiera Britain returns with a huge entourage of vintage music acts, fashion plus lots more and is an event you will not want to

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p015_018 militaria shows21 - DE.indd 17

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Shows and fairs

miss. For further information on this event contact info@ twinwoodfestival.com.

28-29 AUGUST 1940s Living History Bank Holiday Weekend, Eden Camp, Malton, North Yorkshire YO17 6RT An increasingly popular event featuring re-enactors, period dress, onsite museum, militaria stalls, live entertainment plus much more. For further information contact admin@edencamp.co.uk.

28-30 AUGUST Military Odyssey, Kent Showground, Detling ME14 3JF Another one of the UK’s most popular militaria shows which promises to be packed with re-enactment which focuses on global military history from ancient Rome, the Vikings,

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

Napoleonic era, American Civil War, the Wild West, WWI, WWII through to Vietnam and the present. This is one of the largest and most successful shows of its kind where there will be something to cater for all interests.

For further information contact www.military-odyssey.com.

Dig for Victory, Beamish Museum, Co Durham DH9 0RG I have been unable to ascertain as to whether this event is going ahead this due to lack of updates on the Facebook page, therefore it is advisable to contact the organisers at museum@ beamish.org,uk for further clarification.

Milton Keynes Museum 1940s Weekend MK12 5EL It is with regret that the organisers have cancelled this year’s event.

1940s Weekend, Lincolnshire Wolds Railway DN36 5SH I was not able to ascertain as to whether this event will be going ahead this year therefore it is advisable to contact 01507 363881 for further information.

3-5 SEPTEMBER The Victory Show, Foxlands Farm, Cosby, Leicestershire LE9 1SG This show is held over a 100-acre site and there will be quality re-enactments of several forces representing various theatres of war from 1939-45. There will be military vehicles, over 60 stalls in the trader’s area, static WWII aircraft, the increasingly popular tank rides, working and static 1940s farm machinery. A huge army encampment will be present at this event featuring 50 plus reenactment groups with 200 plus vehicles to include heavy armour too. The ever-popular Saturday

night 1940s dinner and dance for 700 guests is a must for those wishing to experience something of the wartime years. The show is also known for its quality air displays and details on which aircraft will be participating is yet to be announced.

7-9 OCTOBER Pickering 1940s Weekend, Pickering, North Yorkshire See the town of Pickering and especially the railway station, turn back the clocks to the 1940s with re-enactments at the showground, specialist stalls, live performances and exhibitions. Plus a procession through the town centre with vintage military vehicles. This event is yet to be confirmed. Go to www.nymr.co.uk and click on the link for events to check nearer the time.

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

SUNDAY JULY 4TH PLEASE VISIT THE NEW WEBSITE WWW.THETFORDMILITARIAFAIR.COM AND REGISTER FOR THE NEWSLETTER FOR UP TO DATE FAIR INFORMATION RE ANY COVID RESTRICTIONS / REQUIREMENTS THAT WILL BE IN PLACE ON THE DAY

OPEN 9AM-2PM • 9AM ENTRY: £6 • 10AM ENTRY: £3.50

The Armourer magazine branded JUST binders

£15

VISITORS WILL BE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH ALL GOVERNMENT COVID RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE AT THE TIME AND ANY ADDITIONAL MEASURES THE VENUE IMPOSE.

Around 140 tables of quality Militaria, Free parking.

Thetford is situated 2 mins off A11 close to Suffolk border.

NORFOLK FAIRS 07596 436260 thetfordmilitariafair.com

Order yours here:

thetfordmilitariafair@gmail.com

militaria.ma/arm-binder

@militariafair

/militariafair

thetfordmilitaria

NORTHERN ARMS FAIRS SUNDAY 27TH JUNE - NEWARK SUNDAY 11TH JULY - GIANT LEEDS SUNDAY 15TH AUGUST - NEWARK

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SUNDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER - SCOTCH CORNER SUNDAY 10TH OCTOBER - GIANT LEEDS SUNDAY 17TH OCTOBER - NEWARK

THE GIANT LEEDS ARMS, MEDAL & MILITARIA FAIR AT THE PUDSEY CIVIC HALL (LS28 5TA)

(just off main Leeds to Bradford Ring Road Dawson’s Corner – opposite Pudsey Railway Station 21⁄2 miles from Leeds City Centre, signposted) 10.00 am – 3.00 pm Early preview – 9am

A GIANT EVENT ATTRACTING DEALERS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND ABROAD. Up to 120 stands. Licensed bar, refreshments, ample free parking.

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SCOTCH CORNER ARMS, MEDAL & MILITARIA FAIR A1 Holiday Inn, Darlington, Scotch Corner DL10 6NR

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LIVERPOOL D

UNCE ARMS, MEDAL & MILITARIA FAIR ANNO E

OB Village TES THotel, Whiston, A D E R FUTU LIVERPOOL (L35 1RZ)

(Permanently signposted - directly on A1)

(on the junction of the M62 and M57 Motorways)

9am to 2.30pm Ample free parking, ground floor access, hotel bar, restaurant, refreshments

9am to 3pm.

Ample free parking, all day refreshments, ground floor access.

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NEWARK ARMS, MEDAL & MILITARIA FAIR AT THE NEWARK SHOWGROUND (NG24 2NY) (Cedric Ford Pavilion, 2 miles from the A1. Permanently signposted.)

9am to 3pm.

THIS QUALITY EVENT WILL HAVE UP TO 80 OF THE COUNTRY’S LEADING DEALERS IN ARMS & MILITARIA. Flat unloading with catering facilities. AMPLE FREE PARKING.

ACCOMPANIED CHILDREN ARE FREE & SPECIAL RATES FOR O.A.PS. * VISIT US ON: www.northernarmsfairs.co.uk

TEL: 01423 780759 * 07889 799896 * 07989 779996

Auction sales

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

Great War VC at DNW The outstanding Great War, Final Advance to Victory, VC group of five awarded to 21-year-old Lancashire Lad Private James Towers, 2nd Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was sold for £248,000 (includes Buyer’s Premium of 24%) by Dix Noonan Webb in the auction of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria. Towers, with utter disregard for his own safety, volunteered to carry a vital message, under continuous heavy fire, to a stranded platoon at Mericourt, in October 1918, whilst in the knowledge that five of his comrades had already been in killed in turn.

Also from WWI there were various medals from the Collection of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum. One lot was a Western Front MC group of four awarded to Second Lieutenant HAIB Stokes, 3rd Battalion, attached 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, late Royal Fusiliers, who died in November 1918 of the wounds he received whilst in the act of winning the MC. The medals

included the Military Cross, GVR, 1914-15 Star, British War and Victory Medals. They sold for £1,240. Another Great War MC group of three awarded to Major HJ Bennett, 2/4th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, who was taken prisoner in March 1918, sold for £1,364. He was captured near Marcelçave on 30 March 1918, whilst attempting to rejoin his men in the trenches before the village which, unknown to him, were no longer being fought for. The medals included the Military Cross, GVR; British War and Victory Medals, an unofficial St John badge, together with a Buckingham Palace letter for returned prisoners of war and a

photocopied group photograph of Bennett and other officers of the 2/4th Battalion.

Of course, many of the men who served in WWI also took part in the Boer War, some 15 years previously. Here was four medals to Major SR Field, Royal Artillery, late Volunteer Company, Oxfordshire Light Infantry. The lot included a Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902 medal with three clasps, ‘Cape Colony’, ‘Orange Free State’ and ‘South Africa 1902’; British War and Victory Medals and a Territorial

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

Force War Medal 1914-19. They sold for £520.80.

Next we have a Great War ‘Kut-al-Amara’ DCM. awarded to Sergeant TW Armitt, 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

The battalion history records that he was wounded during the capture of One Tower Hill on 31 May 1915 and that he led ‘R’ Company (67 men) on their march into captivity. He was captured at Kut and died in captivity at Afiun Qarahisar on 4 November 1916. He is commemorated by name in the Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery, Iraq. The DCM sold for £1,612.

A pair from the Indian Mutiny now, awarded to Sergeant William Read, 52nd Light Infantry.

The medals were the Indian Mutiny 1857-59, with one clasp for ‘Delhi’; Army Long Service and Good Conduct medal, 3rd issue, small letter reverse, mounted on a contemporary silver brooch pin as worn. They sold for £545.60.

Another pair that caught the eye were awarded to Private A Parker, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire Light Infantry. They were an Egypt and Sudan 1882-89 medal, no clasp; and the Khedive’s Star 1884-6, in great condition with a few marks.

They sold for £545.60 as well.

Let’s finish now with five medals to Bandmaster HA Kenney, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

These included Defence and War Medals 1939-45; General Service 1918-62 medal with one clasp, ‘Cyprus’; Coronation 1953; Army Long Service and Good Conduct, 1st issue; together with mounted set of five miniature dress medals.

They went for £1,364. ■

EVENTS Japanese at C&T The Antiques Arms & Armour sale at C&T Auctions in April featured classic weaponry from all over the world. Let’s start with a pair of Daisho Japanese swords, comprising katana blade 54.6cm signed ‘Echigo No Kami Kanesada’.

With gilt copper habaki, large mokko iron namban tsuba with gold nunome details, tape bound same tsuka with plain shibuichi fuchi kashira and shakudo menuki incorporating gilt baskets. In dark green and gold itame lacquered saya with shibuichi handachi mounts; wakizashi blade 47cm.

They sold for £7,331.20 (includes Buyer’s Premium of 26.4%). A little cheaper was a Wakizashi Japanese sword, blade 50.4cm, bound same tsuka, shakudo fuchi kashira with gilt Chidori (mismatched), iron sukashi tsuba, in its black lacquered saya with leather combat cover. Good condition, the sword has been well refurbished. It sold for £834.24.

A nice looking 19th century Jambya Indian dagger next,

probably Hyderabad, with broad curved tapered blade of conventional form with raised central rib, iron hilt and sheath mounts with gold and silver koftgari work involving flower heads and bands. Blade 20cm, overall 29.5cm. Good condition, some age wear, it sold for £707.84.

Here’s a strange looking weapon, a rare Indian fivebarrelled matchlock rampart gun of ‘Duck’s Foot’ type. Intended to

fire simultaneously, vents served by a communal iron channel, conventional iron trigger and match holder, the five barrels secured to the stock with two steel straps and mounted on a wooden stock painted red. It went for £960.64.

Anything Zulu related is always popular, and so that proved to be the case with this South African tribal Knobkerry, selling for double the estimate. Featuring

a spherical head with brass nail head decoration. Overall 81cm, in fair condition, wood refinished. It made £189.60.

16th century Germany next, with a halberd with straight blade, pierced with five holes.

The back spike deeply struck with maker’s mark of a shield containing crescent above an orb, long straps riveted to wooden haft. Good condition, with a little damage to top of socket on one side, top spike slightly bent. Head 50cm, overall 225cm.

It made £707.84.

And finally, a British 1796 Pattern cavalry troopers sword. Featuring a curved, single edge regulation blade, cut with a single broad fuller, regulation iron guard, wooden grip, in its iron scabbard. The blade measured 83cm. Fair condition, it sold for £556.16. ■

Duelling at Tennants A pair of 19th century duelling or officer’s pistols topped Tennants Auctioneers’ Militaria and Ethnographica Sale when they sold for £9,672 (includes Buyer’s Premium of 24%). The pistols were made by Joseph Manton of London, one of the leading gunsmiths of his age, and were sold in a fitted mahogany case with Manton’s original paper label.

A small private collection of World War I and World War II propaganda and recruiting posters and signs sold well throughout. The top lot of the collection, selling for

£1,488, was an early 20th century enamel advertising sign for The Passing Show magazine. The sign depicted Lloyd George seated reading the magazine whilst his steward restrains members of his War Cabinet with an inscription stating: ‘Hush!! He’s Busy’.

Medals continued to sell well, and the leading group in this sale came with provenance from Forcett Hall, North Yorkshire. The group of three Victoria Campaign Medals, which sold for £1,240, were awarded to

NG Fraser. The group comprised the India General Service Medal 1854, the India Medal 1896, and the Queens South Africa Medal.

Also of note was a Bronze Medal commemorating the visit of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron to South Africa and South America in 1908.

With 14 clasps it sold for £850.

An interesting item next, a rare pair of World War II US Submarine Mk. 91 Torpedo Forward Control Binoculars, by Bausch & Lomb.

They featured black enamelled brass with central steel rod, each turret with a gas valve, the left turret numbered ‘6’, the right turret

numbered ‘2’. They sold for £868.

Of all the war artists of WWI, there are few more recognisable than Bruce Bairnsfather. Here we have a set of five Bruce Bairnsfather silk pictures, of square form, each painted with a differing scene, 15cm. With some perishing to the silk, they still sold for £136.40.

Some uniform action now with a WW II No. 2 service uniform to Captain William Webster RASC, comprising a tunic with brass buttons, rank pips, bronze collar dogs and Dove of Peace sleeve insignia, with maker's label for ‘Wm Anderson & Sons, Edinburgh & Glasgow’. The tunic was inscribed with owner's name and dated ‘1941’ and there was a shirt and trousers. Captain Bill Webster was the vendor's uncle and was Mentioned in Despatches in Italy.

Finally, a 19th century IndoPersian steel shield sold for £620.

The convex circular shield was highly decorated with applied brass flowerheads and tendrils. ■ www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

21

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ANDREW BOTTOMLEY ANTIQUE ARMS & ARMOUR Established 1968

TELEPHONE: 01484 685234 MOBILE: 07770 398270

Email: asbottomley@yahoo.com · Mail Order only The Coach House, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, HD9 3JJ

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A very nice quality English Queen Anne style Flintlock Box-lock pistol.

An American Remington .41 rimfire double barrel over & under Derringer pistol. C. 1875/85.

A very fine nickel plated Centennial 5 shot .41 rimfire revolver.

A scarce American Civil War era 5 shot .32 rim-fire tip-up revolver.

Ref 2397. £850.00

Ref 2606. £900.00

Ref 2649. £1,150.00

Ref 2683. £1500.00

Carved African chief’s wooden staff.

YORUBA. circa 1900. Good condition.

A highly decorative Belgian 7mm 6 shot pin-fire revolver with folding trigger.

Circa 1865.

A very rare high quality flintlock pocket pistol by Barton of London.

Circa 1804-1822.

A scarce double barrelled percussion pistol by J. Blissett High Holborn, London.

C. 1840.

Ref 2753. £450.00

Ref 2802. £690.00

Ref 2803. £950.00

Ref 2810. £780.00

A rare Fijian 18th century carved wooden war club. Worn condition.

A very rare English Civil War Mortuary style basket hilt sword circa 1650.

Good condition.

A very Rare North American Indian Pipe-Tomahawk, iron blade pierced with a heart.

A very rare Main-Gauche or left hand dagger, probably English Civil war era.

Circa 1640.

Ref 2998. £1,300.00

Ref 3005. £8,750.00

Ref 3006. £1,550.00

Ref 3027. £6,950.00

A very scarce American Revolutionary war era military horseman’s sword with brass hilt.

A rare British Long Sea Service Tower Flintlock Pistol. Circa 1800.

An interesting 19th Century Romantic dagger in its original brass mounted scabbard.

Ref 3046. £1,650.00

Ref 3047. £2,950.00

Ref 3051. £550.00

The Guardian American model of 1878, 7 mm 5 shot pin-fire revolver.

Circa 1878.

Ref 3053. £680.00

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A scarce French Military Officer’s percussion Pistol. Crimean war era.

A rare 19th Century British Police officer’s sword with the constabulary initials on blade.

A very rare early silver mounted Scottish Dirk for sale, circa 1740.

Good condition.

Ref 3075. £980.00

Ref 3076. £850.00

Ref 3084. £2,950.00

Ref 3094. £700.00

A rare Cased Pair of English flintlock Pistols by Brunn of London.

Circa 1795-1819.

A Superb and rare silver inlaid English Rapier circa 1640.

A rare Napoleonic period British military flintlock pistol marked tower G.R. Circa 1800.

An 18-19th Century Indian Tulwar sword with a solid brass hilt.

Ref 3110. £4,950.00

Ref 3111. £7,850.00

Ref 3127. £2,250.00

Ref 3143. £350.00

A fine WILLIAM IV British Military officer’s Flintlock Pistol. C.1830-1837.

Good condition.

A rare iron Main-Gauche or left hand dagger, possibly a Victorian 19th century item.

A fine Pair of cased Percussion muff pistols

by DOOLEY LIVERPOOL. Circa 1845.

A scarce French Military Officer’s percussion Pistol originally made as a flintlock.

Ref 3151. £2,450.00

Ref 3156. £1,750.00

Ref 3163. £2,750.00

Ref 3172. £1,250.00

A superb Irish .75 cal percussion travelling pistol made by W & J Rigby. Circa 1840.

A scarce sea service officer’s Flintlock Pistol of large .70 Cal. Circa 1830.

American civil war era Colt Army 1860 .44 cal percussion revolver.

Manufactured in 1862.

A very fine authentic 18th century Indian gold inlaid Katar dagger.

Ref 3216. £3,250.00

Ref 3217. £950.00

Ref 3220. £3,200.00

Ref 3233. £2,950.00

A fine Flintlock Duelling pistol made by Innes of Edinburgh. Circa 1790-1810.

A scarce Scottish GORDON HIGHLANDERS Skean Duhb dagger complete with scabbard.

A scarce Moore’s patent Derringer in .41 rim-fire with a brass frame. C.1860-1865.

A good Tipping & Lawden four barrelled .30 rim-fire Sharps patent derringer.

Circa 1865.

Ref 3247. £2,450.00

Ref 3249. £650.00

Ref 3257. £1,650.00

Ref 3258. £1,450.00

A rare brass framed 18th century tinder-lighter by Richards London.

Every item for sale is guaranteed to be authentic.

No Licence is required to purchase genuine Antique guns in the United Kingdom.

www.andrewbottomley.com 01484 685234 ESTABLISHED SINCE 1968

The Second Battle of Arras The British and Canadians at Arras introduced advanced tactics winning all their objectives, but the decisive breakthrough remained elusive, as Graham Caldwell reveals COVER STORY

Canadian official war artist Richard Jack’s The Taking of Vimy Ridge Easter Monday 1917 depicts the crew of an 18-pounder field gun firing at German positions on Vimy Ridge in the distance

PAGE

58 Collecting militaria from the battle

Ed Hallett takes a look at all the items available for those creating a display based on the battle itself.

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A

fter the slaughter on the Somme and the stalemate at Verdun, by the end of 1916 Field Marshal Haig had survived, but General Joffe was sidelined and replaced on the 12 December

by General Robert Georges Neville, a man of a completely different stamp.

After Verdun the French were ready to be seduced by a prophet promising a guaranteed quick victory to end the war.

Neville’s plan was to be a purely French effort in a decisive breakthrough of the German defences on the Aisne front in the Chemin des Dames sector, 90 miles south of Arras. Neville’s theory was that if a breakthrough using maximum power at a single point of the line was quick enough then, within 48 hours, the enemy’s artillery gun-line, positioned 3,000yd behind, would be captured before causing any significant damage, thus minimising casualties to less that

10,000 Frenchmen. However, Neville required Haig to make a diversionary attack on the Arras front a week before the Neville Offensive. Of Haig’s five field armies, the brunt of the British diversionary effort would fall on General Edmund Allenby’s Third Army. Known as The Bull for his sudden outbursts of temper, Allenby was nobody’s fool, with a reputation for meticulous planning and respect for the wellbeing of his men.

New tactics, above and below ground The First Battle of Arras took place over four days in October 1914, when the French and German Armies attempted to outflank each other during what became known as the Race to the Sea, only to result in static trench warfare along the whole front. The main worry for the planners in 1917 was how to concentrate

COVER FEATURE THE SECOND BATTLE OF ARRAS BELLIGERANTS Great Britain

German Empire

Canada Australia COMMANDERS General Sir Edmund Allenby, C-in-C Third Army

Generaloberst Ludwig von Falkenhausen, C-in-C Sixth Army

General Sir Henry Horne, C-in-C First Army

General der Infantry Georg Karl Wichura, GOC Gruppe Souchez

General Sir Herbert Gough, C-in-C Fifth Army

General der Infantry Karl von Fasbender, GOC Gruppe Vimy

Lieutenant General Sir Julian Byng, GOC Canadian Corps

Generalleutnant Karl Dieffenbach, GOC Gruppe Arra

STRENGTH British: 350,000 men

230,000 men

Canadia: 100,000 men

537 field guns

Australia: 54,000 men

240 field howitzers

70 Tanks

237 heavy howitzers

1,400 field guns

195 aircraft

450 field howitzers 960 heavy howitzers 27,800 cavalry troopers 365 airplanes CASUALTIES OVERALL 158,660 killed, missing and wounded

130,000

PoW 6,000

large numbers of troops near the front line without arousing the suspicions of the enemy. Anxious to avoid a repeat of the devastating losses during the Battles of the Somme the previous year (see The Armourer March 2021) a new innovation, to create a vast underground network of tunnels (called subways) was put into effect, through which the soldiers could pass and come up directly in front of the German first line of defence without having to face the deadly machine gun fire in no man’s land. It took workers four months in 18-hour shifts, 24-hours per day to complete 13 miles of electrically-lit tunnels. These included light rail, galley kitchens, wells, latrines and hospitals to house 24,000 soldiers living underground the night before the battle.

Another development was the creeping barrage, first experimented on the Somme, but now perfected to a fine art.

By advancing perilously close behind their

own artillery fire, which gradually moved ahead on a set schedule, the tactic forced enemy snipers and machine gunners to stay under cover, thus minimising casualties when crossing no man’s land.

Another problem was how to overcome

Formation signs: (top) German 6th Army HQ (bottom) British 3rd Army HQ

the inaccuracy of counter-battery fire when endeavouring to silence the enemy’s artillery. This was solved using an oscillograph to recorded vibration readings from where the enemy guns were firing from, by placing a system of microphones at different locations to record the sound of enemy guns firing, followed by the sound of the resultant shell explosions. The British gunnery hierarchy spurned it and the Germans had nothing like it, leaving it to the Canadian’s to prove its worth before Vimy Ridge.

Finally, upgraded Mk.II tanks were coming off the production line, but the tactic of using them en-masse was still in the future. 48 tanks were employed at Arras, but spread out in small numbers to support the infantry. Gas was a standard weapon used by both sides, but at Arras the British employed the new Livens Projector, a mortar that could throw large www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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The Second Battle of Arras Right: This artwork provides some idea of the endless lines of entangled barbed wire that had to be overcome before even reaching the German concrete defences of the Hindenburg Line (Frank Schoonover) Exit No. 10 in one of the many Allied underground tunnels that could hold up to 25,000 troops the night before an attack to then come up almost on top of the German first line of defence (Carrière Wellington Museum Arras) Right: Lance Corporal Royal Fusiliers in leather jerkin issued in cold weather. Note good conduct chevrons and two wound badges (left forearm) and (on right forearm) overseas service chevrons since 1914 (Osprey) Right centre: Lieutenant Colonel Machine Gun Corps, wearing standard service dress and officer’s leather trench boots. He retains the pre-1917 pattern cuff rank insignia (Osprey)

German concrete pillbox in the 90-mile long by 8-mile deep Hindenburg Line, built to garrison 20 divisions along its front line. Defence in depth was provided by special counter-attack divisions positioned 10,000yd further back

The 1917 Livens gas projector was fired electronically in banks of 20 to hurl drums filled with flammable or toxic chemicals up to 1,500yd. By 1917 they proved so effective that the enemy feared them more than any other offensive weapon

drums filled with flammable or toxic chemicals, soon to become the standard means of delivering gas attacks by the British Army. Neville and Haig’s forces were ready to open the offensive in late March when something extraordinary happened. Seemingly overnight, 70 miles of German defences between Arras and the Aisne River had vanished!

Retreat to the Hindenburg Line

In complete secret during March 1917 three German Armies withdrew up to 20 miles to the newly built Hindenburg Line, saving 14 divisions and totally disrupting British planning (Purnell/Sam Loverso)

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By relinquishing 1,200 square miles of territory in front of three British and one French armies, a whole German Army Group methodically withdrew each night during March in complete secret 20 miles back to the specially built Hindenburg Line (which the Germans called the Siegfried Position). Its construction took five months to build employing 50,000 Russian prisoners and 15,000 German Pioneers. In one bound the enemy had shortened their front line by 30 miles and saved 14 divisions into a new strategic reserve! In one of the worst Allied intelligence debacles of the war, the German High Command had outwitted and totally disrupted Neville’s super-plan, together with its British

diversionary offensive, under the cover of various deceptive measures, a press blackout and German air superiority, the latter restricting British air reconnaissance no further than the enemy front line.

Plan Alberich began in early February, stripping everything valuable from the region before turning it into a wasteland of destroyed villages, towns and farms, plus mined roads, poisoned wells and demolished bridges and rail lines. As April began, so did the intensity of fighting in the air. The well led and audaciously flown Luftstreitkräfte of 1917 took a terrible toll on the larger numbers, but inferior technology and tactics, of the Royal Flying Corps. Flying a red Albatros D.III, Rittmeister Baron Manfred von Richthoften claimed 21 kills that month.

A typical Hindenburg Line position was on a reverse slope 2,000yd deep, but deliberately thinly manned, with concrete dugouts and acres of thick-dense entwined barbed wire. A network of underground passages and shelters, stretching for miles, provided sleeping accommodation for frontline divisions. The underground chambers had multiple exit points into a Battle Zone Line festooned with concrete mini-fortresses housing machine-guns

COVER FEATURE Left: 1917 aerial photograph of the Hindenburg Line south-west of Bullecourt where three trench lines are visible. In the left foreground (appearing as dotted black lines) are acres of deep wire entanglements

Right: Allenby’s Third Army attacked from either side of Arras making the furthest advance from static trenches since trench warfare began in 1914. Use the upper section of this map in First Army’s sector to follow the Canadian assault of Vimy Ridge (themaparcive.co.uk)

German shock troops formed part of counter-attack divisions under the concept of defence in depth, allowing attackers to pass the outer defences, to be attacked when they reached a Battle Zone Line

A five-day bombardment pulverised the German positions using 2,800 guns and over 2.5 million shells. When the infantry moved forward they were supported by a creeping barrage

British Mk.II tank ditched in a captured German gun pit. 40 tanks of 1st Tank Brigade supported the infantry of Third Army. Some did good work but the majority were knocked out

which provided mutual supporting fire.

1,500yd behind the Battle Zone Line an Artillery Protective Line protected the tactical reserve of newly-designated counter-attack divisions, because each army headquarters would now possess a strong local reserve waiting 10,000yd further back in a Rear Zone, ready to suddenly appear in formidable strength to eliminate or drive back any enemy forces that had made it thus far.

This new defence-in-depth strategy was the brainchild of General der Infantry Erich Ludendorff, Deputy Chief of the German General Staff. Ludendorff wrote: ‘In future our defensive lines would no longer be on a rigid and continuous front, but consist of a complex system of strongpoints, layered in deep zones in breadth and depth, ensuring that defenders would remain mobile, voluntarily abandoning front line areas, which points essential to the maintenance of the whole position would be recovered by specially heldback counter-attack divisions.’

The German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line totally disrupted British plans due to the abandoned territory needing essential restoration, plus the British infantry and artillery formations now found themselves in the wrong

locations and needing a completely new artillery plan. As the British gingerly inspected the deserted enemy trenches and dugouts they found them festooned with booby-traps, a situation eerily depicted in the movie 1917 by LanceCorporal’s Chapman and Schofield.

Because the German retreat affected the French plans less, Neville saw no reason to change the French, nor for that matter, the British start dates.

The underground subways, allowing soldiers to emerge a few dozen yards from the German front line, created a surprise effect permitting a rapid advance of three and a half miles on the first day, the biggest gain from static trenches since trench warfare began in 1914. Allenby and his staff were dumfounded why the enemy had not committed their reserves in response, but Ludendorff’s new tactical orders to Sixth Army, which was to draw the assaulting forces through and behind their frontline into the Battle Zone and then release five formidable counterattack divisions to win the day, failed utterly. Falkenhausen miscalculated, believing the defensive battle would be a long drawn out affair and held his reserve between 12 to 20 miles away, a decision that had disastrous consequences.

The British also missed an opportunity within the first 48 hours to exploit a gap of 10,000yd in front of XVII Corps, when the unexpected withdrawal of the 14th Bavarian Division occurred, an opening that remained undefended for seven hours in what could have been the decisive breakthrough on the Western Front. This was when the exhausted infantry of the 9th (Scottish) Division, which included the South African Brigade, were held up

First Battle of the Scarpe The main thrust to break through the Hindenburg Line by Third Army took place astride the Scarpe River between 9 and 14 April 1917. Following a massive five-day artillery bombardment, using 2,800 guns, Allenby’s main offensive commenced on Easter Monday on a 20 mile front. Six front-line divisions of Generaloberst Ludwig von Falkenhausen’s Sixth Army faced the 11 attack divisions of Third Army. The 1st Tank Brigade allocated its 40-odd tanks (from north to south) to XVII, VI and VII Corps. XVIII Corps, comprising a further four divisions, was retained in reserve with the Cavalry Corps. Haig’s faith in cavalry to consolidate any breakthrough yet again it proved to be impractical.

www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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The Second Battle of Arras

The Sopwith Pup’s light weight and wing area provided a better rate of climb, but had only half the horsepower and armament of the superior German Albatros D.III

Left: Major of cavalry (wearing Order of the Crown with Swords) transferred to the infantry due to a shortage of infantry officers by 1917. Wears infantry officer’s leggings, ankle boots and accessories (Osprey) Right: Trooper of the Canadian cavalry temporarily dismounted for duty in an infantry role.

He wears a mixture of cavalry and infantry accoutrements and equipment (Osprey)

for four hours before restarting their advance. Disorganisation, breakdown of communications, dreadful weather and the impossibility of moving the artillery forward over heavily cratered ground, all combined to prevent a speedy response.

The delay gave time for Falkenhausen to move forces into the gap by the next day. Whilst many other strong points were taken on subsequent days, including the fortified town of Monchy, Haig recognised the offensive had stalemated and called a halt on the 14 April. Easter Monday was also the turn of General Henry Horne’s First Army, which included the Canadian Corps, to commence their assault to protect Allenby’s left flank.

unobstructed view for tens of miles in all directions. The German side was steep and wooded, but the western slope was gentler, yet it had already accounted for 150,000 French casualties in 1915 in trying to conquer it.

The German Sixth Army was divided in to three corps-sized Gruppen facing the overall British attack, which (from the north) were Gruppen Souchez, Vimy and Arras, with General der Infantry Karl von

Vimy Ridge Allenby was unwilling to move towards the Hindenburg Line so long as Vimy Ridge, on his left in the First Army’s sector, remained in enemy hands. To the Germans the ridge was of great tactical importance since it joined their northern defences from the sea, through Belgium, to the start of the Hindenburg Line.

Five miles in length and rising 200ft above the Douai Plains, the ridge provided an German Gefreiter (Corporal) wearing a strap-on brow shield on his M1916 helmet and pattern M1917 front body armour (Osprey)

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Cheerful British troops of the 37th Division boarding London omnibuses at Arras on their return from the capture of the town of Monchy on 11 April 1917

Infantry of the British Third Army go into action against the Hindenburg Line on Easter Monday 1917. Note the reinforced concrete bunkers, which have already suffered a heavy artillery pounding

Fasbender’s Gruppe Vimy defending the main run of the ridge, one along its crest and two dug in behind. The 100,000 strong Canadian Corps, commanded

by Lieutenant General Julian Byng, was tasked with the objective to take Vimy Ridge and Byng meticulously planned how it was to be done. He pressed for the total available supply of the new No. 106 artillery fuse, specially developed to tear great holes in wire entanglements, which was used exclusively for the Vimy Ridge assault. He then had a scale model of the ridge made in minute detail to be studied by all officers and NCOs of the attacking units. Canadian engineer’s constructed 12 underground subways leading directly to German front support trenches and machine-gun posts, thus eliminating the enemy’s elevated advantage observing troops crossing no man’s land.

At 5.30am, after a massive 24-hour barrage of shell, smoke and the new phosgene gas, the latter immobilising the enemy’s artillery horses, thus preventing the guns being moved to new positions, 30,000 men in the first line of the four Canadian Divisions (each provided with a map of their own unit’s objective) set off in unseasonable sleet and snow supported by eight tanks, whilst the artillery barrage lifted 100yd every three minutes; but the tanks disappointed, becoming bogged down or knocked out early on. Panning from south to north, 1st Canadian Division (Major General AW Currie) surged across the wreckage of the enemy first line, so that by 7.05am they were well past and south of the villages of Thelus and Fabus, successfully enveloping around the right-facing end of the ridge.

The 2nd Canadian Division (Major General HE Burstall) reached the crest of

COVER FEATURE

This iconic photograph depicts Canadian soldiers returning from Vimy Ridge in April 1917 celebrating their outstanding victory

This dramatic photograph, taken on the morning of 9 April 1917, captures men of the 29th Battalion (2nd Canadian Division) going into action towards Vimy Ridge the right end of the ridge and captured Hill 135 by 6.05am. Major General LJ Lippsett’s 3rd Canadian Division benefited from a mine explosion, virtually wiping out the 262nd Infanterieregiment and quickly capturing the La Folie Farm position on the ridge’s crest. Von Falkenhausen ordered three of his counter-attack divisions to move swiftly to save the Ridge, but due to the distance to be covered, they arrived far too late. By 1pm the Canadians had the southern end of the Ridge firmly under control; the defenders still in possession of Willerval and Vimy. However, from the volume of machine-gun fire pouring onto 3rd Division’s left flank from Hill 145 on its left, it was apparent that the 4th Canadian Division’s attack, led by Major General D Watson, had failed. No attempt to assault Hill 145 was made until nightfall, finally overpowering it by dawn the next day. One strongpoint, named the Pimple (Hill 119), on the extreme left, was still in enemy hands, its machine-gun fire continuously raking the slopes of Hill 145, dangerously outflanking all other gains. With a sharp

wind driving snow into the faces of the German defenders, the Canadian 10th Brigade finally neutralised it three days later, making the German positions along the foot of the ridge’s eastern slope untenable. The towns of Willerval and Givenchy were quickly secured, but no further advance was possible once Falkenhausen’s reserves finally arrived three days late on 12 April! The capture of Vimy Ride, which cost the Canadian’s 11,297 casualties, remains to this day a remarkable feat of arms.

Winners and losers Due to his failure, Falkenhausen was replaced on 23 April by General der Infantry Otto von Below. The Second Scarpe Battle took place between 23 and 24 April when, after fierce fighting, a mile was added to the British gains all along the front. On Third Army’s right, General Herbert Gough’s Fifth Army, including the Australians of I Anzac Corps, began their attacks on the German Second Army from 11 April (General der Kavallerie Georg von der

Vimy Ridge seen today, with the towering Canadian National Vimy Memorial erected on Hill 145 clearly visible, standing 110m above the Douai Plain to the east

German observation post on the crest of Vimy Ridge April 1917. Five miles in length and rising 200ft above the Douai Plains, the ridge provided an unobstructed view for tens of miles in all directions Marwitz) employing 12 tanks, but made no progress in breaching the Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt. Subsequent attempts in May (Third Scarpe) also failed. The Neville Offensive, involving 1.2 million Frenchmen, commenced on 16 April 1917, but after 118,000 French casualties, it had only reached the German first line, resulting in Neville’s dismissal, his concept deemed a complete failure.

By contrast, the later-promoted Field Marshal’s Allenby and Byng were considered two of the best Generals of the war. Edmund Allenby was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Egypt in June 1917, winning a major victory in September 1918 at Megiddo in Palestine (see The Armourer October 2018). Following his success at Vimy Ridge, Julian Byng succeeded Allenby as Commander-in-Chief Third Army and led it to victory in November 1918. The retreat to the Hindenburg Line had more far-reaching results than the Germans themselves realised, because it completely disrupted the Allied plans and was one of the main factors that made it possible for the enemy to survive on the defensive throughout 1917. ■ Acknowledgement: Thanks are due to The Map Archive www.themaparchive. com which kindly provided the custom designed map of the Arras Offensive. www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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PEOPLE FEATURE

The Prince at war Gerald Prenderghast takes a look at the wartime service of HRH Prince Philip with the Royal Navy

Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, where Prince Philip began his training as a naval officer (Andrew Yong, Wikipedia)

H

is Royal Highness, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was born in 1921 on the Greek island of Corfu. After leaving Gordonstoun in 1939, he completed one term at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth before being repatriated to

The Duke of Edinburgh transferring ships by jackstay, during the Home Fleet’s passage home from Malta after combined naval exercises in the Mediterranean

A hockey match aboard Kent. Philip probably participated in these matches while he was one of the crew

Greece, although by September of that year he was back at Dartmouth, where he graduated best cadet on his course.

Appointed Midshipman in January 1940, he went to HMS Ramilles, protecting troop convoys of the New Zealand and Australian Expeditionary Forces in the Indian Ocean, which were en route to Aden and the Middle East. Ramilles was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet in May 1940 and Prince Phillip also found himself moved, first to HMS Kent and subsequently to HMS Shropshire, both also stationed in the Indian Ocean. Some plan seemed afoot to keep him away from the action, and as the Prince himself said, “I was moved out of Ramilles and Kent and then I went to Shropshire. When the Italians invaded Greece, they lifted the ban and I was sent to join Valiant in Alexandria.”

In March 1941, two months after Midshipman Mountbatten joined Valiant, she was at the Battle of Cape Matapan. The British force engaged Italy's heavy cruisers off the Greek island of Gavdos, subsequently launching a successful air attack on the Italian Fleet from HMS Formidable, which disabled the heavy cruiser Pola. With night falling and the Italians ships lacking radar, the battleships Barham, Warspite and Valiant, with Midshipman Mountbatten aboard, located the Italian heavy cruisers, before closing to point blank range and opening fire, using their searchlights to illuminate the enemy. Philip's post was at one of these searchlights and having got an indication of the Italians' position, www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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The Prince at war he switched on and immediately found a cruiser. He said later, “It picked up, we were so close, can't have been more than 2,000 yards, the beam wasn't big enough to cover the whole cruiser. Somebody said 'Train right' or something, because there was another cruiser and with that, everybody started shooting. They didn't really need much illumination after that."

Admiral Cunningham, in charge of the fleet, wrote in his Despatch that: ‘The successful and continuous illumination of the enemy greatly contributed to the devastating results achieved in the gun action,’ adding, ‘Thanks to his alertness and appreciation of the situation, we were able to sink in five minutes two 8ingun Italian cruisers.’

Later in 1941, Philip was also involved in the doomed Battle of Crete where, on 22 May, Valiant was struck by two bombs from high level bombers, probably Ju 88s. They landed abreast of X-turret and together with a single near miss, the resulting explosions caused some structural damage and flooding of a bulge compartment, which put Valiant out of action for several months.

He moved again during the later part

Ships of Operation Husky seen from the bridge of an escorting destroyer

MacArthur making his initial speech at the Japanese surrender ceremony

Searchlights similar to those fitted to Royal Navy ships during an air raid practice at Gibraltar in 1942. Prince Philip would have used a similar system while aboard Valiant

Allied battleships in Sagami Bay on 28 August 1945

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Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the Second World War

Prince Philip pictured on board HMS Magpie in the Mediterranean, in the summer of 1951, when he was in command of the ship

Prince Philip with the crew of HMS Whelp

of 1941, transferring to Portsmouth where he scored high marks in the Sub-Lieutenant's exam. Subsequently promoted and posted to the East coast in the destroyer, HMS Wallace, he was promoted again and in 1942, became Wallace's First Lieutenant, at 21 one of the youngest men of that rank in the Royal Navy. Of his time on the East coast he remembered, “The North Sea was a very active place. At night there were usually alarms about E-boat attacks, so we had to rush around and fire star shells.

I don't think we really had a serious encounter with E-boats.”

In 1943, with Prince Philip still aboard, Wallace left the East coast and headed for the Mediterranean, as part of the escort group for Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. She sailed from Bône in Algeria as part of military convoy KMS18 and on 10 July joined Escort Group V to provide anti-aircraft defence to the beach area near Pachino. During the night, Wallace was hit by a German bomb and several fires broke out. A former Yeoman aboard Wallace recalled, “The First Lieutenant went into hurried conversation with the Captain, and the next thing a wooden raft was being put together on deck. At each end was fastened a smoke float. As the raft hit the water, the floats were activated and billowed clouds of smoke and flame, looking just like the burning debris of a ship that had been hit. The Captain ordered full ahead and we steamed away from the raft for a good five minutes and then he ordered the engines stopped. The tell-tale wake subsided and we lay there quietly in the soft darkness and cursed the stars, or at least I did.

Quite some time went by until we heard aircraft engines approaching. The next thing was the scream of bombs, the ruse had worked and the aircraft was bombing the raft. Prince Philip saved our lives that night.”

Prince Philip remained with Wallace

PEOPLE FEATURE THE SHIPS OF PRINCE PHILIP

HMS Calypso, the Royal Navy cruiser which evacuated Prince Philip’s family, Philip making the journey in a cot made from a fruit box

HMS Ramilles, Philip’s first ship, when she was stationed in the Indian Ocean

HMS Kent, a County-class heavy cruiser, in which Philip served while she was on troop convoy duties in the Indian Ocean

HMS Shropshire, another County class heavy cruiser on which Prince Philip served

HMS Valiant in 1939, after an extensive refit

HMS Wallace, the ship Philip first served aboard as First Lieutenant

HMS Wallace during 1942, painted with anti-dazzle camouflage

HMS Whelp, the last ship Philip served aboard during WWII as First Lieutenant www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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The Prince at war

Prince Philip on the Captains Boat, en route for HMS Chequers

HM The Queen and Prince Philip visit the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth in the early 1950s

Examining British forces in 1953 before he was obliged to give up his military career

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The Duke of Edinburgh (right) and HM The Queen visit HMS Chequers which the Prince served on. On the left is Captain John Edwin Home McBeath DSO, DSC

Prince Philip undertook anti-submarine training at the Western Approaches HQ in Liverpool

until 1944, when he received a posting to HMS Whelp, a new W-Class destroyer nearing completion on the Tyne. After a spell in home waters, Whelp was sent to the Pacific, supporting Operation Dragoon (the Allied invasion of the South of France) while en route to her new station.

She also operated with the British Pacific Fleet and during this period, Lieutenant Mountbatten found himself a witness to the Japanese surrender. Philip had been escorting Sir Bruce Fraser on a visit to US Admiral Nimitiz at Guam but after the first atomic bomb was dropped Whelp left the naval base and rejoined the US fleet off Japan. From here, together with a number of destroyers and two battleships, Whelp accompanied Admiral Halsey and his party to Tokyo Bay to accept the surrender, after the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Philip was aboard Whelp and remembered, “Being in Tokyo Bay with the surrender ceremony taking place in the battleship which was, what, 200 yards away. You could see what was going on with a pair of binoculars."

However, Prince Philip and Whelp were not quite finished with WWII and his last wartime job was a good deal less glamorous than the surrender ceremony.

Whelp was ordered to collect a group of Royal Navy PoWs from Tokyo Bay and the Prince was obviously affected by his role, describing it later as, “… very emotional.

These people were naval people but they hadn't been in a naval atmosphere for three or four years, sometimes longer.

Our ship's company recognised that they were also fellow sailors, so we gave them a cup of tea. They just sat there, both sides, our own and them, tears pouring down their cheeks. They really couldn't speak, it was the most extraordinary sensation. It affected everybody."

Doubtless much will be written about the Duke, lauding his ground-breaking Award scheme, charity work and especially his commitment to making the monarchy fit for its 21 century role. His real talent, that connection with ordinary people, both in and out of the services, was nurtured during his wartime service.

While Whelp was commissioning he lived in a Newcastle hotel and said of that period, “If you're in the services, you meet people from all walks of life. You just live with them, the only difference is people have different responsibilities.” And perhaps it was this ability to connect with people, albeit sometimes abrasively, for which he will be best remembered. ■

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German Military Daggers John C Pursley continues his series on edged weapons of the Third Reich by looking at the daggers of the military

T

he German capability to start another war was strictly contained after the end of WWI. In accordance with the Treaty of Versailles the Army was reduced in numbers. When Hitler achieved political power in 1933, he needed the support of the Army to carry out his plans, to which they agreed. In exchange for their collaboration, he promised to significantly increase the magnitude of the Army and, as a further enticement, played on the officer corps arrogance by offering increased promotional opportunities and other incentives such as newly designed uniforms, insignia, and personal awards.

Heer daggers Among Hitler’s enticements was a new officer dagger designed and authorised in 1935 which was a totally new concept in the Army. In prior times, the traditional sidearm had been the sword, which was still authorised to be worn.

Despite the obvious physical difference between the two-edged weapons, swords were only worn in conjunction with dress uniforms and then only for formal ceremonial purposes, but the daggers could be worn while wearing the walking out uniform, thus providing more opportunities for wearing.

The standard Army dagger was worn by officers of all ranks, with the exception of Field Marshalls who had their own special design.

For the collector, the Army dagger is one of the most common military edged weapons available and although it is rather plain, is still appealing to the eye.

One of the major distinguishing features is the cross-guard eagle and swastika design on the front.

The dagger was designed by Paul Casburg, an artist working for the Eickhorn manufacturing firm in Solingen and has an overall length of 16in. Grips were offered only in white initially, but subsequently, two additional colour choices of yellow and orange were added. The spiral-wound solid plastic grip is held in place with a

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The second model Luftwaffe dagger was designed to look more like its Kriegsmarine and Heer cousins. The blade was 2.5in shorter than the first model (Lakeside Trader)

A close-up of the cross-guard and ferrule of a Heer dagger. The reverse was a pebbled surface devoid of any decoration (JB Military Antiques)

thin ferrule and a domed pommel, both adorned with oak leaves.

Because a great many firms manufactured Army daggers, the crossguard eagles varied from company to company and even within a single firm due to dies being replaced as they wore out from use over the nine-year production period. This means collectors should not hold fast to any one type of eagle shown in reference books thinking they are looking at the only legitimate example. The cross-guard, ferrule, and pommel nut were initially made of nickel, with a scabbard of steel having two decorative bands for holding rings to which the hangers were attached, all heavily silver-plated.

Army dagger stiletto-type blades are made of plated and polished steel.

There are no markings as far as a motto is concerned but most blades do have makers mark on the obverse side of the blade near the cross-guard. However, there are some that are not marked, which does not make them necessarily questionable concerning authenticity.

The daggers when worn were suspended from a set of fabric hanging straps with metal fittings consisting of two catches and two oval buckles, both adorned with oak leaves and silver plated, but the deluxe model was coated with a gold wash. Hangers were available in several varieties depending on how much the user wanted to spend.

Topping off the dagger adornment was a silver cord portepee wrapped around the upper and lower portions of the grip and both sides of the cross-guard.

The quality of the daggers declined after the beginning of WWII when vital support materials became scarce and the skilled craftsmen were drafted into the Wehrmacht only to be replaced with new apprentices.

In lieu of nickel fittings, new alloys were used with zinc being the most common element. These fittings were lightly plated and most examples exhibit flaking or bubbling on the cross-guard and pommel. Applying metal polish such as Simichrome can help prevent further deterioration.

EDGED WEAPONS FEATURE

A beautiful example of the first model Luftwaffe dagger. At a length of 18.5in it was the longest of all the military daggers ( JB Military Antiques)

The button on the cross-guard of this Kriegsmarine dagger is the release for the locking device embedded into the tang. Kriegsmarine daggers are the only models with such a device (JB Military Antiques)

Later model steel dagger scabbards were lacquered and not silver plated.

Kriegsmarine daggers The Army pretty much took the severe restrictions of the Versailles Treaty in stride when compared with the German Navy with regards to sustaining manpower and material resources. Their leaders took a more dissident approach and, in protest, scuttled the entire fleet in 1919 (the ships are at the bottom of Scapa Flow).

Although this may seem to be a selfdefeating act, in reality was a brilliant plan because that action destroyed the old and outdated vessels of the Imperial Fleet and permitted the Germans to design and create a modern Navy, although there was a 10,000-ton limit for any warship.

Naval command and its architects produced a class of fighting vessels it referred to pocket battleships, which were essentially smaller and lightly armoured versions of the larger ships fitted with 11in and 12in main guns.

Although lacking the physical protection of the heavier ships, they were much faster and more maneuverable.

During the 1930s, Deutschland, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Graf Spee were launched.

After Hitler denounced the terms of the Treaty in 1935, Germany resumed construction of 46,000-ton battleships to include the Bismarck and Tirpitz.. A massive program of building U-Boats also commenced during this time.

Although the parts are relatively small, the metal components of the hilt consisting of the pommel, ferrule, and cross-guard are intricate and well designed (germandaggers.com)

The brass lion shields on this Navy hanger are a striking adornment against the navy-blue cloth (werrelics.eu) The swastika of the Luftwaffe dagger was washed in gold. It is an urban legend that the colour signified the dagger was worn by a general officer. In reality it was just an option for the buyer (JB Military Antiques)

Naval officers were much more traditional than their Army counterparts and remained so after Hitler came to power. Unlike the land forces, the Navy officers had worn dress dirks (daggers) since the mid-1800s and utilised the same basic design in their 1938 version with the exception of changing the pommel from the flaming ball design (which replaced the Imperial crown model in 1919) to the eagle clutching a swastika in its talons. The Navy was the last of the armed services to adopt a dagger displaying the Nazi emblem.

All metal components of the Naval dirk were solid brass with the exception of the blade, which was steel. The scabbard was etched with lightning bolts fitted with two hanger loop crossbands bearing oak leaves. Another type of scabbard had a hammered finish collectors refer to as being pebbled with no etching and could have a twisted rope design on the crossbands. The cross-guard was decorated with a fouled anchor and balls on either end engraved with horizontal lines.

The majority of the blades were etched with a standard design of fouled anchors, but variations were available for purchase that included sailing ships, serpents, and surface warships. These examples are rare and sought after by collectors. Plain blade Naval dirks were also manufactured for lower budget officers.

The Navy dirk is the only sidearm fitted with a locking device consisting of a small brass stud in the centre of the cross-guard and a thin strip of metal incorporated into the tang which serves www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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German Military Daggers

This early model Heer dagger has silver plated hilt fittings and scabbard. The purchaser spared no expense as the beautifully engraved blade is a statement in itself (JB Military Antiques)

This Second Lieutenant is proudly posed with his Heer dagger. By the awards he is wearing we can conclude this was a prewar photograph

With the battleship etched on the blade, this Kriegsmarine dagger is indeed rare. Note the convoluted manner in which the portepee is tied around the cross-guard (JB Military Antiques)

as a spring-loaded catch. However, some were produced with no locking device, so the lack of the component does not mean it is not an original piece.

Several firms manufactured the Naval dirk, and these are the only sidearms with non-interchangeable blades. For example, if you have a dirk made by Alcosa, only its blade will fit into the hilt assembly.

The dirk originally offered a white celluloid grip with an option for one of ivory which, over time, can yellow with age and develop stress cracks that do not seriously affect their value. But, eventually, the grips were offered in the three standard colours and are grooved with double strand twisted brass wire wrapped clockwise from top right to bottom left.

The hanging straps are unlike those used by the Army in that both straps are not joined at the top and are significantly wider and differ in length. They are navy blue in colour, and each strap is fitted with a brass oval buckle adorned with lion head masks top and bottom.

A silver aluminum cord portepee was worn with the dirk and wrapped around the cross-guard in a very complex manner which is challenging for a collector to tie.

The silver cord portepee was worn on most daggers and came in various lengths depending on the dagger. The Kriegsmarine version uses the longest portepee and the Luftwaffe the shortest (Lakeside Trader)

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Luftwaffe daggers FIRST MODEL After WWI, German military aviation was forbidden but the Flieger Korps (a glider club) and the Lufthansa civilian airline corporation provided flight training for future pilots. As he did with the Army in 1933, Hitler secretly developed a state-of-the-art military air force. Two years later, he formally organised the Luftwaffe as part of Germany’s rearmament programme.

As with the other services, a dagger was authorised for wear and at a length of 18.5in is by far the longest of the military daggers produced during the Third Reich period. In addition to the length, the striking features of this dagger is the three down swept, wing-shaped crossguard and sun wheel pommel. It was also designed to encompass four swastikas.

Adding to the beautiful features of this dagger is the dark blue leather covered grip wrapped with double strand wire fitted into the grooves and a scabbard complimented with nickel silver fittings.

The blade was a double-edged stiletto type and early versions of the first model featured brass swastikas inlaid into the sun wheel and cross-guard. This was the only dagger manufactured encompassing permanent suspension hangers made of

This view of the second model Luftwaffe dagger crossguard shows the attention to detail and thought put into the design by adding oak leaves to the top of the component (worlddaggers.com)

EDGED WEAPONS FEATURE

These beautiful Kriegsmarine daggers are representative of the selection for grips that were available. The grip on the dirk to the far left is ivory and the three on the right were originally yellow, but have changed colour with age (JB Military Antiques)

The nomenclature of the German Heer dagger showing all of the major components (wardaggers.com)

chain vice cloth. A spring-loaded catch was used to join the two ends of the chain together and also served as an attachment to the wearers belt loop.

In 1936 the material composition of the fittings was changed to aluminum to match those used in the construction of airframes and the brass inlaid swastikas were changed to a gold wash finish.

This pristine set of Luftwaffe hangers is also a victim of an urban legend in that the gold wash on the fittings were an option for the buyer and does not represent a general officer rank (eBay)

German military daggers also come in the form of letter openers as evidenced by this Kriegsmarine dagger. Larger miniatures are also available, but oddly enough are almost the same price as the larger models (Wittman Militaria)

SECOND MODEL The second pattern dagger was 2in shorter than the first model with metal fittings cast from aluminum. The entire front of the cross-guard consisted of an eagle with wings outstretched holding a swastika in its talons with the reverse side having a pebbled finish with no decoration. The top of the cross-guard displays oak leaves.

The cellulite dagger grip was grooved to hold the spiral wound, three strand wire and was offered in the three standard colours. There was also an option to purchase ivory grips. Blades were doubleedged stiletto models with a flat central plane and personnel could purchase a Damascus or etched finish.

The most unique feature of this dagger is the pommel which is roughly shaped in the form of an oblong ball containing a swastika within a circle on both sides and the remainder ornamented with oak leaves. The swastika was originally

Left: This close-up of the Kriegsmarine dagger pommel shows a lot of detail in a small area. The Kriegsmarine was the last military branch to adopt the eagle and swastika design (Wittman Militaria)

A beautifully etched Heer dagger blade displays the national emblem on the flat of the blade (icollector)

finished in a gold wash, but on most daggers, has worn off over time. Some believe the gold swastika represented a general officer, but that not true.

The pebbled finished scabbard has a smooth panel in the centre running about ¾ of the length where it is met with an oakleaf decorated lower section.

There are also two scabbard bands with hanger rings in an oak leaf motif.

The hangers are similar to those worn

by Army personnel and the fittings may still retain their gold wash. This was a purchase option and does not represent the rank of a general officer. A silver cord portepee was also used on this dagger.

Unlike other service daggers, the Luftwaffe model was worn by both officer and senior enlisted personnel, and all military daggers regardless of service were private purchase items. After 1944 daggers were no longer produced and forbidden to be worn. The standard sidearm became a pistol. ■

i

COLLECTING

The Germans produced thousands of military daggers, so they are not scarce.

Be patient and save your money for the right one, you will be much happier.

A good practice is to research the numerous internet dealers as they have the largest selections and find the best piece available to fit your budget. Do not make the mistake of getting a worn or marred dagger.

Among the reputable internet dagger dealers are The Ruptured Duck and Wittman Militaria (US), Lakeside Trader (Canada), Parade Antiques Shop (UK), and Ulric of England. Good condition Heer models start at £600, Kriegsmarine at £850, first model Luftwaffe at £750 and second models at £650.

www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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The Russian occupation of Alaska Cynthia J Notti explores the key battles of 1802 and 1804 against Russian colonisation in Alaska

B

efore Alaska became the 49th state of America, it was the capital of Russian America. By the time Aleksandr Baranov was appointed its Governor, in 1799, Imperial Russia had already been hunting and profiting from the lucrative trade in fur seal and sea otter. To take hold of these vast western hunting grounds, Russia laid claim to the land by the accepted method used by Europeans, that of discovery. There was just one problem with this, it was already occupied.

Procuring and exporting of furs played a significant role in the economy and expansion of Russia and it was this lure of riches that drove the Russians across the vast expanse of Siberia to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

In 1781 merchants Grigory Shelikov and Ivan Golikov established the Northeastern Company to establish

Russian-American Company flag design authorised by Alexander I of Russia in 1806

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colonies on the North American coast.

This group later merged with others and in 1799 Russian Tsar Paul I approved the formation of a monopoly. The newly formed Russian American Company was granted a 20-year charter giving it the exclusive trading rights.

The predominate feeling at the time was that the whole of Northwest America lay ready for the taking. Let much more time pass and it would go to the English.

If Russian merchants were to continue to dominate the Pacific fur trade then expansion eastward was necessary to establish colonies in the New World.

The Russian American Company was able to maintain its own armed forces, treat with neighboring powers, trade where it wanted, control all exploitative activity. Its domain was seen as extending from the Arctic, south to the 55th parallel and from the Siberian coast eastward to the American mainland and beyond. The Company’s privileges and duties were set forth in the charter signed on 8 July 1799.

It was a government within the government.

Colonisation of Alaska The Russian Imperial Government colonised Alaska with the focus on economic enterprise. With only temporary camps in the Aleutians, Russia’s claim to them was weak. By the time Baranov decided to settle the key area of Sitka, Alaska, his domain was now of kingdom size, extending from Yakutat in Southeast Alaska, northward to Bristol Bay. In all there were nine establishments under him. However, for Russia to gain control of Southeast Alaska, Sitka had to be occupied so, in the spring of 1799, Baranov set out from Kodiak Island in the Olga, a 250ft Carola-class corvette. He had a force of some 1,100 men in bidarkas (canoes covered in animal skin); 100 Russians, 700 Aleuts and 300 mainlanders. The flotilla made the 560 mile journey with a loss of 26 men either killed or captured by unfriendlies.

On 7 July 1799 Baranov arrived. He was eventually ceded a site from Chief Ska-yut-lelt of the Sitka Tlingits for a fort a few miles from the main Tlingit

CAMPAIGN FEATURE Left: Russian Blockhouse with totem poles (National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park) Below left: The blockhouse was part of the fortress enclosing the Russians during their time in Sitka from 1804 to 1867 (National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park)

Right: Map of Sitka National Historical Park, indication the location of the Tlingit fort in the Battle of 1804 (National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park) community. On 15 July 1799 Baranov quickly set about setting up fortifications made of timbers 2ft thick and measuring 70ft by 50ft at the foundation, with an upper story jutting out 2ft further.

High watchtowers stood at two corners.

Around this structure were grouped the cook-house, the smithy, a large baleen (shed), a modest bathhouse and other outbuildings, including barns for domestic animals, all enclosed by a high strong stockade.

In a testimonial, dated 25 March 1800, Baranov attested that the land occupied by the Russians for the fort was ceded by the town and its tribe voluntarily and for small payment. The town swore loyalty to Russia and, in this document, the Russians in return promised to supply them the necessities and to protect them from attack by warlike neighbors. Despite the favorable treaty Chief Ska-yut-lelt was being criticised within his own clan, and throughout the Tlingit confederation, for allowing white men to settle. Tensions were growing between the two.

In April of 1800 foreign ships began appearing with their cargos carrying rum, firearms and even cannons. The foreign captains listened politely to Baranov’s protests of trading firearms with the Tlingits but they would not cease. The Tlingits most wanted firearms for their peltry and firearms they got. Resolved to report on these conversations, Baranov

prepared to return to Kodiak. He left behind 30 Russians and 400 Aleuts with Vasilii Medvednikov as commander. The home-going men in their bidarkas were conveyed by Baranov in the Olga.

Battle of 1802 The Tlingits soon came to realise that the Russians’ continued presence demanded their allegiance to the Tsar and that they therefore were expected to provide free labour to the Company. One account is: ‘The Russians tried to make the Tlingits to serve them. They do not want to serve such people.’ The Tlingits mobilised themselves and moved to drive the Russians from Sitka.

In June 1802 Tlingit warriors from several clans attacked the Russian fort at mid-day. The first Russian killed was the blacksmith. The hammer taken from him was used by the War Chief Katlian as his principal weapon in the attack of 1804 (see image overleaf). All but 23 people were killed, with only three Russians surviving. They destroyed the buildings and a ship that was being built. Survivors were rescued by the 20gun vessel Unicorn. Captain John Ebbets had extracted some of them by force from the Tlingits, who had held them as slaves. The new settlement was reduced to a mass of ashes.

Anticipating retaliation, the Tlingit

Tlingit Warrior with rod and slat armor (National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park) clan, the Kiks.ádi, strategically choose to construct a new fort, which they named Shis’ki Noow, at the mouth of Indian River. This defensible location was adjacent to a shallow tidelands to take advantage of the long gravel beach flats that extended far out into the bay to prevent the Russians from moving their ship-based artillery near the fort’s walls, effectively neutralising its military advantage. This fort was roughly 200sq. ft and approximately 1,000 logs were used in its construction.

At the loss of the settlement Baranov realised that this misfortune had greatly hampered his original plan to occupy places beyond Sitka. Weighing the impact of the loss, he firmly resolved to reoccupy the settlement.

Setting out for Sitka in September of 1804, his flotilla consisting of two crude new sloops, two schooners and some 300 bidarkas.

The Russian frigate Neva sailed from Saint Petersburg the previous year in company with another former war vessel of the same type were on a mission to Japan. The Neva was commanded by Captain-Lieutenant Yurii Lisianskii, who explained that when they touched at Hawaii they had heard of the Sitka massacre and had been instructed to sail to the colony immediately for the purpose of giving assistance. www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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❯

The Russian occupation of Alaska

War Chief Katlian in the Battle of 1804, yielding the hammer obtained from the blacksmith in the Battle of 1802 (National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park, Louis Glansman, 1988) Above left: Kathleen, leader of Tlingit warriors in battle gear (National Park service, Sitka National Historical Park)

Battle of 1804, retaking of Sitka

Above right: Russian sailor from the Neva (National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park)

This was the last major armed conflict between Russians and Tlingits. The loss of Old Sitka (Battle of 1802) effectively removed their foothold in Southeast Alaska. Baranov and the RussianAmerican Company were trying to move the colonial capital from Kodiak further south along the coast to fend off their European rivals in the fur trade. Losing their colony in Sitka put those hopes in jeopardy and undermined Russian power in the region.

Baranov’s war party from Kodiak met with Commander Yurii Lisianskii and his Russian sloop, the Neva, in Port Krestof, just north of Sitka Sound. The whole force sailed into Sitka Sound on the 28 September 1804. With calm weather the ships had to be towed. The Neva alone needed the assistance of upwards of 100 bidarkas.

On 1 October 1804 some 150 men, under the command of Lisianskii, were sent ashore to set fire to a barn and destroy the Tlingit’s canoes on the beach. With no counter attack by the Tlingits, Baranov joined the party on the beach and ordered the fort to be stormed, which nearly proved fatal.

As soon as the Tlingits saw the Russians close to their walls, they fired upon them with an order and execution that surprised the Russians. The Tlingit’s, led by their War Chief Katlian, wearing

Below: Sketch of the Tlingit Fort made by Captain Yurii Lisianskii, Commander of the Neva, following the Battle of 1804 (National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park) Bottom: Cannonball excavation map of the Battle of 1804 at Indian River (National park Service, Sitka National Historical Park)

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a raven mask and armed with the blacksmith’s hammer, surged out of Shis’ki Noow and engaged the attacking force in hand-to-hand combat. A second wave of Tlingits emerged from the adjacent woods in a flanking maneuver.

The Russians fell back to the water’s edge just as Neva opened fire to cover the retreat. The Russians were forced to abandon several small artillery pieces on the beach, resulting in the loss of two men and Baranov himself was wounded in the arm.

The next day Lisianskii assumed command due to Baranov’s injuries, ordering his ships to begin shore bombardment of the Tlingit position.

The initial barrage consisted mainly of ranging shots as the vessels attempted to determine the optimum firing range. Unable to breach the fort’s walls, the Russians ceased fire in the early afternoon. According to Lisianskii the fort: ‘Was constructed of wood, so thick and strong, that the shot from my guns could not penetrate it at the short distance of a cable’s length.’

With each side demanding the other side to surrender and each rejecting, the Russian cannon fire recommenced and continued until nightfall. The Tlingit’s goal had been to hold out long enough to allow the northern clans to arrive and reinforce their numbers. Unfortunately for them, this did not happen. With the shortage of gunpowder, their ability to keep fighting quickly diminished.

At sunrise the Neva and her escorts resumed their day-long bombardment of

CAMPAIGN FEATURE

The Russian-American Company’s capital at presentday Sitka, Alaska in 1837

Sitka, from Castle Hill in the 1880s, showing St. Michael’s Cathedral, Millmore hotel, the Tilson building and trading post Left: Illustration of Castle Hill in Russiancontrolled Sitka from 1827. The hilltop building was an imposing fortification on a hill overlooking the water and Tlingit areas Right: Replica of Tlinget war helmet (Sitka National Historical Park, Duane Pasco)

the Tlingit fort. The Tlingits responded with offers of a truce, hostage exchanges and the possibility of surrender.

Unbeknownst to the Russians, the Tlingit’s concluded that rather than suffer a defeat they formulated a strategy wherein the Clan would march across the island to a new settlement where they felt the Russians could not engage them. The evening of 4 October 1804 the people of the Kiks.ádi clan began their evacuation while returning fire. The first to retreat were the elders, women and children. The Tlingits had embarked on what is now referred to as the Sitka Kiks. ádi Survival March.

On 7 October 1804, with no activity coming from the Tlingit fort, the Russians landed a large contingent of troops to secure the beachhead and to reconnoiter the area in and around Shis’ ki Noow. The next day, after removing what they could use, the fort was razed to prevent it being used as a stronghold against the Russians. On 8 October 1804 Russia raised their flag and in 1808, the area was renamed Ново-Архангельск (New Archangel) and established as the capital of Russian America. The Russians were to stay for another 59 years until, on 30 March, 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2m.

Even so, it wasn’t until 18 October that year that commissioners arrived in Sitka

for the formal transfer to take place.

At Fort Sitka Russian soldiers lowered the Russian flag and General Lovell Rousseacu of the US Army, recorded: ‘The United States flag was properly attached and began its ascent, hoisted by my private secretary, and again salutes were fired as before, the Russian water battery leading off. The flag was so hoisted that in the instant it reached its place the report of the big gun of the Ossipee reverberated from the mountains around. Captain Pestchouroff stepped up to me and said, “General Rousseau, by authority from his Majesty the Emperor of Russia, I transfer to the United States the Territory of Alaska” and in a few words I acknowledged the acceptance of the transfer, and the ceremony was at an end.’

Katlian’s hammer, various war armour, the Raven’s War Bonnet and cannon balls from the Neva are on display at the following Sitka locations respectively: National Park Service Museum, Sheldon Jackson Museum and the Russian Bishop’s house. For further information contact the museums directly at www. nps.gov/sitk/learn/historyculture (The National Park Service runs both the National Park Museum and the Russian Bishop’s House). Sheldon Jackson Museum at www.museums.alaska.gov/ sheldon_jackson. ■

Below: Russian military smoothbore muskets. On display at the Russian Bishop House (National Park Service, Sitka National Historical Park)

i

COLLECTING IDEAS

In 1803-1806 Lisianskii, as the commanding officer of the Russian American Company’s merchant sloop Neva, took part in the first Russian circumnavigation of the earth. His recount of the battle of 1804 is documented in his book A Voyage Round the World, in The Years 1803, 1804, 1805, & 1806. The book sells on abebooks. com from $21 to $199.

Other collectables on ebay.com include an antique map of North America & Russian Alaska, 1843 for $437, books on Russian America prices range from $11 to $680, commemorative coins for $11 and an 1868 Alaska Russian America Sitka post card for $15.90.

www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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Crimean War helmet Robert Attard takes a look at a Russian helmet from the Crimean War

T

he helmet stands almost 14in with a body made from strips of boiled leather, hand stitched to form a tall dome, with separate heavier pieces being used for the brim and peak. Great care was taken to strengthen the leather corpus of the helmet; the peak has a recessed border and stitching reinforces the sides.

Heavy embossed brass ornaments decorate the helmet. A tall spike fashioned in the shape of a flaming torch screws onto a brass cruciform base rivetted onto the helmet body. A large embossed helmet plate featuring a twin headed eagle and an image of a mounted warrior slaying a dragon attaches to the front of the helmet.

The helmet plate is made in two pieces; a small shield clips onto the helmet plate. Removing the small shield revealed signs of an earlier regimental number.

Lamellar brass

Side view of the Crimean War helmet

chin-scales are attached to the sides of the helmet. The helmet is solid but shows signs of heavy wear.

With time, the weight of the heavy brass regalia has taken its toll.

The heavy finial deformed the helmet’s dome and the leather peak collapsed under the weight of the helmet, cracking it. Similar damage has been noticed on many 19th century helmets; including helmets from the Crimean War. The helmet has been heavily restored. Sadly, the interior has been gutted. The original cloth and leather lining has been removed and a metal plate was inserted to limit further damage from the weight of the cruciform base. The helmet has a patina which is typical of 19th century helmets

Russian Model 1844 helmet Undoubtedly, this is an Other Rank’s Russian Model 1844 Picklehaube, which dates to the Crimean War era. The helmet resembles the Prussian Model 1842 Picklehaube, otherwise known as the father of all picklehaubes.

In the 1840s the armies of

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Europe looked up to Prussia’s state-ofthe-art Army. Prussian uniforms and accoutrements inspired all the armies of Europe. In October 1842 Prussia introduced its first Picklehaubes and many armies followed suit. Less than two years later, in May 1844, the Russian Army introduced its own version of the Picklehaube, the helmet which became known as the Model 1844 and was put in service in the Crimean War. The design of the Russian Picklehaube draws heavily from that of the tall Prussian Model 1842 Picklehaube.

The heavy leather skull and use of brass mounts is common to the two helmet types. Distinguishing features of the Russian version are the flame shaped spiked finial reminiscent of the Asian Kulah Khudd helmet, and, of course, the distinctive Russian helmet plate featuring the Romanov twin headed eagle and effigy of Saint George and the Dragon.

The shape of the Russian helmet plate was inspired from that of French helmets of the Napoleonic Wars.

The Model 1844 Helmet was totally impractical for the battlefield of the Crimean War. It was heavy and did not offer a comfortable fit especially when worn over a long period of time. The helmet was anachronistic because it was not a ballistic helmet and offered virtually no protection from shrapnel and projectiles. Nonetheless, the Russian Model 1844 could still offer some decent protection from sword cuts and bayonet thrusts explaining why it was widely used on the Crimean War battlefields.

Captain Vanson’s 1856 sketches of Russian officers and men attest that, despite its many shortcomings, the Model 1844 helmet was used on active service explaining why so many specimens were captured as war trophies.

An old war trophy Press reports from the Crimean War reveal that captured Russian Model 1844 helmets were taken as war trophies by British and French veterans who fought at Inkerman, Balaclava, Alma, Sevastopol and other famous battles of the Crimean

UNIFORM FEATURE

Clipping from the Illustrated London News featuring a captured Model 1844 helmet

The Guards engaging Russians in the Sandbag Battery at Inkerman, November 1854

Close-up view of the helmet plate Front view of a Russian Model 1844 Crimean War helmet Far right: Rear view of the helmet

War. The Illustrated London News and other Victorian papers from the Crimean War era contain illustrations of panoplies of captured Russian helmets. The Russian Model 1844 helmet takes pride of place besides captured muskets, kettle drums and Russian cannon, of course.

Interestingly, helmets from the 26th Infantry Regiment, a regiment that fought in Balaclava were extremely popular with Victorian war trophy hunters and are to be found in many British military museums. The vast collection of the Musee de l’ Armee includes a documented Russian Model 1844 helmet of the 25th infantry Regiment captured in the battle of Sevastopol A particularly interesting example, that is quasi-identical to the helmet in this article, is kept at the PittRivers Museum, Oxford. The helmet in Oxford (bearing Inventory Number

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Funding Collection 1884.32.19) is said to have been gifted to the museum by General Pitt Rivers, a veteran of the Crimean War. I have reasons to believe that the heavily restored helmet here is linked to the battle of Inkerman. The helmet bears the helmet plate of the prestigious 11th Infantry Division, an infantry regiment of the Russian Imperial Army garrisoned at Lutsk. On 5 November 1854, the 11th Infantry Division formed part of the Russian Army that attacked the Allies at Inkerman. The Russian attack was repelled at a huge cost to the armies of France and Britain, dashing their hopes for a quick victory.

The battle of Inkerman was a soldier’s battle fought by infantrymen in brutal hand-to-hand combat. This helmet may have been there. ■

COLLECTING

Helmets from the Crimean War have been popular with collectors since Victorian times explaining why so much time and attention has been invested in the restoration and upkeep of this particular helmet.

Russian Model 1844 Crimean War helmets tend to sell within the £1,000-£1,500 bracket albeit, recently, fine examples have sold for prices in the £2,500 region.

Fakes and faithful replicas are known to exist.

At times sellers confuse the later and smaller Russian 1860 Model Picklehaube with the earlier Model 1844 Model from the Crimean War. Also, fibreglass replicas are in production and would easily trick internet buyers because they appear to have been from casts moulded from original specimens.

Extremely well-made leather and brass helmets using the same manufacturing techniques employed in originals are being produced in eastern Europe for the re-enactor market.

Prospective collectors should familiarise themselves with the aging characteristics and fine details of original helmets expecting to find moderate to heavy restoration.

www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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MEDAL FEATURE

Davison’s Nile Medal Duncan Evans casts his eye over a commemorative medal awarded in 1798 to those who took part in the famous sea battle

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he Battle of Aboukir Bay, better known as the Battle of the Nile, was a pivotal sea clash between British and French forces in the Napoleonic Wars. It was Lord Nelson’ most stunning victory that resulted in cutting off Napoleon’s land forces which were intent on capturing Egypt. It led to French defeat at the Battle of Acre, a year later in 1799, and the Napoleon abandoning Egypt altogether. Two French

Left: The Silver medal obverse Right: The Silver medal reverse

Left: The obverse of the Gilt-Bronze medal Right: The reverse of the Gilt-Bronze medal

Left: The Bronze version, obverse Right: The reverse of the Bronze version

The obverse of the Gold medal, awarded to Nelson and his Captains

The reverse of the Gold medal showing the British fleet attacking the French

ships of the line, including the flagship L’Orient, and two frigates were sunk while nine other ships of the line were captured.

Nelson’s prize agent, Alexander Davison, flush with the profits from the capture, decided to issue a medal to commemorate the battle. It was awarded in various grades to all those who took part in the pivotal sea battle with the Gold version going to Vice-Admiral Nelson and his Captains, the Silver version to Lieutenants and Warrant Officers, the Gilt-Bronze version to Petty Officers and the Bronze (also referred to as copper) version to the remaining ratings and marines.

The medal is 47mm in diameter and was originally issued without a suspender, however many recipients added a ring enabling it to be worn. In these cases the ribbon was usually the Navy ribbon, being 32mm wide and deep navy blue in colour.

The obverse features the figure representing Peace, stood on a rock surrounded by the sea, with an olive branch in her right hand and a large medallion featuring Nelson in her left. The medallion features the words, ‘EUROPE’S HOPE AND BRITAIN’S GLORY’. Behind the figure is an

anchor, also on the rock. Around the circumference are the words, ‘REARADMIRAL LORD NELSON OF THE NILE’.

On the reverse is the British fleet going into action at Aboukir Bay, with the French fleet at anchor. Around the top edge is the legend, ‘ALMIGHTY GOD HAS BLESSED HIS MAJETY’S ARMS’ while at the bottom it says, “VICTORY OF THE NILE AUGUST 1, 1798’. Above this, in very small lettering it says, to the left,’M.B. SOHO’ and to the right is the designer’s name, ‘C.H. KUCHLER. FEC’. Around the edge is inscribed a message from Davison himself, reading, ‘A TRIBUTE OF REGARD FROM ALEXr DAVISON, ESQR. ST. JAMES’ SQUARE’.

VALUES The prices listed are for unnamed examples as ones with contemporary inscriptions go for twice as much. The one issued to Lord Nelson himself was stolen, and is believed to have been melted down.

Gold: £8,000-£10,000 Silver: £1,500-£2,000 Gilt bronze: £550-£650 Bronze: £300-£400 ■

www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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The Battle for Hill 112 Jonathan Trigg takes you into the heart of one of the most deadly battles of the Normandy campaign, in the Summer of 1944

The finished article. This young machine-gunner of the Hitlerjugend is carrying the feared MG42 (Jonathan Trigg)

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he ancient city of Caen in Normandy was just a few miles from the sea leading Allied planners to hope that it would be liberated on D-Day itself. It wasn’t so capturing it became vital to the British and Canadians as they strove to break out from the invasion beaches.

The Allied ground commander, Bernard Montgomery, decided the key to taking the city was to push south and west and swing behind it, forcing the Germans to abandon its narrow boulevards and medieval walls. The terrain Britain’s most famous soldier picked for his men to fight over was one of small Norman villages, nestled in a land criss-crossed by the River Orne and one of its tributaries, the Odon. Between the two rivers was a ridge line lying southwest to northeast that rose to twin peaks a couple of miles

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SS forward artillery observers looking for Allied armour, just west of Caen in July 1944 (Schulz)

apart and named after their spot heights - Hill 113 and Hill 112 – the latter being closest to Caen.

The fighting in Normandy after D-Day was often dominated by the bocage but Hill 112 was different. Its slopes and cornfields were long and open, without a shred of cover except for a small wood near the top. From that summit the Germans could see Caen some six miles to the northeast, Carpiquet airfield, Mont Pinçon and the Bourguébus ridge to the southeast. The summit itself was a flat plateau with commanding views of both its forward and reverse slopes that were perfect killing grounds for a defender and a death-trap for any attacker.

The German General Paul Hausser famously declared that, “He who holds Hill 112 holds Normandy,” as it was, “the key to the back door of Caen.”

BATTLE FEATURE Left: Heinz Harmel, the commander of the Frundsberg, in his Kubelwagen. He was much admired and respected by his men (Mark C Yerger) Right: A Hohenstaufen Panther and accompanying panzergrenadiers moves towards the front in Normandy.

The Panther was one of the finest tanks of the war (Jonathan Trigg)

Portrait photo of the commander of II. SSPanzer Corps, Willi Bittrich (Jonathan Trigg)

Operation Epsom Monty intended Operation Epsom to be a blitz attack spearheaded by the 60,000 men and 800 tanks of Sir Richard O’Connor’s VIII Corps, and supported

by 700 guns and the fire of three Royal Navy cruisers. The opening barrage was fearsome but failed to destroy the German defences held by the 12. SS-Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend. Led by a hardcore of experienced officers and NCOs, the 17 and 18-year old defenders put up determined resistance, slowing the British advance. Nevertheless, the 15th (Scottish) Division pushed on and reached Hill 112.

Despite a muddle that meant the tanks of the British 11th Armoured Division didn’t charge forward into the heart of the German defence, the loss of the hill caused the commander of the German Seventh Army, Friedrich Dollmann, to panic and order an immediate counterattack to push the British back.

Dollmann didn’t wait to see his orders through and committed suicide.

One German unit, the II. SS-Panzer Corps whose name would forever after be associated with the bloodbath of Hill 112, was engulfed in the chaos that followed.

The II SS-Panzer Corps Formed in 1943, the Corps comprised two panzer divisions of the Waffen-SS, the

Troopers from the II. SS-Panzer Corps manhandle a camouflaged 75mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun into position in Normandy (Werner Mielke)

9th Hohenstaufen and 10th Frundsberg.

Having seen their first action in Russia that spring, the Corps was refitting in occupied Poland when ordered to head west to the invasion front after D-Day. Both of its divisions were powerful beasts, the Hohenstaufen having around 165 panzers and self-propelled assault guns, including almost 80 Panther tanks. The Frundsberg only had around half that total and no Panthers, but was back up to a strength of over 13,000 men, thanks to conscription. Commanded by SS-Obergruppenführer (General) Paul Hausser, one of the founding fathers of the Waffen-SS, II. SS-Panzer Corps was ordered to counterattack into the flank of the British advance and smash it.

Dollmann’s suicide on the eve of that attack wrought chaos among the various headquarters as they scrambled to fill the gap. Hausser was promoted to command of Seventh Army, and the Hohenstaufen’s Willi Bittrich got the Corps, Heinz Harmel stayed with the Frundsberg, but in the aftermath the much-vaunted attack struggled to make headway. The only bright spot for the Germans was a joint Frundsberg-Hitlerjugend assault to clear

SS panzergrenadiers from Frundsberg move forward through a typical Norman village in July 1944 (Marc Rikmenspoel) www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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The Battle for Hill 112

A PzKpfw IV Ausf H from the Frundsberg. The Division had a battalion of these tanks but no Panthers (Jonathan Trigg)

the British from the northern slopes of Hill 112. Losses on both sides were high.

The 15th (Scottish) Division had been badly blooded but had wreaked havoc among the SS grenadiers, over 400 of whom lay dead on the slopes of Hill 112.

Operation Jupiter With Epsom a failure and Hill 112 firmly in German hands, Montgomery planned another major offensive to unlock the German defence and take Caen. This was Operation Jupiter, and its success would depend on capturing Hill 112.

The West Countrymen of 43rd (Wessex) Division were assigned the task under the command of Major-General Ivor Thomas, described by a fellow officer as, “A determined and grim gunner, without a spark of humour.” The Wessex was a relatively untried division, but it was well trained and had a core of experienced men in its ranks.

Facing Bell and his five tank and 13 infantry battalions were grenadiers from the Frundsberg, supported by a platoon of three Panzerkampfwagen IV tanks with their 75mm cannon and twin machineguns. With the hill so open and exposed only a few SS troopers were in forward observation posts facing the British.

The rest were in trenches and firing pits arrayed in lines on the reverse slope.

The small wood near the crest had been repeatedly shelled, its trees shorn down so the SS men nicknamed it ‘The Wood of the Half-Trees’. To the British it would become known as ‘The Crown of Thorns’.

Day one – Monday 10 July A typically massive artillery barrage starting at 4:55am heralded the beginning

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The Tiger I was a fearsome weapon but as so few were built they were concentrated in special battalions and only committed to the most important battles (Chris Bishop)

of the attack by the men of 4th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry and 4th Battalion the Wiltshire Regiment.

Advancing to the foot of the hill the leading rifle companies had no option but to attack on a narrow front over the open fields. Raked by German machinegun fire they soon went to ground, only to come under bombardment from Nebelwerfer rockets, the detested Moaning Minnies. Dozens of men were killed or wounded, with casualties among the officers especially heavy, as Private Bill Edwardes saw for himself, “Whole officer clans were wiped out so platoons were led by Sergeants.” Somehow the survivors carried on, their supporting armour even knocking out the three Panzerkampfwagen IVs. Reaching the summit, the British pushed on, only to be caught up in a vicious German counterattack which included fearsome Tiger I tanks from the newly arrived 102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion. One British officer described how: ‘The skyline was dominated by Churchill tanks brewing up. There were dead and wounded men lying all over the ground in the long grass.’

With success hanging in the balance the British tried again, this time with 214th Brigade’s only reserve unit, the 5th Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (5 DCLI). Under heavy fire, the Cornwalls, led by their popular 26-year old commanding officer LieutenantColonel Dick James, inched their way forward and managed to reach and occupy the northern half of The Wood of the Half-Trees. It had taken them almost three hours. The growing darkness brought no relief, with another German counterattack melting away in the face of determined British defence

as SS-Unterscharführer (Sergeant) Will Fey recalled, “We were under heavy fire and then jabos (jagdbombers – fighter bombers) attacked us, swooping down like eagles.” Some 70 SS grenadiers were killed and a number of panzers and halftracks were knocked out, as a spitting rain fell and the fighting petered out in general confusion.

Hot food was brought up in containers and cigarettes handed out, with more than enough to go round as the British companies had taken so many casualties.

Day two – Tuesday 11 July With the British tenaciously holding out on the northern slopes of the hill, alarm spread throughout German high command, with Heinrich Eberbach, boss of Panzer Group West, telling Willi Bittrich that it was a Schlüsselstellung (key position) and, “On no account must Hill 112 be given up; it is the pivot for the whole front. We must hang on.” With the Frundsberg exhausted and bogged down, the decision was made to commit its sister division, the Hohenstaufen, to a joint counterattack. Artillery and

The memorial to the British 43rd (Wessex) Division on the top of Hill 112, renamed as Cornwall Hill (Roi Dagobert)

BATTLE FEATURE Left: Walter Harzer, a senior officer in the Frundsberg, whose leadership during Operation Jupiter helped earn him the coveted Knight’s Cross at his throat. He is also wearing an Iron Cross 1st Class and the German Cross in Gold (Mark C Yerger) Below: A Frundsberg trooper loads a Panzerwerfer 52, nicknamed Moaning Minnies by the British.

These half-track rocket carriers could fire salvoes of 10 deadly 15cm rockets (Jonathan Trigg)

Soldiers from the British 43rd (Wessex) Division in defensive positions in between Hills 113 and 112 on 16 July 1944 (Jonathan Trigg) mortar fire showered down on both sides, forcing the British infantrymen to cower in their foxholes, and disrupting the arrival of the Hohenstaufen grenadiers in their assembly areas.

With the dawn came a welcome sight for the Cornwall’s as 15 Sherman tanks from A Squadron, the Royal Scots Greys, hove into view. Minutes later, at 6:15am, the German attack began, SS grenadiers charging up the slope supported by the fire of several Tigers. Five of the Scots Grey’s Shermans went up in flames and such was the ferocity of the assault that the Cornwalls were tumbled out of the wood, off the summit and back down the northern slope.

Lieutenant-Colonel James reorganised his men, only 126 of whom were still alive and unwounded, and led them once more up the hill. No sooner had they reached the summit than yet another German counterattack hit them.

By now the slopes were pitted by shell craters and covered with the dead, as one panzergrenadier noted: ‘The sight was beyond all imagination. The dead, friend and foe, lay in masses on the open ground right up to the little wood. The

air was putrid with the smell.’

The Cornwalls only chance to stop the German assault was to bring down a wall of artillery fire more or less on their own positions. Dick James climbed a tree to get a better view and call down the barrage as accurately as possible, only to be almost decapitated by enemy fire.

Nevertheless, the British guns made the difference. The German casualties were so heavy they couldn’t press home their advantage, but the Cornwalls couldn’t hold out either, and the order was given for the 60 survivors to withdraw.

With Hill 112 still in German hands, Jupiter was called off. The fighting on and around the hill resulted in several thousand German casualties, the British about the same. The Cornwalls in particular were hard hit, with 254 men lost, 56 of them succumbing to shell shock alongside their dead and injured.

A week later Caen itself fell and then the Americans burst through the German lines in Operation Cobra. As a result, Hill 112 became irrelevant, the German defenders melted away and men from the 53rd (Welsh) Division occupied it almost unopposed on 4 August. ■

A stamp bearing the formation insignia of the Hohenstaufen Division for use with aluminium (Jonathan Trigg)

Cap badge of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (Jonathan Trigg)

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COLLECTABLES

Memorabilia and collectables from both sides involved in the battle are available.

As Waffen-SS units, the Frundsberg and Hohenstaufen have an array of uniforms, weaponry and awards on the market. There are also more specialist items such as hardened punch stamps for both divisions for working with aluminium for example. A Hohenstaufen stamp would typically sell for around £50. However, as the two formations in question only existed from 1943-1945 they do not have as much material as other, longer serving, SS units such as the Leibstandarte or Das Reich.

On the British side a DCLI cap badge can be purchased from a number of suppliers, with a seller such as Surplus and Outdoors charging anywhere between £9-£20 dependent on condition. Other potential sellers include the likes of www.giftshop.co.uk which has an entire section on DCLI embossed memorabilia, including tie pins and pocket watches from £5 up to around £20. A rarer find could be a copy of The History Of The Duke Of Cornwall’s Light Infantry 193945 by Major-General R F K Godfrey and Major E G Goldsmith, with a copy recently selling for £60 from Biblio.co.uk

www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

51

The Rhodesia Medal, 1980 Peter Duckers takes a look at a medal for a country that was moving from a white, colonial government, to independence under African majority rule

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The obverse of the Rhodesia Medal, with Jubilee head

The reverse of the medal

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n the 1960s, as the winds of change swept across Africa and the complex process of decolonisation got underway, one of Britain's African self-governing territories proved to be particularly troublesome. As African nationalist movements rose to prominence across colonial Africa, the white government in Southern Rhodesia resisted all attempts at a solution to its political future which would undoubtedly lead to majority African rule. After long, but fruitless, political discussions between the British government, African political parties and the country's existing government, in November 1965 the Rhodesian government of Ian Smith made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), declaring the country to be an independent sovereign state, hoping thereby to retain white minority rule and preserve the status quo.

Multi-level and international discussions on Rhodesia's future continued over the following years, but the immediate outcome was international rejection, which led to the imposition of sanctions of all kinds (especially difficult for a country which so entirely depended on foreign trade) and the significant growth of African nationalist parties, especially under Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe.

More seriously, armed warfare broke out between the forces of the various nationalist parties and the powerful standing forces of Rhodesia, aided to one extent or another by South Africa.

The Rhodesian Civil War (or Bush War) lasted from 1965 to 1979, by which time casualties were mounting and sanctions and international isolation were crippling Rhodesia. Ian Smith's government was finally forced accept change and, in 1979, renewed discussions led to the Lancaster House Agreement, the revocation of UDI and an acceptance of the fact of new elections and whatever their outcome would be.

Rhodesia temporarily returned to British rule while a complex process of elections was organised, complicated not only by the existence of armed and partisan guerrilla forces (estimated at

22,000) which might intervene, but also by the nature of Rhodesian society which, apart from simple white or African divisions in various political groupings, contained a number of different tribal affiliations. The elections, monitored by British and Commonwealth forces and observers, took place during February and March 1980 and were won by the Zimbabwean African National Union (ZANU), whose leader Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister in April 1980, when the UK granted independence to the country (as Zimbabwe) which became a republic within the Commonwealth.

The Rhodesia Medal was awarded to those serving in the Commonwealth Monitoring Force - members of the Commonwealth armed services (largely British), police personnel and civilians who took part in Operation AGILA (known as Operation MIDFORD for New Zealand forces). The cupro-nickel medal is of the standard dimensions and hangs from a straight, non-swivelling suspension from a ribbon of sky blue with three central narrow stripes of red, white and blue. A novel feature was that the medal was rhodium plated, which gives it a hard and very bright surface. Since the medal is for peacekeeping it is not regarded as a campaign medal and is worn after Long Service medals and before foreign awards.

The obverse saw the first use of the Jubilee head design on a service medal, with the Queen depicted wearing the high Jubilee Crown and with the usual royal titles ‘ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID DEF’. This effigy had first appeared on the 1977 Jubilee Medal and has become the standard depiction of the monarch on subsequent campaign medals, though its rather large and out-of-scale look has not made it very popular! The reverse is very simple, featuring the profile of a sable antelope, a familiar sight in the grasslands of east and southern Africa. It also carries the wording ‘THE RHODESIA MEDAL’ with the date ‘1980’.

The basic time requirement for the award was generally 14 days between 1 December 1979 and 20 March 1980, with the usual condition that this time element was waived in the case of those

MEDAL FEATURE

British Medal group with the Rhodesia Medal and the Zimbabwe Independence Medal killed, wounded, injured or honoured.

Approximately 2,500 medals were awarded in total (with about 580 to British police), including those given by Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Kenya; South African forces which entered the

country at this time were not given the medal nor were members of the standing forces of Rhodesia.

In general collectors' terms, given the relatively small number issued, the medal is not especially expensive, with single

Right: The Rhodesia Medal with the Zimbabwe Independence Medal, its reverse featuring the ancient ruins of Great Zimbabwe after which the new republic was named

Left: The Rhodesia Medal medal with its local counterpart, the Zimbabwe Independence Medal, obverse shown

Eland armoured cars of the Rhodesian Armoured Corps parked at Inkomo Barracks

The Rhodesia Medal worn with 1962 General Service Medal for Northern Ireland - worn after the campaign medal examples found at around £500. But it has never been an easy medal to find they do not often appear on the market, as singles or in groups.

Medals to British military personnel were named in the usual way around the rim (impressed with service number, rank, name, unit) and are found to a range of units, including the RAF and support services, like the RAMC, the REME, the Army Catering Corps, the Royal Corps of Transport and Royal Signals. Since there was no particular single British battalion deployed during the elections, from the regimental collector's point of view locating one to a particular unit can be difficult.

To give a few examples, medals are known to the Royal Artillery, the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (one officer and 13 other ranks), the 9th/12th Lancers, the Royal Anglian Regiment (three officers and 28 men), the Royal Green Jackets (approximately 25 awards), the King's Regiment, the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire and the Royal Regiment of Wales. It should be noted that medals to police and civilian recipients were issued unnamed.

All recipients of the Rhodesia Medal were also given the official Zimbabwe Independence Medal in silver or bronze (an award usually found numbered to its recipient on the rim) but official permission to wear this alongside other British awards was not granted; it could be accepted as a token of service but not worn in uniform. Examples of these are not hard to find as singles, at around £20 for the bronze and £35-£45 for the silver types. ■ www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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The Jeffries Family connection Gavin Gardiner looks at a gun from the dawn of the Industrial Revolution

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he period of the early breach-loading sporting gun is one of the most fascinating in all of the history of gunmaking. It epitomised the Industrial Revolution that was happening all over Great Britain in every industry, as well as the manufacture of sporting guns.

For the gunmakers it was a period of intensive development and fertile design, with a huge number of patents being registered during the period 1855 to 1875. The sporting gun transitioned from the muzzleloading percussion gun to the hammerless breach-loader that we recognise, almost unchanged, today.

George Jeffries, gunmaker of Norwich, was one such who registered a patent and is largely remembered for one thing, his unique, ‘sidemotion’ side-opening shotgun.

The breach-loading shotgun was in its infancy, having been invented on the continent as early as 1836 and brought to England in 1851 by Casimir Lefaucheux. His stand at the Great Exhibition was viewed by many gunmakers with great curiosity and this, ultimately, led to the acceptance of this principle in sporting shotguns. The advantages of the self-contained pinfire cartridge was clear for all to see, but it would be another 10 years before the breach loader was truly perfected and supplanted the muzzle loader with British gunmakers. However, all of the breachloaders made in Britain at this time were ultimately of foreign design.

The system of having the barrels hinge down at the breach for loading was the fundamental principle of Lefaucheux’s design that has endured to this day. Westley Richards was the first to improve on its weakness in 1858 and the classic Henry Jones rotary underlever appeared in 1859.

Almost every gunmaker in the land sought to improve these designs and patent applications flooded in as each

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Above and left: An example of Lincoln Jeffries’ air rifle, from the first batch, 1905

Lincoln Jeffries’ trademarks impressed in the stock sought to out think the other and protect their own improvements.

The fundamental principles remained, however. A small number of gunmakers approached the problem from another direction and sought to produce a strong and lightweight design by having the barrels swing to the side on a vertical pivot. The Rigby & Norman patent of 1860 was the first, but it was the designs of George Jeffries of Norwich, that really come to

epitomise this style of gun.

George Jeffries first comes to our attention for a design of cartridge reloading and rolled turnover tool.

Patented in 1860 it was one of the first all-in-one tools for reloading pinfire cartridges and was widely sold. It was the designs for the ‘side motion’ gun, patent 3300 of 1862 that really achieved his lasting fame and these guns are much sought after by collectors today. The striking design pivots the barrels from a pivot point 8in ahead of the breach face, and slightly to the left, with the barrels swinging open to the right. The whole being operated by rotating under lever that draws the barrels to the right and away from the breach face to open the gun for loading. Upon closing, the barrels are locked tightly closed by a flat wedge under the breach that is integral with the barrels themselves.

This provides a very secure and strong method of jointing the barrels to the action, while keeping weight to the minimum, which is a key feature for a successful double-barrel gun.

The design is striking in its simplicity and elegant as well. One of the most attractive of its period in fact and it was widely advertised thus: ‘JEFFRIES NEW CENTRE FIRE SIDE MOTION BREECH LOADER in now complete. Five times the resisting surface if any double grip drop down guns. Two hard pieces of tempered steel working together in the vital parts never before attained. Quick as any snap gun. The only breech loader invented in Great Britain. It can be made to use either pin or central fire cartridges combined.

See Field August 15th 1868. To be had through all first class makers; or of Jeffries and Sons, Norwich and Potters Lane, Aston New Town, Birmingham.

Also Jeffries New Patent central fire cartridge machine no ready to be had of all gunmakers.’

The Jeffries Side Motion gun was in production for around 10 years, and was thought, by contemporary reports, for speed, to be not much inferior to the drop down snap action guns based on the Lefeacheux design. In 1870 one was exhibited at the Workmen’s

SPORTING GUN FEATURE

Above and below: Various images showing the Jeffries side motion, and details of the mechanism and breach

Showing the cam side opening and breach wedge

Showing the breach wedge with the gun open International Exhibition at Agricultural Hall, Islington, where it won the Gold Medal for ‘Excellency of workmanship and construction’. Though it was commercial success, it is likely that only a few hundred were built. It was a complex gun to build, and development of the breech-loading gun was happening at a frightening pace. By 1870 the hammer gun had essentially been perfected with the drop down barrel becoming the standard design which continues to this day. Within another 10 years the hammerless breech loader had reached its peak of development, when Frederick Beasley patented his selfopening sidelock action, that Purdey has been building for over 140 years now.

It was a significant enough design of

the period to feature in WW Greener’s seminal work The Gun. The classic 9th edition, published in 1910, describing it thus: ‘Of the side motion breech mechanisms the best known is that invented by Mr Jeffries of Norwich in about 1862. The barrels are turned on a vertical pivot by a lever pivoted vertically under the breech-action body, and having a projection fixed eccentrically upon the turning of the lever, which projection engages with a slot in the barrels and moves them. This plan of breech-loading is probably the next best to the “drop down” of Lefeaucheux principle for sporting guns, but it’s inventor, after making it for many years, finally abandoned it. Gunmakers and sportsmen seem agreed that the drop

down principle has greater advantages and is the most convenient for all sporting purposes.’

The Jeffries Side Motion gun has always been popular with collectors, and is very much sought after today.

Examples are rarely seen but when they are, they attract a good deal of attention. The action, unconventional to modern eyes, has great strength, evidenced by the example illustrated here. This is an example that recently passed through my hands and remains in excellent condition. It was recently submitted to nitro reproof in Birmingham and passed without issue.

Handling qualities are superb and it is one of the classic hammer gun designs.

When the gun appeared at auction it www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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❯

The Jeffries Family connection

Loading tap details

The legend on the cylinder was sold for over £13,000.

By the time that the gun was in regular production, George Jeffries son, George ‘Lincoln’ Jeffries had established himself in the Birmingham gun trade. Born in 1847, Lincoln had worked with his brother from an early age in his father’s Norwich business. At the age of 19 he came to Birmingham and was rapidly established as a successful gunmaker in his own right.

In 1873 he is first mentioned in the Birmingham Trade Register, and it is likely that it was through his contacts in the trade that a substantial amount of the gunmaking work was carried out in Birmingham.

Lincoln Jeffries business in Birminghan continued to blossom and he became well established as a gunmaker, moving to larger premises in Whittall Street and by 1888 he had moved to 141 Steel House Lane where the business had diversified to include air canes and airguns of all types. In 1900 the range of air weapons had diversified to include break barrel types of both German and British manufacture.

Air rifle shooting became very popular after the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, the advent of inexpensive foreign designs and the need for marksmanship among men created a demand that had not previously existed. This was especially so in Birmingham and the Midlands where pub leagues were set up, and the indoor sport of bell target shooting really took off. In early 1903 there were around

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Lincoln Jeffries, outside his shop in Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, 1906

Extract from George Jeffries’ 1862 patent

Extracts from Lincoln Jeffries’ 1904 patent

The BSA book of the air rifle, 1907, that perpetuated the myth that the air rifle was a BSA design

BSA air rifles from the book The BSA book of the air rifle

SPORTING GUN FEATURE

BSA and Lincoln Jeffries air rifles 300 airgun clubs in Birmingham, with around 7,000 members, later the same year there could have been as many as 600 clubs operating with a membership of around 30,000 members. Clearly there was a growing demand for air rifles.

Lincoln Jeffries developed this side of the business and was keen to improve on the designs that were increasing being brought in to his shop for repair. The break barrel designs had considerably weakness at the breach, and the barrel hinge was soon worn by the considerable strain placed upon it by the action of repeatedly cocking the rifle. The breech wear also allowed air to leak from the ineffective breach seal and soon resulted in inconsistent shooting and loss of power.

Lincoln Jefferies was soon having rifles built to his own design in the trade in small numbers, and found that these sold very quickly. Lincoln’s design incorporated a fixed barrel, with a separate loading lever placed underneath.

The design was further improved with a gas tap type breach-loading that

produced a perfect air tight seal that was immune to wear. This produced a rifle capable of extremely good accuracy and consistent power, and was soon winning all of the local competitions. Finding that his own manufacturing capacity was soon exceeded, Lincoln sought to find a manufacturing partner for his ingenious design. Protected by Patent 8761 of 1904 the design will be familiar to many of us today, as it was highly influential and remains in production in one form or another almost 120 years later.

Lincoln Jefferies approached the manufacturing giant B.S.A. (Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd) which was best known for the manufacture of military rifles and small arms and entered in to a manufacturing partnership. B.S.A was receptive to the idea, having spare production capacity following the cessation of hostilities in South Africa and no new government orders on the books. An agreement was entered into whereby B.S.A. would manufacture the new air rifle for Lincoln Jeffries, to be sold under his trademarks. It was also

agreed that B.S.A. would be allowed to manufacture its own version of the rifle and market it under its own trademarks.

The rifle, of course, was a great success, initially for both parties, but while Lincoln Jeffries was able to satisfy the local market where he had an excellent reputation, B.S.A. was able to satisfy a much larger global market. B.S.A. had distributers in every corner of the British Empire, and through clever marketing of the rifle as sole manufacturers, ‘The B.S.A. Air Rifle (Lincoln Jeffries Patent)’ became a huge success for the firm.

Initially the rifles that B.S.A made for itself were clearly marked, but as its commercial dominance increased, mention of the inventor and patentee was quietly dropped.

Lincoln Jeffries had been out manoeuvred by the industrial giant, which watched him like a hawk. Every time Lincoln Jeffries came up with a new successful marketing strategy, it was copied by B.S.A., but on a march larger scale and with a larger budget. In the years prior to World War I, Lincoln Jeffries sold just over 5,000 of his revolutionary air rifles in Birmingham and the surrounding area, while B.S.A. sold over 70,000 of them. B.S.A continued building the air rifle, marketing it as its own design, and all reference to Lincoln Jeffries on the rifles had ceased by 1908. After World War I production resumed, and between 1919 and 1939 B.S.A. built well over 100,000 more rifles based on the Lincoln Jeffries patent.

George Lincoln Jeffries had failed to make his fortune from his innovative design, like his father, and died in 1931.

The name lives on, as the firm of Lincoln Jeffries still exists today, owned by his descendents and making air gun pellets, still in Birmingham. ■ www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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Collecting the Battle of Arras Edward Hallett considers some of the new tactics used during the Battle of Arras and focussing a collection around these

T

he Battle of Arras in 1917 was to see one of the greatest territorial advances by the British Army, up until that point in the war, as a result of innovative new combined arms and small unit infantry tactics. The battle featured the successful use of tanks, artillery and aircraft in combination with section tactics that replaced previous wave attacks and it is this move to recognisably modern tactics of war which has ensured that battle remains of interest to the historian and collector alike. There are many items of militaria out there with a World War I connection, but the focus here is on items that help tell the story of this innovative use of machines and men and there is plenty for the collector to look out for.

TANKS The tank had made its debut in World War I but it took time for the tactics for this new machine to be developed and Arras was the first truly successful use of the new machines. Early tanks were equipped with either 6 pounder guns (male tanks) or Lewis machine guns (female tanks), with both models also being equipped with Hotchkiss as secondary armament- the male had a Arras saw the coming together of tanks, artillery, aircraft and new small arms tactics to give the Allies a long sought for victory

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Tanks were issued with metal boxes to hold the ammunition for their secondary Hotchkiss machine guns

Splatter masks protected the tank crews’ faces from small bits of red hot spall when the tank was struck by fire pair of Hotchkiss machine guns in each sponson and another in the front, whilst female tanks just carried one Hotchkiss mounted in the front. The Hotchkiss fired ammunition from metal strips that were carried in special metal stowage boxes within the tank. These boxes are

COVER STORY

rare, but WD Militaria has an example for sale at £145 which, unusually, retains its internal dividers. Lewis guns also come up for auction or sale from time to time.

Colchester Militaria Shop currently has a deactivated Lewis gun for £7,750.

When under fire, early tanks had an unfortunate habit of sending pieces of red hot metal, called spall, flying around the interior. To protect the tank crew, special goggles and chain mail masks were provided to cover their faces with. These have been extensively faked over the years, however original examples do exist and buyers should always look to a dealer who will offer a quibble free money back guarantee on them. An original example is currently being offered by CS Militaria for £1,550. For tank crew, baling out was always the most dangerous part of any attack. If the tank was damaged and unable to move it became a large and very vulnerable target so the crew had to try and escape and return to their lines on foot, often in the midst of a raging battle.

The only personal weapons that could be carried inside an early tank were .455 Webley revolvers and these were carried in leather holsters worn on the hip.

These holsters were made of leather and Mons Militaria has a 1917-dated example for £75.

COLLECTING FEATURE

The Lewis machine gun was a lighter, and more portable, alternative to the Vickers. Examples come up for sale regularly Below: Cork and leather crash helmets were worn by some aircrew to protect them from bumps and knocks during aerial combat A Military Medal grouping won at the Battle of Arras by Sergeant Gaffney of the East Kent Regiment

Tank crews were issued with leather holsters to carry their Webley .455 revolvers

ROYAL FLYING CORPS The Royal Flying Corps committed many hundreds of planes to the Arras campaign, most in the Artillery Observation Role. These vulnerable aircraft observed the fall of artillery shells and radioed corrections back to the gunners to help them walk their shells onto target. The aircraft were particularly vulnerable as they had to fly at relatively slow speeds, at low level and in predictable patterns, however the work they did was crucial to the success of the artillery and in turn the outcome of the battle.

WD Militaria has an example of one of these early wireless transmitters carried in an aircraft for sale at £950.

The transmitter is an American made model, covered in canvas and painted black with brass terminals on one side to attach headphones and a Morse code key.

The technology was in its infancy and range limited, but it would prove the concept worked in large-scale campaigns and increased in importance and reliability as the century progressed.

Whilst most flying helmets of the period were simple leather skull caps, some more elaborate designs were developed with padding to help protect the head from bumping into the edges of the cockpit whilst the aircraft was

Early wireless radios allowed spotter planes to report the fall of shells during the battle and allow for corrections involved in the aerial acrobatics of a dogfight. One such helmet, used by the Royal Flying Corps, was the Roold Warren pattern of flying helmet that had cork pads and a large cork bumper around the circumference of the head.

It was covered in leather and had a padded cotton liner and saw use on the Western Front for several years.

Booklets of postcards with scenes of the battle were sold as souvenirs

The images in these books of postcards included scenes of the battle and its aftermath, with ruined villages popular choices for photographers

Original examples in good condition are scarce, the example on sale from Mons Militaria is a rare survivor and is priced at £1,050.

MEDALS There was a large Canadian contingent to the Allied order of battle and a Canadian runner, Private AE Hiller of the 7th Canadian Infantry Battalion, was to win the Military Medal for his conspicuous gallantry in taking messages between battalion and company headquarters under heavy fire during the battle between 28 and 30 April 1917, and for his part in rescuing a severely wounded Lieutenant and getting him to a first aid post, thus saving his life. His medal is being offered for sale by London Medals for £550.

For a full grouping of medals, the same dealer has a set awarded to Sergeant A Gaffney of the East Kent Regiment for bravery during the failed attack in the Third Battle of the Scarpe on 3rd May 1917, as part of the Arras Campaign. He appears to have been wounded and returned to the UK on 10 May, having won the Military Medal. The full set includes his Military Medal together with the 191415 Star, War Medal and Victory Medal.

The full grouping is priced at £695. www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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Collecting the Battle of Arras

Canadian troops wore brass shoulder titles with their nationality on them

Rubberised ponchos offered some protection from the worst of the weather during the campaign

The German M.16 helmet saw extensive issue and was an easy way of identifying the nationality of its wearer in battle

SOUVENIRS Like most other battlefields in Western Europe, by the 1920s Arras was a site of pilgrimage for many old soldiers who came back, often with their families, to revisit the most formative locations of their lives. Souvenir makers catered for these tourists and a range of trinkets and mementos were available that can still be found by collectors today, often for very reasonable prices. Little sweetheart broaches, made of brass and with the location marked on them were hugely popular souvenirs and DCM Medals is offering an example at £20.

It features the badge of the town above a sprig of foliage and with a scroll bearing the town’s name.

Books with postcards in them were also hugely popular. These booklets contained between 10 and 20 images of the town and battlefields and the postcards could either be detached to be sent home, or the whole book kept as a souvenir.

Bulldog Militaria has an example depicting scenes of the battlefields around Arras and the destruction to the town itself for £20.

The Battle of Arras was followed closely by those back home, just as they had followed many other campaigns across the war. The Daily Mail cashed in on this by producing colour maps that showed the battlefield and surrounding area so that the public could follow the battle and mark on the changing front lines. These maps originally cost 6d

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Left: Souvenir broaches were popular amongst tourists visiting the battlefield during the 1920s each, however if you want the section that covers Arras today, it will cost you £25 from Militaria Zone.

CANADIAN FORCES The Canadian contribution to the Arras campaign included the famous battles along Vimy Ridge and no collection focussing on Arras would be complete without including acknowledgement of the Canadian sacrifice here. One item of uniform that was invaluable in the trenches and fighting around Arras and Vimy was waterproof clothing, and although available it was only issued in limited amounts and so was highly prized by those who did have access to it.

The Canadians issued a black waterproofed The town of Arras depicted on a souvenir map that allowed the public back home to plot out the battle daily

The Daily Mail offered these maps for just 6d each, making them easily affordable to millions who wanted to track the progress of the war

canvas poncho that came down below the knees and secured up the front with metal hooks and eyes. These are incredibly scarce items today, but thecanadiansolier.com has an example of these important frontline garments for sale at 550CAD. For something a little smaller and affordable, Gradia Militaria has a pair of brass Canadian national titles at £30.

These were worn on the shoulder straps of a man’s uniform and took the form of a brass badge with the title ‘Canada’ in an arc surrounded by a border and with a pair of lugs on the rear to allow it to be attached with a cotter pin.

GERMAN FORCES Like the British and Empire, the German Army had evolved and adapted to the changing nature of war and presented a very different image to that of earlier in the war.

Widespread use of steel helmets to protect men from shrapnel had occurred and the distinctive ‘coal scuttle’ helmet was seen on many troops in the Battle of Arras.

World War I German helmets have become increasingly scarce, even more so in original, untouched condition.

A number of variations were produced during the war, however at the time of the Battle of Arras most men were still wearing the M.16 pattern of helmet and Regimentals Militaria has a nice example of this pattern for sale with its original liner and paintwork remaining.

There is some slight rust creeping through behind the paint, and so the price is a very reasonable £885. ■

Tommy’s Militaria

Antique and Modern Militaria We have been collecting and selling medals and militaria for many years and we look forward to helping you with some new finds for your collection.

No sensible offer refused.

Lay away available - Pay half now and half four weeks later.

British WW1 & WW2 Military Collectables

Tel - 0786671779 Email - mick.desborough@btinternet.com

07913 921880

www.antiqueandmodermilitaria.co.uk

tommysmilitaria@hotmail.com

BOSTOCK MEDALS ORDERS, DECORATIONS AND MEDALS (Specialisting in British) Brought, Sold and Exchanged

DBG Militaria would like to offer you original Please be aware items are posted daily from WW1 & WW2 British & German Militaria DBG Militaria so you can buy today and have of all types with some Polish & Canadian your item delivered the next day to a UK equipment included. I will also offer for sale military watches from WW1 & WW2 & a good address with items that have a postage charge.

Always seeking items to buy! selection of military books on equipment and events from the Boer war to post war period.

Contact Dave at dbgmilitaria@hotmail.co.uk or 07805 399132 www.dbgmilitaria.co.uk

Always a good selection in stock.

Wants lists accepted, callers (by appointment) welcome Always keen to acquire your unwanted items for immediate settlement.

ANDREW P. BOSTOCK ‘Pinewoods’ 15 Waller Close, Leek Wooton, Nr. Warwick CV35 7QG Phone: 01926 856381 Mobile: 07815 615512 Email: bostockmilitaria@aol.com

Website (regular update):

www.bostockmedals.co.uk

SURREY MILITARIA Cliff Wilton:07710 349838

www.surreymilitaria.com

THE MEN BEHIND THE GUN:

The Luger John Walter takes a look at the iconic German handgun of two world wars

A

s explained in The Armourer in November 2017, the origins of the Luger lie in the Maxim and interest shown by Ludwig Loewe & Company when the machine-gun was first demonstrated in Germany in the late 1880s.

Loewe had controlling interests in Waffenfabrik Mauser and also in Deutsche Metallpatronenfabrik of Karlsruhe, Germany's leading ammunition maker.

Among the freelance designers employed by Loewe was Hugo Borchardt who, after returning in the early 1890s from the Hungarian state firearms factory in Budapest, developed a handgun-size diminutive of the Maxim.

Patented in Germany in 1893, the Borchardt was the first self-loading pistol

Georg Luger, 1849-1923 (Reinhard Kornmayer)

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A Wehrmacht officer practices with his P. 08

A typical Borchardt C/93 pistol (Morphy Auctions) to show real military potential – though it could not match a carbine for power nor vie with revolvers for handiness. The enclosed toggle-actuating roller and the helical return spring were difficult to adjust: something sturdier and more compact was clearly needed.

Thus was born the Borchardt-Luger, better known simply as the Luger (or Parabellum in Germany).

Georg Luger was employed to refine Borchardt's design by Deutsche Waffen- & Munitionsfabriken, successor to Deutsche Metallpatronenfabrik.

Drawings accompanying his first patents show a pistol combining a rollertoggle mechanism with a raked grip. A prototype was exhibited in Switzerland in 1898, but returned to DWM before details could be recorded; and the validation of two guns that conform generally with the characteristics of the patent drawing may be questionable. By 4 May 1900, however, when the Luger was adopted for the Swiss army, the basic design had been settled.

Lugers were notoriously difficult to make, however. There was no margin for error where materials were concerned, specifications being controlled very carefully. Documents published in 1913,

for example, show the barrel was to have been Tiegelflussstahl (crucible ingot steel) containing 0.7% carbon, 0.65% manganese, 0.45% silicon, 0.11% copper, 0.42% phosphorus, 0.035% sulphur, and optional tungsten content no greater than 2.1%.

Opinions of the Luger have varied.

Hugh Pollard, an ex-British Army officer writing in Automatic Pistols in 1920: ‘As a piece of design it is curiously efficient...

It is wonderfully designed - theoretically capable of great things, but when taken practically it tends to breakdown through over-organisation, and its very virtues become defects.’

Yet the Luger is strong. The toggle-train admittedly takes a battering, particularly where the retraction grips strike the cam ramps, but wear is rarely bad enough to inhibit operation.

Owing to the change of motion necessary to release the lateral sear, the trigger mechanism is unsatisfactory. In addition, the return spring is efficient enough on the backward stroke, when there is sufficient kinetic energy to

FIREARM FEATURE

Borchardt-Luger No. 30, sold in 2015 for $57,500, was one of those tested in Switzerland in November 1899 and then in Britain in 1900 (Morphy Auctions)

The first true Borchardt-Luger, Versuchsmodell III No. 5, of 1898

9mm M1902 Luger No. 22089 (Morphy Auctions) Below: M1900 US Army trials pistols were distinguished by the displayed eagle over the chamber (Morphy Auctions)

A typical 9mm 1906-type Marine Modell 1904, the Navy Luger, with a coil-type return spring and toggle-grips without the suppressor (Morphy Auctions) compress it without difficulty, but the forward stroke depends entirely on influence which reduces progressively as the breechblock approaches the locking point. Consequently, Lugers can fail to recycle satisfactorily if cartridges fail to develop full power.

The different models Once the basic action had been perfected, only changes in detail were required: by 1906, for example, the rebound-suppressor in the toggle grip was abandoned, the original leaf-type return spring was replaced by a coil, and the rifling of 9mm guns changed from four grooves to six. A change made in 1916 allowed cocking with the safety catch applied. Yet the near facsimiles made in the USA in recent years by Mitchell Arms and Stoeger were still essentially the gun approved by the German army in 1908.

The 7.65mm 1900 or Old Pattern had a 12cm barrel, cutaway toggle grips with a rebound-suppressor set into the left grip, a leaf-type return spring and a gripsafety mechanism. The 9mm-calibre 1902 Pattern was identical excepting its 10cm barrel.

The 9mm 1904 or Marine Modell had

a 15cm barrel, diced-and-knurled toggle grips, and a grip safety. A combination extractor/loaded-chamber indicator had been added in the breechblock. The return spring of all but the earliest preproduction guns was coil-type.

The 7.65mm and 9mm New Models of 1906 customarily had 12cm or 10cm barrels respectively, diced-and-knurled toggle grips without the suppressor, coil-type return springs, and grip safeties. The frame of 9mm guns was customarily 2mm shorter than 7.65mm ‘long’ types, betrayed by the sharper transverse radius on the lower front edge beneath the barrel.

The 10cm-barrelled 9mm 1908 or Armee Modell, adopted on 22 August 1908, had diced-and-knurled toggle grips and a short frame, but lacked the grip safety. However, in 1913, a stock-lug was added on the butt heel and the hold-open, which had been omitted, reappeared.

The Lange Pistole 1908, accepted on 2 July 1913 (except in Bavaria), with a tangent-leaf back sight on the 20cm barrel, is still widely, if mistakenly, known as the Artillery Luger.

Adopted on 30 November 1929, the 7.65mm Swiss Pistole 06/29 W+F had

a 12cm barrel, a simplified form of the 1906 Pattern long frame with a straightfront grip, plain-surface toggle grips, and an elongated grip safety.

The Mauser-Parabellums 29/70 (1970) and 06/73 (1973), developed at the behest of Interarms, were offered in 7.65mm or 9mm, with barrels of 10cm, 12cm or 15cm. The 29/70 had a straight Swiss-style grip, while the 06/73 reverted to a bulbous German-style grip.

A guide to markings • Model designations don’t appear, with the exception of the Persian contract guns (marked ‘Model 1314’ in Arabic) and the German Lugers that bore ‘P. 08’ on the left side of the frame.

• Manufacturing marks with only a few exceptions - the 1908-type Bulgarian guns have the mark above the chamber while some Krieghoff examples are marked on the left side of the frame - are found on the toggle-link immediately behind the breechblock.

Deutsche Waffen- & Munitionsfabriken AG used a ‘DWM’ monogram, which was perpetuated on some of the earliest Mauser-made contract guns. The royal Prussian small-arms factory used a www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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The Luger

The first DWM-made Pistolen 1908 had inspectors’ marks on the left side, and lacked a stock lug on the heel of the butt (Morphy Auctions) Above: The 1908-type Bulgarian Luger had a lanyard ring on the butt (Morphy Auctions)

The back sight of the LP. 08; the double-dated chamber is just visible (Morphy Auctions) Left: Lange Pistole 08 No. 9174h, made in 1917, reissued in 1920 and used by the Nordseeflotte of the Reichsmarine (Morphy Auctions) crowned ‘ERFURT’ mark in 1911-18.

Simson & Co. of Suhl used the company name from 1922 until 1935. The Swiss state firearms factory used ‘BERN’ and then an encircled ‘w+f’ monogram, 192447. Mauser-Werke AG of Oberndorf used the Mauser Banner and codes ‘S/42’, ‘42’ and ‘byf’ from 1930 until 1946. Heinrich Krieghoff of Suhl used the company name or a trademark comprising ‘H’, ‘K’ and an anchor on guns made between 1936 and 1945. Mauser-Jagdwaffen GmbH of Oberndorf used an Original Mauser banner in 1970-90.

A few thousand 1906-type Lugers with toggles marked ‘VICKERS LTD’ – assembled from British-made parts – were dispatched to the Netherlands Indies Army in 1921. Lugers have also been associated with the Prussian government factory in Spandau, but these were DWM- or Erfurt-made guns rejected at proof or inspection stages and then

reworked for acceptance by the RevisionsCommission (mark: crowned ‘RC’).

• National markings can appear above the chamber or, more rarely, on the front toggle-link. Most are identifiable: the Swiss Cross of Helvetia, or the Bald Eagle of the USA. However, they could change; the first 800 guns delivered to the Portuguese navy had a crown above an anchor, but, as the king had been deposed, 200 followed with ‘R.P.’ for Republica Portuguésa replacing the crown.

• Property marks included an imperial crown over ‘M’ used by the Kaiserliche Marine, the encircled ‘B’ of the Brazilian army, ‘SA’ within a square border used by the Finnish Army, the US Army’s small ‘flaming bomb’ (officially termed a grenade), a small lion used by the Bulgarian army, and the encircled ‘KL’ monogram, representing Kolonien, of the Netherlands Indies Army.

• Safety and extractor markings

include ‘GELADEN’ on the extractor blade and ‘GESICHERT’ in the safety-lever recess of German Lugers. Dutch guns have ‘GELADEN’ on both sides of the extractor, with ‘RUST’ and an arrow in the safety-lever recess. English versions — ‘LOADED’ and ‘SAFE’ — will be found on guns intended for export, particularly to the USA, and others may be marked in Spanish (‘CARGADO’ and ‘SEGURANÇA’).

Guns supplied to Russia and Bulgaria are marked in Cyrillic, though there’s a difference between them: those sent to Russia are said to have borne ‘ЗАРЯДЪ’ on the extractor and ‘ОГЬНЪ’ on the safety. The Bulgarian extractor showed ‘ПЪЛЕНЪ’, but the safety mark differed only in the elision of the second and third characters of the Russian version.

Turkish guns display ‘ates’ and ‘emniyet’, while Persian-contract guns are marked in Arabic. Lugers supplied to Siam, however, bore no special marks.

The Baby Luger, four of which were made in the early 1920s as an unsuccessful marketing exercise (Morphy Auctions)

Turkish 1908-type Luger No. 829. Note the safety-recess mark (Morphy Auctions)

Dutch M1911 (1906-type) KNIL Luger No. 9746, showing the distinctive safety-recess mark and the brass plate with unit marks (Morphy Auctions)

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FIREARM FEATURE Right: One of the 7.65mm commemorative pistols, No. 200 of 250, made by MauserJagdwaffen to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Luger in Switzerland (Morphy Auctions)

The Krieghoff P.08 was made for the Luftwaffe thanks to the influence of Hermann Goering. This highly decorative cased example sold in 2012 for $75,000 (Morphy Auctions) • Dates. German Army guns may be dated above the chamber: in full from 1909, coded in 1934 (‘K’) and 1935 (‘G’), in full again in 1936, and then as two digits ‘3642’. An additional 1920 date distinguishes World War I guns issued to the Reichswehr under restrictions imposed by the Versailles Treaty. Some Dutch guns may display re-barrelling dates.

• Serial numbers will normally be found on the barrel, the frame and the receiverside, and the last two digits may appear on individual parts such as the sear, the trigger plate, the dismantling catch and the toggle links. Contract Lugers were usually numbered in separate series, though some made by Mauser for Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey were taken from ‘u’ and ‘v’ suffix commercial sequences.

German Army Lugers were numbered in groups of 10,000, distinguished by a small suffix letter once the first or no-letter group had been completed – beginning at ‘a’ and theoretically proceeding to ‘z’, omitting ‘i’. But the involvement of several manufacturers and production spread over many years means there can be several Lugers numbered 1234a.

So it’s necessary to catalogue a Luger as ‘1908 10cm-barrel German army pattern, serial number 1234a, DWM, 1917’. The barrel length should be included, as 10cm and 20cm-barrelled guns with identical number/date combinations were made prior to 1918.

• Proof and inspectors’ marks show that the guns had successfully fired cartridges giving 50% greater pressure than normal. Consequently, German Army pistols display a small eagle on the barrel, the frame and the receiver; the style of the eagle can reveal which manufacturer was involved, though, as the life of punches was finite, minor variations can be expected.

Pistols sold commercially may bear

Typical barrel marks found on an LP. 08 – serial number, numbersuffix, and the actual calibre (8.83mm)

crowned letters ‘B’, ‘U’ and ‘G’ – Beschußstempel, signifying proof in finished state; Untersuchungsstempel,, the view-mark; and Gezogenerlaufstempel denoting a rifled barrel. The twocomponent nitro proof used prior to 1911, comprising a small crown and a crowned ‘N’, may also be found. A simple crowned ‘N’ was substituted in 1912 and an eagle over ‘N’ followed in 1940, though Lugers made by Mauser in the 1930s were sometimes marked with a crown and a crowned ‘U’.

Lugers imported into Britain after 1925, when German proofs were no longer recognised, have supplementary marks applied either in London (‘NP’ beneath an arm-and-scimitar and ‘V’ beneath a crown) or in Birmingham (crown over ‘NP’ and crown over ‘BV’).

Austro-Hungarian, Belgian, French and Italian proofs may also be encountered.

German military inspectors applied small crowned Fraktur letters (pre-1918) or numbers accompanied by tiny eagles (1920s onward). The eagles became progressively simpler, gradually losing their bird-like appearance.

• Unit marks were applied in Germany by the Army, the Navy, state and national police services, and the Dutch used them on Lugers issued to the Netherland Indies Army. Details of the German marks can be found in The Armourer for September and November 2019. Most lie on the grip strap beneath the trigger guard, and it's not unknown to find several unit marks chronicling changes in issue. Military Lugers rarely bear names, unless purchased privately.

Pistolen 1908 issued to rank-and-file were considered to be Army property, though officers could purchase them if desired. ■ Acknowledgements: Sarah Stolzfus of Morphy’s Auctions for excellent images (www.morphyauctions.com).

Commercial 1908type Luger No. 82081 was sold in the 1920s

by Berlin-Karlsruher Industrie-Werke, successor to DWM (Morphy Auctions)

i

COLLECTOR’S CORNER

About three million Lugers were made, and a surprisingly high survival rate has created lasting interest. However, it’s a business that attracts fakers so accurate cataloguing is essential!

Currently, Arundel Militaria (www. deactivated-guns.co.uk) is selling a deactivated 1912-dated Erfurt P. 08 with regimental markings for £1,495, but prices for live-fire Lugers depend greatly on scarcity. For example, Morphy Auctions sold a P.08 made by DWM in 1918 for $1,000 in December 2020, but a Simson & Co ‘S Code’ P. 08 went for £5,228 in May 2020, and a Krieghoff P. 08 dated ‘1937’, largely because of Luftwaffe links, fetched $12,300 in 2018.

The cased Krieghoff presentation gun No. 17232 reached $75,000 in 2012.

DWM Prototype 10030B sold in 2013 for $50,909, and Baby Luger No. 4 for $60,000 in 2014.

www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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PRINT FEATURE

The Print Inspector Ray Westlake looks at an officer of the 2nd Life Guards from 1837

H

ere we have an original watercolour, 16.3cm x 18.4cm, by Richard Simkin, dated by the artist as 1837. Simkin was born in Herne Bay, Kent on 5 November 1850 and died there on 25 June 1926, having produced many hundreds of images for both

Aiguillette, twisted gold cord worn under the epaulette on the right shoulder only.

Steel cuirass, the leather straps being crimson with gilt fittings

general publication and as special private commissions.

Dating from 1660, the several troops of Life Guards were organised into two separate regiments in 1788. They remained as such until 1922 when the 1st Life Guards and 2nd Life Guards merged to form the Life Guards. ■

Bear-skin cap, 14in deep in front with gold bullion tassels on the right side and white swan feathers that bend over the top of the cap from left to right.

The chin-strap is made up of gilt scales attached to the cap by lionhead roses.

The device at the front is a gilt grenade bearing the royal arms.

Pouch-belt, gold lace with gilt mountings.

The blue flask cord of the 2nd Regiment runs through the centre of the belt - the 1st having red.

Epaulette, gold embroidered shellstrap, with bullion fringes 3in deep.

Sash, crimson and gold with pendant tassels.

Black lambskin seat cover.

Sabretache, black leather with gold lace and silver and gold embroidery.

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

Coat, scarlet, singlebreasted with a blue velvet collar decorated at the front with gold embroidery.

The skirts have blue turnbacks.

Unseen in the painting are the coat’s nine gilt buttons down the front and blue velvet pointed cuffs.

Shabracque, blue cloth with a border of gold lace 2½in wide on a scarlet ground. The embroidery at the rear has the Star of the Order of the Garter above a grenade and the regimental number.

VINTAGE FIReWORK COLLECTOR DO NOT LIGHT THE BLUE TOUCH PAPER AND BURN BRITISH HERITAGE. PRIVATE COLLECTOR WILL PAY CASH AND COLLECT FROM ANYWHERE. LICENSED EXPLOSIVE STORAGE.

CALL TONY 07956 506 300

PAUL M. AMBROSE ANTIQUES 929 White Plains Rd, Ste. 183 Trumbull, CT 06611 USA

Tel/Fax: (203) 452-9035 (USA) www.ambroseantiques.com

Our Showroom is now open! Visit us in Hythe, Kent for a huge range of militaria and police collectables or order online at:

www.timemilitaria.com 07905 747791

01303 261002

info@timemilitaria.com

York Military Books 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. Shop visits by appointment only.

Unit One, Walnut Tree Farm, Silver Street, Besthorpe, Norfolk NR17 2LF • Tel: 01953 454744

www.grahamcurriemilitaria.co.uk

Military, Naval, Aviation & Militaria Books bought & sold.

Relevant part or whole collections always sought Tel: 01423 360828 Mob: 07717 155619

www.yorkmilitarybooks.co.uk

Q & C

MARK AND DAVID HAWKINS OF

MILITARIA

THE LANES ARMOURY

22 Suffolk Road, Cheltenham GL50 2AQ RFD Glos D167 Telephone: 01242 519815 Mobile Telephone: 07778 613977 qcmilitaria@btconnect.com 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

26 MEETINGHOUSE LANE • THE LANES • BRIGHTON • EAST SUSSEX • BN1 1HB • UK

TEL: 01273 321357 (INTERNATIONAL TEL: 00 44 1273 321357) EMAIL: mail@thelanesarmoury.co.uk

INVITE YOU TO OUR AMAZING WEBSTORE

www.TheLanesArmoury.co.uk Probably the best source for original Samurai Swords, worldwide Antique Swords, Guns, Militaria & Armour in Europe Family dealers since the Reign of King George V. Also, military book specialists To GOOGLE us worldwide, just enter LANES ARMOURY

Books and militaria reviews

reviewsroundup

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

The Complete Knight’s Cross Vol. 1 KEVIN BRAZIER The first volume of three, this is subtitled, The Years of Victory 1939-1941, which means you get awardees numbers one to 1,267.

The awards are listed in order of when they were bestowed with details for each recipient including rank and name, the reason why they got the award and what happened to them. The write ups also include interesting stories and whether any further awards were added, such as Oak Leaves, Swords, Diamonds and the Golden award. These are fascinating and serve both as useful research and prompts to find out more about the person. The middle part of the book has photos of the awardees, mostly in uniform, as well as their graves. It’s going to be an expensive

JAMES C GOODALL

set of three books to collect, but for those interested in the Knight’s Cross, surely an essential one. ■ • Fonthill Media • ISBN 978-1-7815-5781-5 • 412 pages • Hardback • £36

No Wider War

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

The full title of this whopping, luxurious book is 75 Years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works.

It’s the story of the company that was founded in 1943 to develop a high altitude jet interceptor and has remained at the forefront of aviation technology ever since. There are over 800 photos of the 46 unclassified projects detailed here, from the U-2 spy plane to the F-35. It’s not all jet fighters though, there are cruise missiles and, as we get to the later years, all kinds of imaginative projects. One of the last ones is the SR-72 project, an unmanned hypersonic spy

plane pencilled in for 2030 that was commissioned by NASA. Obviously, Skunk Works is also working other, advanced projects, but these are classified, so the final parts of the book are more about concepts.

Regardless of that, with superb production design, endless behind the scenes photography, this is a real coffee table book for aviation lovers. ■ • Osprey Publishing • ISBN 978-1-4728-4647-1 • 388 pages • Hardback • £50

Seelöwe, Then and Now

SERGIO MILLER In this second volume of Sergio Miller’s epic treatment of the Vietnam War, the American combat troops have arrived and the year is 1965. By 1967 it wasn’t going well, and Miller reveals how Washington analysts relied on poor quality data from the field to fight the PR battle at home. Then the Tet Offensive of 1968 happened and the Americans were pushed to the limit. What’s fascinating is the contrast between the soldiers and their stories in the hellish jungles and the politically driven strategy of the administration at home. By 1973 it was obvious that it was all over, yet the politicians were scrabbling to put a gloss on the

75 Years of Lockheed Martin

WINSTON RAMSEY

withdrawal while the soldiers pointlessly fought on.

With photo plate sections and a wealth of detail, this is the story of the Vietnam War from the paddy fields to Washington. An excellent read. ■ • Osprey Publishing • ISBN 978-1-4728-3851-3 • 532 pages • Hardback • £30

Operation Seelöwe was, of course, the German plan to invade Britain, which is getting the After the Battle treatment here. Now, as the Germans obviously never made it over the Channel, it requires some tweaking from the normal format of these books, so this one is subtitled, The Road to Germany’s Planned Invasion of Britain Then and Now. After digesting that mouthful, first up is the diary of events showing the timeline, then we are right back to the very beginning of WWII and the first incursions into Poland and Czechoslovakia. Then we have the Battle of Westerplate, which we have covered in The Armourer previously. All of these are old articles, by different writers,

rounded up to tell the story of the early years of WWII and the preparation of Seelöwe in the various ports.

The design is still awful but the production values of glossy paper and photo reproduction are very good and it all fits together in a piecemeal kind of way. ■ • After the Battle • ISBN 978-1-8700-6702-7 • 180 pages • Hardback • £29.95

SIGNALS

Kingmaker: Winter Pilgrims TOWTON AUDIO Based on Winter Pilgrims, the first book in the Kingmaker series by Toby Clements, this is a story set in the 1460s, the middle of the War of the Roses. There are two main protagonists who are also the main narrators, with contributions from the supporting cast. There’s certainly no expenses spared in the production, with enthusiastic sound effects, singing and period music aplenty. It starts with the pair of them bickering, but it soon improves, with dramatic delivery and clear descriptions of the action. There’s depth to the audio, enabling you to visualise where people are. Certainly having a large cast makes this a true audio drama, rather than just an audiobook. If you’re interested in the period, it’s a high quality production. ■ • Towton Audio • kingmakeraudio.com • Five, 60min episodes, £4.99 each

TBF/TBM Avenger

Verdun & Somme

Wellington’s Infantry

DAVID DOYLE

JOSHUA BILTON

GABRIELE ESPOSITO

One of the Legends of Warfare: Aviation series, this is the squat nosed American torpedo bomber of WWII. With a square format and good quality paper you get copious photography showing the Avenger from every angle, inside and out.

There’s the history of the development and seeing it in action in the Pacific where it was the first American plane to be used in this role. The tech specs for various versions pop up here and there and while it’s more photos than text, it's the informative captions that really add value to the story. ■

Part of the Germany in the Great War series, these are the battles of 1916, as seen from the perspective of Germany and her allies. Despite the title, it’s not just the Western Front that’s covered, there’s the war against Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Each chapter starts with a couple of pages of text to set the scene and then it’s all photographs. The problem for a book that is all about the photos is that the reproduction is overwhelmingly poor. Everything is muddy. The mediocre paper doesn’t help and while WWI images are never great quality, the failing here is the production. ■

Regular readers will be familiar with Gabriele’s organisation features for The Armourer, and that’s essentially what this book is, with a look at the makeup of Wellington’s Light Infantry. It’s not just the organisation though, there’s also uniforms, weapons, equipment and tactics. The Guards, line regiments, Light Infantry and Rifles and Scottish regiments are covered, not just in the Peninsular War and Waterloo campaigns, but also in Canada, West Indies and India. With excellent quality paper, it’s a solid look Wellington’s men. ■

• Schiffer Publishing • ISBN 978-0-7643-5939-2 • 116 pages • Hardback • £18.99

• Pen & Sword • ISBN 978-1-4738-7689-7 • 242 pages • Softcover • £19.99

• Pen and Sword • ISBN 978-1-5267-8667-8 • 148 pages • Hardback • £19.99

US Soldier versus British Soldier GREGG ADAMS

Soviet T-62 MBT KINNEAR/SEWELL

This is No. 54 in the Combat series, which takes us to the War of 1812 and Britain’s activities in the Colonies while facing Napoleon in Europe.

It centres on three battles, at Queenston Heights, Crysler’s Farm and Chippawa with tactical maps, illustrations and a few re-enactment photos. If there’s any criticism it’s that there’s not enough detail on the British forces (each side gets two annotated figures) and too much space wasted on period portraits of numerous commanders.

The text is fine, just the overall production not as good as previous ones. ■

The iconic Soviet tank of the Cold War is explored, from prototypes

• Osprey Publishing • ISBN 978-1-4728-4167-4 • 82 pages • Softcover • £13.99

to mass production, in this glossy, well produced book from Osprey.

Given Soviet bureaucracy, it’s a miracle that they managed to produce anything at all, let alone an era-defining tank. There were, at the start, three competing clans of tank development and it was these that had to fight it out in order to come up with the design which gave thicker armour and a more powerful gun compared to the T-55 that it replaced. All the design machinations are here, along with lots of photos from inside the tank. The book combines technical detail with political background and coffee table looks. ■ • Osprey Publishing • ISBN 978-1-4728-4822-2 • 228 pages • Hardback • £30 www.armourer.co.uk // July 2021

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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: armourer@warnersgroup.co.uk

GARDENING IN WARTIME The three officers in the photo are John Searby, Guy Gibson and Peter Ward-Hunt at RAF Syerston, Notts in 1943. I met Peter on several occasions and he told me that Gibbo encouraged them in the pursuit of gardening although aircrew were keener to visit the Blackboy, Palais and other places of entertainment in nearby Nottingham. Imagine my surprise when I was sent this photo which clearly shows officers and clerks actively gardening. Gibbo is there with his dog, whose name we all know! The tall officer on the right

is the academic John Wooldridge, a brilliant pilot who later wrote the story, film score and contributed to the screenplay for the wonderful film on Bomber Command, Appointment in London.

Gibson left 106 Squadron at Syerston to form 617 (Dambusters).

He clearly recognised the stress aircrew suffered and encouraged gardening as a relaxing therapy.

Tim Chamberlin by email Ed says: Great photos Tim, thank you for sharing. I would imagine that gardening would be some light relief during wartime.

ENGLISH CIVIL WAR Thank you to Neil Melville for spotting the caption mix up in my English Civil War piece in April. I apologise for this and any other errors, past or present. Now that copy goes direct from author to print I can only blame myself.

For some reason proof reading ones own work is harder than it should be! At least it tells me that someone out there is reading the final result!

Graham Priest by email

AUCTIONS I am writing in regard to Steve Woolnough recent’s article responding to a letter about auction house activities. I have been a paid employee of several auction houses for 40 years, until recent retirement, so feel I’ve probably seen it all at some stage. I would concur that most of what the letter writer stated has, and does still happen, though the advent of online bidding has created less opportunity.

Whilst working at auction houses I was inundated with dealers wanting to be my friend to give them the nod when something interesting came in. Many porters, who just got paid for the days worked, were dealers. This even included older ladies who dealt in jewellery and ceramics. Nearly everyone had an interest in being involved.

I don’t think it was out of the goodness of their heart but for a financial advantage. Waiving of commission was normally preagreed up to a limit, but buying up to £1,000 wasn't frowned upon, as everyone benefitted.

I think the main issue was who

was involved. Did the cataloguer deliberately under describe that single decal helmet with maker’s marks as just an old army helmet?

Slipping it into the middle of the catalogue, which was only available a few days earlier to read, with viewing on the morning of sale, with the helmet discreetly out of obvious sight for viewing?

The point about sellers being present is valid but many sales are from estates of the deceased, with vast collections being disposed of at the auction house.

The issue of pushing bids up has always gone on, with sometimes bids being taken off the wall or a dealer pushing up his own items.

I’ve lost count of buyers who didn’t realise they had won the item as the high bidder melted away.

Arthur, by email Ed says: When money is involved, there will always be someone looking to gain an unfair advantage. The best advice is to avoid auction houses where you feel they tolerate shady dealings. Stick to those companies that are above board and give them your business.

NEXT MONTH – AUGUST 2021 ISSUE Of the 42 plots to kill Adolf Hitler none were more audacious than that of Operation Valkerie. It combined both a bomb plot to assassinate the Führer during a meeting at the Wolfsschanze and a scheme to use the Reserve Army to seize key installation in Berlins while rounding up leading members of the NSDAP. By July 1944 defeat of the Third Reich was assured with the Allies in Normandy and the Soviets crushing German armies in the East. Hitler was determined to fight on to the bitter end, and only a change of leadership could rescue Germany. Claus von Stauffenberg, a

Colonel in the Army, was given the task of planting the bomb and of all the attempts on Hitler’s life, this was the one that came closest. Read our cover story to find out the details.

We also have Third Reich military daggers, the raid on Kronstadt in WWI, the Polar medal of 1904, the latest ways of displaying and maintaining your militaria collection, and a look at one of the CIA’s strangest weapons. On the classics side we’re looking at the Macedonian army of Alexander the Great and the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-1816. ■

August 2021 issue on sale 1 July. Subscribe to receive your next issue by post at www.armourer.co.uk OR download the digital edition 7 DAYS EARLIER on 24 June at www.pocketmags.com/armourer.

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

Paul Meekins • 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

www.airborne-cricket.com www.WarWhistles.com • Produced in the original factory • On the original dies • Ideal gift for the reenactor or collector

Military & History Books

RAF Kenley Aerojumble Sunday 20th June 9.00am

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Thousands of secondhand, out of print, and new books Military and Social History Ancient to 21st Century 01789 722434 paul@paulmeekins.co.uk

RAF Kenley CR3 5LT 07860 762277 aviationantiques.co.uk

ART & ARMS We offer a unique collection of antique swords; military headwear and antique paintings from the Isle of Man.

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DCM Medals Dealers in Orders, Decorations and Campaign Medals

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

www.artandarms.co.uk info@artandarms.co.uk • +44 (0) 7624 432172

The Hertfordshire Militaria & Medal fair

Sunday 27th June Rickmansworth School, Scots Hill, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 3AQ Preview Admission: 9am - 10am £4 General Admission: 10am - 2pm £2.50 Accompanied under 12s FREE

sovereignfairs@aol.com www.hertfordshiremilitariamedalfair.com

Fortress Militaria Welcome to Fortress Militaria

Visit our NEW website, updated with new stock every week e.mail - info@dcmmedals.com Website - www.dcmmedals.co.uk 21, The Parade, St Mary’s Place, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1DL

Tel: +44(0)1743 600951; Evenings - 07793 707324

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

01438 811657 01923 448903

Buying militaria

Auction & Fair Due to the on-going situation and in accordance with Government advice, some fairs and auctions are now taking place.

Please contact the auction houses and organisers directly for up to date information.

AUCTIONS 1 June 2021 Hermann Historica T: 0049 0 89 54 72 64 90 www.hermann-historica.com contact@hermann-historica.com

2 June2021 Hermann Historica T: 0049 0 89 54 72 64 90 www.hermann-historica.com contact@hermann-historica.com

10 June 2021 Southams T: 01234 266 366 www.southamsauction.co.uk guns@southamsauction.co.uk

10 - 12 June 2021 Rock Island Auctioneers T: 001 309 797 1500 www.rockislandauction.com info@rockislandauction.com

16 June 2021 Dix Noonan Webb T: 020 7016 1700 www.dnw.co.uk medals@dnw.co.uk

16 June 2021 Warwick & Warwick T: 01926 499031 www.warwickandwarwick.com richard.beale@warwickandwarwick.com

24 June 2021 Hermann Historica T: 0049 0 89 54 72 64 90

7 July 2021 C&T Auctions T: 01233 510050

www.hermann-historica.com contact@hermann-historica.com

www.candtauctions.co.uk enquiries@candtauctions.co.uk

25 June 2021 Durrants T: 01502 713490

14 July 2021 Dix Noonan Webb T: 020 7016 1700

www.durrantsauctions.com auctionrooms@durrants.com

25 June 2021 Hermann Historica T: 0049 0 89 54 72 64 90 www.hermann-historica.com contact@hermann-historica.com

30 June 2021 Tennants T: 01969 623780 www.tennants.co.uk enquiry@tennants-ltd.co.uk

30 June 2021 C&T Auctions T: 01233 510050 www.candtauctions.co.uk enquiries@candtauctions.co.uk

30 June 2021 Rock Island Auctioneers T: 001 309 797 1500 www.rockislandauction.com info@rockislandauction.com

www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk nc@woolleyandwallis.co.uk

30 June 2021 Bosleys T: 01628 488188 www.bosleys.co.uk sales@bosleys.co.uk

24 June 2021 Toovey's T: 01903 891955

3 - 11 July 2021 ratisbon's T: 0049 941 4670016

www.tooveys.com auctions@tooveys.com

www.ratisbons.com info@ratisbons.com

22 June 2021 Woolley & Wallis T: 01722 341469

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

www.dnw.co.uk medals@dnw.co.uk

FAIRS 20 June 2021 The International Birmingham Antique Arms & Militaria Fair T: 07955 826009 www.birminghamarmsfair.com ED CELL N info@birminghamarmsfair.com A C 20 June 2021 RAF Kenley Aerojumble and Military Fair T: 07860762277 acebellaviation@aol.com

27 June 2021 The Hertfordshire Militaria & Medal Fair T: 01438 811657 OR 01923 448903 www.hertfordshiremilitariamedalfair.com sovereignfairs@aol.com

27 June 2021 Newark Arms Fair T: 01423 780759 www.northernarmsfairs.co.uk

4 July 2021 Thetford Militaria Fair T: 07596 436260 www.thetfordmilitariafair.com thetfordmilitariafair@gmail.com

11 July 2021 Giant Leeds Arms Fair T: 01423 780759 www.northernarmsfairs.co.uk

guns@southamsauction.co.uk

enquiries@candtauctions.co.uk www.candtauctions.co.uk

AuctionRooms@durrants.com

■ The Canterbury Auction Galleries

■ Bishop & Miller

BERKSHIRE

Canterbury,

Stowmarket, Tel: 01449 673088

■ Special Auction Services

Tel: 01227 763337

www.bishopandmillerauctions.co.uk

Newbury, Tel: 01635 580595

www.thecanterburyauctiongalleries.com

enquiries@bm-auctions.co.uk

Beccles, Tel: 01502 713490

www.southamsauction.co.uk

mail@specialauctionservices.com

LONDON adam@specialauctionservices.com www.specialauctionservices.com

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

SURREY

■ Morton & Eden London, Tel: 020 7493 5344

■ Ewbank’s Auctioneers

info@mortonandeden.com

Woking, Tel: 01483 223 101

www.mortonandeden.com

valuations@ewbankauctions.co.uk

■ Bosleys Marlow, Tel: 01628 488188 sales@bosleys.co.uk www.bosleys.co.uk

www.ewbankauctions.co.uk

■ Dix Noonan Webb London, Tel: 020 70161 700 medals@dnw.co.uk

WEST SUSSEX

www.dnw.co.uk

■ Tooveys Washington, Tel: 01903 891955

DEVON

SHROPSHIRE

■ Greenslade Taylor Hunt

■ Mullocks Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers

Tiverton, Tel: 01823 332525

Church Stretton,

Mullock’s

www.gth.net

Tel: 01694 771771

Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers

antiques.saleroom@gth.net

auctions@mullocksauctions.co.uk

auctions@tooveys.com www.tooveys.com

WILTSHIRE

www.mullocksauctions.co.uk

■ Woolley & Wallis ESSEX

■ 2020 Auctions

Salisbury, Tel: 01722 341469

■ Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers

Shrewsbury,

nc@woolleyandwallis.co.uk

Essex, 01279 817778

Tel: 01694 731781

auctions@sworder.co.uk

info@2020auctions.co.uk

www.sworder.co.uk

■ Reeman Dansie Auctions

www.2020auctions.co.uk

YORKSHIRE SOMERSET

■ Tennants Auctioneers

■ Greenslade Taylor Hunt

Leyburn, Tel: 01969 623780

Colchester, Tel : 01206 754754

Taunton, Tel: 01823 332525

auctions@reemandansie.com

www.gth.net

www.reemandansie.com

antiques.saleroom@gth.net

GLOUCESTERSHIRE ■ Dominic Winter Cirencester, Tel: 01285 860006

www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk

STAFFORDSHIRE ■ Marlows

enquiry@tennants-ltd.co.uk www.tennants.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL ■ ratisbon’s Online Auctions

Stafford, Tel: 01785 214100 or 07789 628030

Germany, Tel: 0049 941 46 70016

henry@dominicwinter.co.uk

mail@marlowsauctions.co.uk

info@ratisbons.com

www.dominicwinter.co.uk

www.marlowsauctions.co.uk

www.ratisbons.com

AUCTION ROOMS

Bedford, Tel: 01234 266366

AGRICULTURAL

■ Durrants

Kenardington, Tel: 01233 510050

ON SITE AUCTIONS

■ C&T Auctioneers and Valuers

COMMERCIAL

■ Southams Auctioneers

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

SUFFOLK BUILDING CONSULTANCY

KENT

HOLIDAY COTTAGES

BEDFORDSHIRE

RESIDENTIAL

AUCTIONEER LISTING

Competition

Book competition

WIN 2 copies of…

75 Years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works

WIN 2 copies of… Soviet T-62 MBT

If you’re a fan of military aviation and high tech concepts then pull up a chair and feast your eyes on this wide format, coffee table book about the famous development company. It’s all about the people that made the company and the projects that they created, starting with a high altitude interceptor and progressing on to the U-2 spy plane and ever more exotic airframes.

Now, thanks to the generosity of specialist book publisher, Osprey Publishing, we have two copies to give away. Simply answer the question below and go to the website to enter. ■

The T-62 was every bit the iconic Cold War Soviet tank as the T-34 was to WWII. This is a superb, glossy look inside both the political background, the development process and the technical aspects of the tank.

Full of photos it’s the complete guide to this stalwart of the Soviet Army.

We have two copies of this fascinating book up for grabs, thanks to our friends at Osprey.

You’ll need to go online to our website, details below, in order to enter. ■

WORTH

£100

WORTH

£60

HOW TO ENTER We have two prize bundles up for grab, with two winners each bagging one copy of 75 Years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, one copy of Soviet T-62 MBT and one copy of US Soldier versus British Soldier.

The prizes have been supplied thanks to the generosity of specialist book publisher, Osprey Publishing. You can see the wide range of book titles at www.ospreypublishing.com.

The two competition winners will be drawn at random from those with the correct answer. All you

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July 2021 // www.armourer.co.uk

have to do is answer the following question and go to www.armourer.co.uk to enter. Please note that due to the weight of the prizes this month, the competition is only open to residents of the UK

QUESTION What year was Lockheed Martin Skunk Works founded?

ANSWER (A) 1933 (B) 1943 (C) 1953

ENTER ONLINE TODAY!

WIN 2 copies of…

US Soldier versus British Soldier Another of Osprey’s Combat series which takes an in-depth look at the protagonists of particular conflicts.

In this case it’s the War of 1812 and British soldiers versus Americans in three key battles. You get to look at the uniforms, weapons and tactics of both sides.

Thanks to the generosity of military book publisher Osprey Publishing we have two copies of this informative book for you to win. See the details below to enter. ■

WORTH

£28

RULES AND REGULATIONS Entries close at midnight 4 July 2021. One entry per person. To enter you must answer the question correctly and entries received after this date will not be accepted. Only UK residents are eligible to enter this competition. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.armourer.co.uk.

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.

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Read more from us…

If you have enjoyed The Armourer here’s six more magazines from us to try.

Iron Cross The UK’s only German military history magazine covering the period 19181945. Contains exclusive features and images.

The Battle of Britain in Colour Nothing like this has ever been produced before – read about the Battle of Britain through colourised images from the period.

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Leave us a review ★★★★★ 5/5

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If you have enjoyed this magazine then do the next thing to shouting it from the rooftops and leave us a review instead! We all like to know when something is good and if something has been rated highly by others. Leave us a review to let new customers know what you think to The Armourer.

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“Praise where due. This is the best magazine available which I have read - I am very impressed.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading each chapter and it was written in such an easy style.

It covered every aspect and I was saddened when I reached the end.”

This 164-page special collector’s edition commemorates the 80th Anniversary of the momentous Battle of Britain, making it the perfect gift for any aviation or Battle of Britain enthusiast.

The RAF’s greatest victory commemorated as never before in your 164-page special edition

The Men : The Machines : The Battles : The Losses 2

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THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN IN COLOUR

BACKGROUND TO BATTLE Left A Hurricane of 501 Squadron starts-up for an operational sortie at Betheniville, France, May 1940. Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding argued successfully against further wastage of the homebased RAF fighter force by sending yet more fighters to France to bolster a futile defence.

Right As the unstoppable juggernaut of German military might advanced across Europe, the deadly Junkers 87 Stuka divebomber came into its own. However, the RAF quickly learned how to deal with the aircraft, and this stood them in good stead when facing the Stuka during the Battle of Britain.

Below right Panzer IV tanks roll across France in May 1940. The German advance was rapid and overwhelming, and within six weeks France had collapsed and the BEF were evacuating from Dunkirk.

The Battle Looms The Battle of Britain was one of the most iconic battles of the Second World War, embedding itself indelibly into the nation’s consciousness. Earlier, the Battle of France could easily have spelled defeat before the air battles got underway in July 1940.

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fter the outbreak of war in September 1939, there followed eight months of what became known as the ‘Phoney War’.

However, it was clear that large-scale fighting would ultimately follow, and a British Expeditionary Force was sent to France before the end of that year. As part of that BEF, a large Air Component was supplemented by an Advanced Air Striking Force. In total, these air forces amounted to 25 squadrons, six of which were Hawker Hurricane-equipped fighter squadrons. The remainder of the RAF force in France comprised largely light bombers and Army Co-Operation squadrons. Eventually, however, the ‘Sitzkrieg’ became the ‘Blitzkrieg’.

be made good from squadrons based in Britain. The Commander-in-Chief of RAF Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, had already stated as early as September 1939, that if he was expected to defend Britain’s skies, then he would need 52 fighter squadrons.

At that time, he had only 32 under his command and was told it would be impossible to produce the number he required. However, efforts would be made to provide him with a further eight.

During the fighting in France, increasing numbers of fighter squadrons were sent across the Channel, urged on by desperate appeals from the French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud. Dowding saw his resources ‘slipping away like

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other pilots concentrated on what was going on in their cockpits: oil temperatures and pressures, fuel state, oxygen contents checked and selected to ‘On’, microphone not on ‘Transmit’ (this could effectively block all other transmissions), straps tight, gun-sight ‘On’ and illuminated, straps tight and canopy firmly shut. A surprising number would carry out a little good luck routine like feeling for a lucky charm, or even crossing themselves.

Now, the workload was high, and still they needed to concentrate on formation keeping while permanently keeping a wary eye open for the enemy and quartering the sky in a relentless search.

A moment of relapse could litterally spell death. The squadron ‘Weaver’, winding from side to side, kept a rather more wary eye open than the rest, as the squadron got closer by the second to their quarry.

Brief instructions might crackle through the headphones: ‘Close up Red 2’ or, on receipt of further instructions from the Fighter Controller: ‘Turning to Port. Go!’ Meanwhile, pilots fiddled with the radio tuner, struggling to tune and retune their wireless sets in a constant battle to receive and properly understand the messages. Sometimes, a squawk of static drowned out everything, sometimes resulting in one section

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THE RAF FIGHTER PILOT

sand in an hour-glass’ and he predicted catastrophe if Churchill continued to help the failing ally. Thus, he sent a letter to the Air Minister on 16 May 1940, which may well have saved Fighter Command, and ultimately Britain, in the nation’s darkest hour. He wrote: “I have the honour to refer to the very serious calls which have recently been made upon the Home Defence Fighter Units in an attempt to stem the German invasion on the Continent … I would remind the Air Council that … my strength has now been reduced to the equivalent of 36 Squadrons … I must therefore request that as a matter of paramount urgency the Air Ministry will consider and decide what level of strength is to be left to the Fighter Command for the defence of this to be called into action, covering the country, and will assure me that when this Losses Mounted evacuation from Dunkirk and other level has been reached, not one fighter At around the same time, another French ports. Inevitably, their losses will be sent across the Channel however momentous decision was undertaken mounted. Meanwhile, the battered and insistent the appeals for help may be. by making Lord Beaverbrook Minister of depleted RAF units that had been based “I believe that, if an adequate fighter Aircraft Production. Aircraft production in France were withdrawn to Britain. force is kept in this country, if the fleet had in fact kept pace with fighter losses Here, they were re-equipped where remains in being, and if the Home Forces incurred during the Battle of France. necessary, and manpower shortages are suitably organised to resist invasion, Soon, production would outstrip losses. made good so far as possible. Meanwhile, we should be able to carry on the war Thus, the availability of fighters would RAF Fighter Command readied for what single handed for some time, if not not become a limiting factor in the air was to come. Certainly, the Battle of indefinitely. But, if the Home Defence defence of Britain.

France was over. The Battle of Britain was Force is drained away in desperate However, by 1 June 1940, the RAF had about to begin. attempts to remedy the situation in lost 436 fighter aircraft and almost all France, defeat in France will involve the its light bomber force of Fairey Battles, complete and irremediable defeat of this along with a considerable number of its Immensely Powerful By this time, the starter button was the possibility were not afraid thatBlenheims. they were However, either liarsRAF Fighter Facing page Pilots of 19 Squadron are country.”

Bristol Dowding had mentioned pushed afterofa invasion thumbs-up fromas the a strident to their dispersal point at RAF It was a hard-hitting letter, but or foolish. However, Command at homejangling continued to operate as early the middle ofdelivered May fitter, who unplugged thethe starter trolley, of the telephone could mean several Duxford ready for operations early one Dowding’s words had their effect and over France as the situation worsened.

1940, but by end of that month the clear ofhad the been aircraft. things. Sometimes, to intense it Franceensuring it was morning during the summer of 1940. while the French still asked for more In a matter of sixrelief, weeks, possibility turned into what Unable to communicate over the roar ofIf Hitler Above could send acollapsed messageentirely. to ‘StandNow, Down’ fighter squadrons to be sent to France, it .only remained appeared to be probability. was Their relaxed look perhaps Merlin engine, the his pilot and Other times,for it called toand readiness, concealing the tension, these Hurricane such appeals were rejected. However, Britishpilots forces, some units the of the to impose will onrigger the British people, exchanged thumbs up signals, the rigger and then to French the heart-pounding order: pilots of 501 Squadron pose for the camera further squadrons of Hurricanes were army, to evacuate via Dunkirk then he could apparently only do so slapping hisby pilot on thethe shoulder ‘SCRAMBLE!’ deployed over France, but they remained in what was Operation ‘Dynamo’. RAF crossing EnglishtoChannel andduring the summer of 1940. All of them convey reassurance he Years afterwards, veterans ofatthe Battle sawTo action. Several of them shot down based in the UK. Fighter Command home continued dictatingand his good-luck terms fromasWestminster. leapt from the wing. As he jumped, the of Britain told how they hated the sound enemy aircraft and some of them were aircraft was already rolling, and the rigger of a ringing telephone. killed. dodged out of the way of the tail-plane, On the order to scramble, there 7 was what it was they were intercepting. It buffeted by the slipstream which was a mad rush by pilots to their allotted may have been an instruction along the kicking up dust and grass. Getting out aircraft where the fitter and rigger were lines of: “MITOR Squadron, ANGELS of the way, he was hit by a blast of hot ready and waiting: the rigger on the wing 006-011 Background to Battle_AS_W ME.indd 7 22/05/2020 12:36 18, Vector Two-three-zero.

Fifty Plus. exhaust gasses. Now, the aircraft gathered ready to help in his pilot, and the fitter BUSTER.” Listening in, the other pilots speed ahead, into wind, bouncing and standing by with the starter plugged in on could interpret these coded instructions: rocking across the grass airfield. Others the starboard side of the engine. Heaving “41 Squadron to climb to 18,000 ft on a careered along around it, in the organised himself into the cockpit, the pilot went heading of 230 degrees. Fifty plus enemy chaos that was a squadron scramble. through a number of tasks: helmet pulled aircraft. Maximum cruising speed.”

Getting airborne, the pilots on, oxygen plugged in, radio jack-plug in concentrated on keeping station as its socket, magneto switches ‘on’, Ki-Gas they selected ‘Gear Up’, closing the cylinder priming pump given a couple Mentally and Physically Draining cockpit canopy while listening out of brief strokes and thumb ready on Settling into the climb, the pilots for instructions from the CO or flight the starter. Meanwhile, leaning into the automatically slid into section order commander who was talking to the cockpit, the Fitter helped the pilot with and the preferred squadron formation.

Sector Operations Room and garnering his parachute harness straps, then his Meanwhile, the CO or flight commander instructions as to heading, altitude and Sutton seat harness. concentrated on setting course as the

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On 10 May 1940, German forces launched their all-out assault on France and the Low Countries and what followed in Belgium, the Netherlands etc. was the complete collapse of those countries under the overwhelming might of German military power. Across France, German forces rolled inexorably onwards towards the English Channel and while the French and British tried desperately to stem the advance, so the situation became ever more hopeless.

THE RAF FIGHTER PILOT

haring off suddenly, upwards or downwards, the rest of the squadron watching in bemusement and puzzled because they received no transmission, or else just couldn’t understand what had been said. Meanwhile, constant juggling of the throttle setting with the left hand, and judicious adjustment of position through the control column and rudder pedal inputs, were all necessary just to keep station. It was incredibly hard work, and mentally and physically draining.

By now, the squadron was ‘on oxygen’, masks clamped securely to pilot’s faces as cold began to permeate the cockpits.

Now, with all the hard work of take-off, formation flying and getting to altitude, came further nervous tension with realisation that the enemy were near.

Then, a tight knot of fear returned as the gunsight was checked and the SAFE and FIRE ring on the gun button turned, ready, to the FIRE position. Goggles pulled down. And then the shout: ‘BANDITS! Ten o’clock, above. Coming down now! Break, break, break….’

Chatter Of Gunfire Suddenly, to avoid the ‘bounce’ of fighters coming out of the sun, the squadron had dispersed in a pre-ordered plan. Now, the enemy fighters were among them. This time, there was no

Facing page Although posed for a news cameraman, the squadron telephone orderly shouts instructions for a ‘scramble’ as pilots lounge in the dispersal hut. The smartly dressed officer is Duty Pilot – the pilot rostered for ground admin tasks such as recording take-off and landing times etc.

Above It was not unusual for aircraft to return damaged after an engagement and with pilots wounded. This brandnew Spitfire had just been delivered to 602 Squadron at RAF Westhampnett when it was hit by cannon shells from a Messerschmitt 109 in a combat on 18 August 1940. The aircraft was written off and Flight Lieutenant Dunlop Urie wounded in his feet.

chance of a well-ordered textbook: ‘Number One Attack’. Instead, it was every man for himself, but with ‘wing men’ desperately trying to maintain station and protect their section leader.

Now, the pilots were climbing and hanging on their props, the sun glaring and blinding as they turned, all the while listening out and looking out. Now, there were shouts: “Behind you Blue 3!”, permeated by chattering gunfire.

A cacophony of shouts and static made communication unintelligible.

One pilot may be drawing a bead on a

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