Table of contents for February 2023 in The Armourer

By the time you read this we will be into 2023, which to me just typifies how time appears to go faster, the older you get. Except when I’m hungry and it’s before lunch, then it goes in slow motion. Anyway, it only seemed like yesterday that I was watching those grey haired, stony faced old veterans of WWI walking down the Mall on Remembrance Sunday. I remarked at the time that it wouldn’t be long before they were all gone. Then it also seems like only last week when it was the year 2000 and everyone had great hopes for the century ahead. That seems a pipe dream as the world is in a far worse place now than it was then. Time though, rolls on regardless and in…

Medals at Noonans Lancaster Rear Gunner Warrant Officer Victor Arthur Roe was killed in action on a raid to Chemnitz, carrying out his 98th operational sortie on 5-6 March 1945. He was just 21 years old. His outstanding and rare WWII CGM (Conspicuous Gallantry Medal) and Immediate DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal) group of five was sold by Noonans in the sale of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria for £51,520 (all prices include BP of 28.8%) on 7 December, 2022. They were being sold by Roe’s family and were bought by a leading collector of WWII flying medals. Elsewhere a Great War Western Front MC group of four awarded to Major FW Prentice, Tank Corps, late Royal Engineers, who had previously served as an Assistant Storekeeper on the RMS Titanic, and…

BELLIGERENTS British Empire Imperial Japan Australia British-India Federation of Malay States Straits Settlements COMMANDERS Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, GOC Malaya Command Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita, Commander XXV Army Lieutenant General Lewis Heath, GOC III Indian Corps Lieutenant General Takuma Nishimura, GOC Imperial Guards Division Major General Gordon Bennett, GOC 8th Australian Division Lieutenant General Takuro Matsui, GOC 5th Infantry Division Major General M. Beckwith-Smith, GOC 18th Division Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi, GOC 18th Infantry Division Major General Frank Simmons, GOC Singapore Garrison STRENGTH British: 32,000 Japanese: 65,000 Australian: 20,000 Tanks: 179 Indian Army: 46,000 Field guns: 440 Malay Volunteers: 17,000 Trucks: 3,000 RAF/RN personnel: 4,000 Aircraft: 550 Bren gun carriers: 70 Support ships: 25 Armoured cars: 32 Field guns: 300 Aircraft: 215 Coastal artillery guns: 27 CASUALTIES Commonwealth soldiers killed:…

More commonly described as sweetheart brooches, a misleading term because they were gifted equally to mother’s and wives, these types of jewellery were often miniature replicas of the badges of regiments, corps, naval and aviation insignia. Separation from loved ones during wartime, with no guarantee of return, was always hard to bear. The popularity of military jewellery grew out of the appeal of wearing a sentimental token that had been gifted by a soldier, sailor or airman serving at the front who was in danger of being killed. Consequently, sweetheart brooches soon took on the added status of lucky charms, some with the addition of a horseshoe for good luck. By the start of 1915, hundreds of different designs soon appeared that were made of materials such as gold, silver…

History has depicted WWII Britain as being a rather wholesome community where everyone stuck together with the common goal of beating the Nazi war machine. We see pictures of people in London gathered together making the best of a bad situation with smiling faces staying the night in underground air raid shelters with some even entertaining others. Although the media presented them as cohesive, many common people turned to crime while organised crime gangs flourished in the streets and behind closed doors. In England and Wales alone during the period of 1939 and 1945, crime statistics jumped from 303,711 to 478,394, an increase of 57% and that was only the recorded incidents. So, what were the contributing factors that seemed to turn neighbour against one another causing the numbers of…

Our cover feature next month is the Kaiser’s Offensive from Spring 1918. Russia had just been knocked out of the war and this enabled the Germans to ship 50 divisions back to the Western Front. It was the German’s final chance to achieve victory before America, which joined in 1917, began to transport overwhelming numbers across the Atlantic. The result was four offensives, the main one was intended to outflank British forces deployed along the Somme. While the offensive made more significant gains than at any point since 1914, it incurred heavy losses and produced supply problems. The Allies buckled, but held on. Read our feature to see how close they came to defeat. Also next month, we have the next in our series on WWI webbing, the Cities at…

BEDFORDSHIRE ■ Southams Auctioneers Bedford, Tel: 01234 266366 guns@southamsauction.co.uk www.southamsauction.co.uk BERKSHIRE ■ Special Auction Services Newbury, Tel: 01635 580595 mail@specialauctionservices.com adam@specialauctionservices.com www.specialauctionservices.com BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ■ Bosleys Marlow, Tel: 01628 488188 sales@bosleys.co.uk www.bosleys.co.uk DEVON ■ Greenslade Taylor Hunt Tiverton, Tel: 01823 332525 www.gth.net antiques.saleroom@gth.net ESSEX ■ Reeman Dansie Auctions Colchester, Tel : 01206 754754 auctions@reemandansie.com www.reemandansie.com KENT ■ C&T Auctioneers and Valuers Kenardington, Tel: 01233 510050 www.candtauctions.co.uk LONDON ■ Morton & Eden London, Tel: 020 7493 5344 info@mortonandeden.com www.mortonandeden.com ■ Noonans London, Tel: 020 70161 700 auctions@noonans.co.uk www.noonans.co.uk SHROPSHIRE ■ Mullocks Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers Church Stretton, Tel: 01694 771771 auctions@mullocksauctions.co.uk www.mullocksauctions.co.uk SOMERSET ■ Greenslade Taylor Hunt Taunton, Tel: 01823 332525 www.gth.net antiques.saleroom@gth.net STAFFORDSHIRE ■ Marlows Stafford, Tel: 01785 214100 or 07789 628030 mail@marlowsauctions.co.uk www.marlowsauctions.co.uk SUFFOLK ■ Durrants AuctionRooms@durrants.com ■ Bishop &…

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PART 3/8 The French were the first country in the world to adopt a smokeless powder repeating rifle in the form of the Lebel in 1886. This rifle was the first step in a gradual updating and replacement of France’s personal infantry equipment. Over the next 20 years a new set of equipment was introduced and modified to accompany the new rifle. By 1914, however, both the rifle and equipment were looking rather old fashioned. The rifle had a magazine, but it could only be reloaded one round at a time and the equipment produced was still made of leather. So, the design was modified during WWI to make it easier to manufacture and to rectify problems that had been discovered from field use. Individual items are still available on…

The Indian subcontinent, and peripheral areas such as Burma, were under direct British rule, or at least within the Empire’s zone of influence, for many decades. Until the Indian Mutiny of 1857-1858 most of India was organised into three Presidencies under the jurisdiction of the East India Company (EIC) in London. This commercial organisation, founded in 1600, had increased its holdings by 1754 from a status as an insignificant European spice trader to a pseudo-government run by a Court of Directors. With judicious divide and rule tactics various local rulers were set against each other in southern and central India until their power was diminished and, if that failed, direct annexation occurred. Despite some successes EIC control was never completed in northern areas. For perceived security reasons private armies were…

COVER STORY The fall of Singapore in 1942 was the greatest military defeat the British Empire suffered in World War II or indeed at any point in its history. Perhaps because it was the nadir of the war, it has proved a popular topic for both historians and collectors and items related to the doomed defence of the peninsular are always in high demand. Here is a selection of items available at the moment. The British Army in Singapore was still uniformed, as it had been in peacetime, the later developments in jungle clothing and equipment would come about because of lessons learnt at Singapore and the early battles with the Japanese. As such the British soldier wore the same khaki drill uniform and pith helmets as his counterparts on…

Lucky Hitler’s Big Mistakes PAUL BALLARD-WHYTE Split into two halves, this is a look at the lucky breaks Hitler got while coming to dominate Europe and the mistakes he made in order to lose it. Needless to say this is a simplification of the events of WWII but it does illustrate Adolf’s character and the way he went about controlling Germany. It has to be said that you make your own luck, and in some regards, Hitler wasn’t lucky, he simply exploited circumstances. He was a poor military leader though, and that resulted in the catalogue of setbacks and ultimate defeat. It’s an interesting book with many talking points. Pen and Sword ISBN 978-1-3990-7437-7 314 pages Hardback £25 In Furious Skies TIM HEATH Regular Armourer contributor Tim Heath is back…

AUCTIONS 11 January 2023 Rock Island Auctioneers T: 001 309 797 1500 www.rockislandauction.com info@rockislandauction.com 17 January 2023 Toovey’s T: 01903 891955 www.tooveys.com auctions@tooveys.com 18 January 2023 Noonans T: 020 7016 1700 www.noonans.co.uk auctions@noonans.co.uk 30 January - 3 February 2023 Hermann Historica T: 0049 89 54 72 64 90 www.hermann-historica.com contact@hermann-historica.com FAIRS 8 January 2023 Thetford Militaria Fair T: 07596 436260 www.thetfordmilitariafair.com thetfordmilitariafair@gmail.com 8 January 2023 Croydon Military, Aviation & Model Collectors Fair T: 07973 885754 davidsutton16@aol.com 15 January 2023 Wolverley Militaria Fair T: 07816 853878 www.facebook.com/wolverleymilitariafair/ 22 January 2023 Royal Berkshire Militaria Fair T: 07540 373839 www.rb-militaria.co.uk 29 January 2023 Stoneleigh Militaria T: 07976 777117 www.militariashows.com info@militariashows.com…

ENTER ONLINE TODAY! WIN 3 copies of… In Furious Skies Here’s the story of the Luftwaffe from the planes to the operations in WWII. What makes this book different from the many others that have covered the same territory are the interviews and quotes from those who did the flying and the maintenance on the ground. These are no-holds barred comments from those at the sharp end of Hitler’s air war, which brings the book to life. Now, thanks to the generosity of military book publisher, Pen and Sword, we have three copies to give away. Simply answer the question below and go to the website to enter. WORTH £75 WIN 3 copies of… Lucky Hitler’s Big Mistakes This is an interesting way to analyse the career and war performance of the…

COVER STORY Less than four weeks before Japan landed on the shores of the Malay Peninsula, General Wavell, Commander-in-Chief in India, wrote to a colleague saying: ‘Personally, I should be most doubtful if the Japs ever tried to make an attack on Malaya and I’m sure they will get it in the neck if they do’. In contrast, Colonel FRN Cobley, incarcerated in Changi Jail PoW Camp, wrote after it was all over: ‘Of all the failings in Malaya, certainly the most outstanding was the failure of Singapore as a fortress, which it was not. This fact few people were allowed to know, or if they knew, to admit it: for this would have been imperial heresy.’ Singapore became a part of the British Empire in 1867. Strategically located in…

Within months of Adolf Hitler becoming Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, he began a wholesale programme of bringing every aspect of German life under the control of the NSDAP. Women were encouraged to join the Nationalsozialistische Frauenschaft, (National Socialist Women’s League), teachers joined the Nationalsozialistischer Lehrerbund, or NSLB (the National Socialist Teachers League), while for legal professionals it was the Bund Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Juristen, or BNSDJ (the Association of National Socialist German Legal Professionals). The Party wouldn’t just rule Germany, it would become Germany. Another target was Germany’s growing number of car drivers. The automobile was still a relative novelty in a country scarred by the bitter years of the Great Depression, but with a plethora of motoring organisations gaining ground, Hitler decided to forcibly amalgamate them all into…

The Kingdom of France, after the glorious days of the Napoleonic Period, was in search of a new political identity and wanted to restore, as soon as possible, its previous status of military power. The exotic world of North Africa, inhabited by peoples of mixed culture and surrounded by a veil of mystery, started to attract French colonialists but also French society in general. A country like Algeria, in fact, was perceived as a land of opportunities by many in Europe. From a formal point of view, Algeria was part of the Ottoman Empire. This, however, entered a phase of great political and military decay during the 18th century and thus, in practice, ceased to exert any influence over Algerian lands. The Turkish presence, consisting of a few merchants and…