George Vth 13th County of London Kensington Helmet Plate

Excellent condition. It was first formed in 1908 in order to regiment the 26 Volunteer Force battalions in the newly formed County of London, each battalion having a distinctive uniform.

Now part of the Territorial Force, the London Regiment expanded to 88 battalions in the First World War. Of these 49 battalions saw action in France and Flanders, 6 saw action at the Gallipoli Campaign, 12 saw action at Salonika, 14 saw action against the Turks in Palestine, and one saw action in Waziristan and Afghanistan.

The London Regiment ceased to exist in 1938 and the battalions transferred to regular infantry regiments, the Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineers.  read more

Code: 18849

A Very Good Officer's Silver and Gilt Cap Badge of the Loyal Regt. the Lancashire 1950's.

Original early ERII. With red rose centre and gilt regimental banner. Silver crowned lion. 2 part construction. At the outbreak of World War II, the 1st Battalion Loyals were part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, attached to the 1st Infantry Division. In September 1939 they were sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force and remained there alongside the French Army until May 1940. The 1st Loyals would participate in the fighting in France and Belgium in 1940, including acting as part of the rearguard for the Dunkirk evacuation. Eventually, the 1st Loyals would see action in Tunisia in early 1943, and Italy and at the Battle of Anzio where the 1st Division saw some of the fiercest fighting of the war. The battalion along with the rest of 1st Division were sent to Palestine in 1945. During the fighting in the Tunisian campaign, in April 1943, Lieutenant Willward Alexander Sandys-Clarke was posthumously awarded the regiment's only Victoria Cross of the war for his extreme heroism.

Upon the commencement of hostilities in 1939, the 2nd Battalion, Loyal Regiment found themselves stationed in the Far East as part of Singapore Fortress's 1st Malaya Infantry Brigade. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the 2nd Loyals fought in Malaya as part of the delaying action during the Battle of Malaya. Eventually, the 2nd Battalion surrendered along with the rest of the Singapore garrison on 15 February 1942. The survivors spent the rest of the war as prisoners of the Imperial Japanese Army.

Following the destruction of the 2nd Loyals with its surrender at Singapore, the battalion was reformed in Britain. The 10th Battalion, a hostilities-only battalion raised in 1940, was re-designated as the new 2nd Battalion on 28 May 1942. Eventually the battalion was deployed as part of 20th Indian Infantry Brigade of the 10th Indian Infantry Division in Italy during the closing phases of the Italian Campaign  read more

Code: 18835

A Victorian Kaffrarian Rifles Badge, of South Africa, Motto "Nunc animus"

Nunc animus (meaning "Now with courage" or "Now without fear") This unit was formed in East London in 1876, as the Buffalo Corps of Rifle Volunteers, for service in the 9th Frontier War. It disbanded in 1879. (East London is situated on the Buffalo River, hence the name).

The unit was re-formed in July 1883 and was named after the region of Kaffraria, the 19th-century name for the region around East London. There had previously been many other units from this region, from which the Regiment can also claim descent: Kaffrarian Volunteer Corps, Kaffrarian Mounted Rifles (Kaffrarian Rangers), Buffalo Volunteer Rifles Corps, Buffalo Volunteer Engineers, Kaffrarian Volunteer Artillery Corps, Berlin Mounted Volunteers, Cape Mounted Yeomanry (1st Regiment), Frontier Mounted Riflemen (Brabant's Horse), East London Volunteers (Von Linsignen's Buffalo Corps and later Walkers Horse).

On 1 December 1900 George Herbert Farrar was appointed as a Major in the Kaffrarian Rifles.

In 1913 it was embodied in the Citizen Force as the 5th Infantry (Kaffrarian Rifles), but regained its old name in 1932. The unit was temporarily amalgamated with the First City Regiment, as the First City/The Kaffrarian Rifles from 1954 to 1956. In order to keep pace with the changing political climate in South Africa, the regiment was renamed the Buffalo Volunteer Rifles in 1999.

This Regiment and its predecessors took part in all of South Africa's armed conflicts, including the Bechuanaland Campaign (1897), the Second Boer War, World War I (when it fought in the then German South-West Africa and most of its members went on to serve in East Africa and Europe), World War II (when it fought in the Western Desert during 1941 - 1943 . 62 mm high  read more

Code: 18566

WW2 Period Chinese Bank of Communications 25-Yuan Note,

1941, serial no. 784417 green, electric direct
current generator, Zeppelin and plane at centre. Established in 1908, Bank of Communication claims a long history in China and is one of the banks to have issued banknotes in modern Chinese history.  read more

Code: 18248

A Good 19th Century Powder Flask

Fluted copper body and brass adjustable spout.  read more

Code: 18238

A Good 19th Century Sykes Pistol Powder Flask

Absolutely ideal for pistol casing. A nice example with a few small dents. Small pistol flasks are certainly the most desireable type as they can beautifully set off a cased pistol set [and thus increase it's value dramatically], for either a flintlock or percussion gun, that is lacking it's original flask. 4.5 inches long  read more

Code: 18199

A Very Nice 19th Century Dixon & Son Pistol Powder Flask

In nice order with working spring spout with three adjustable gram measures. 4.75 inches long overall. A delightful piece with pressed shell pattern in copper with gilt spout. Super patina.  read more

Code: 18189

An Original Desk Paperknife Made From Duralumin Of Airship USS Akron

Made from Duralumin taken from the construction of the airship. USS Akron (ZRS-4) was a helium-filled rigid airship of the U.S. Navy that was destroyed in a thunderstorm off the coast of New Jersey on the morning of 4 April 1933, killing 73 of her 76 crewmen and passengers. This accident was the largest loss of life for any known airship crash. During her accident-prone 18-month term of service, the Akron also served as a flying aircraft carrier for launching and recovering F9C Sparrowhawk fighter planes.

With lengths of 785 ft (239 m), 20 ft (6.1 m) shorter than the German commercial airship Hindenburg, Akron and her sister airship the Macon were among the largest flying objects in the world. Although the Hindenburg was longer, she was filled with hydrogen, so the two U.S. airships still hold the world record for helium-filled airships.  read more

Code: 18105

A WW2 Dental Instruments Medics Kit Roll

Very nice quality instruments that could likely work well today [after polishing and sterilising.  read more

Code: 18104

Operation of Regulations of Zeppelin Airship Construction in Freidrichafen

Published for the Zeppelin Co. in 10th Sept 1934. A paragraph withing the text makes a reference to the SA and SS but sadly as it is printed Gothic German it's devil to translate. The booklet contains operating istructions of the company including such details of working hours, winter and summer, and all manner of expected functions of the staff of the company. Not many of these documents survived. Dr Eckner is named on the last page as the company Fuhrer. The company that ran the Graf Zeppelin and Hindenberg transatlantic airships was the Nazi propaganda based company, titled the DZR, the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei. The DZR was created at the instigation of Air Minister Hermann G?ring as a way to increase Nazi control over zeppelin operations, and can be see as part of the larger policy of Gleichschaltung, or coordination, which affected all aspects of German life in the years following Hitler?s assumption of power.

Consistent with Nazi ideology, the airship was expected to be more than just a private commercial venture; it was to be a public symbol of the new German nation. In a speech marking the founding of the DZR, G?ring commented: ?I hope that the new ship will also fulfill its duty in furthering the cause of Germany? The airship does not have the exclusive purpose of flying across the Atlantic, but also has a responsibility to act as the nation?s representative.?  read more

Code: 18092