The Pioneer Parachute Co. pin. Not a Caterpillar!
The Caterpillar Club, started in 1922 by Leslie Irvin’s Irving Air Chute Company, as a way of recording the names...
Australian Airborne Insignia #2. The 6RAR Parachute Company Group
In 1974, the Brisbane based 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) under the command of Lt Col Tony Hammett took...
The Southern Rhodesia Commando ‘Cobra’ Qualification badge – 1941 – 45
In 1941, fearing that the Japanese may launch an invasion of southern Africa from Vichy French controlled Madagascar, the OC...
BOOKS: British Airborne Insignia & Airborne Insignia Volume 2 by Oliver Lock
Airborne insignia provides a popular collecting focus for many collectors and as a result has become a lucrative market for...
A 1992 issue Switlik Caterpillar Club badge for a WW2 Soviet pilot.
Last week’s post featured the Caterpillar Club badge of RAAF pilot Patrick Heffernan who became member number 16000 of Irvin’s...
WW2 Caterpillar Club pin to RAAF pilot, Group Captain P.G. Heffernan
The Caterpillar Club began in 1922 shortly after an American aviator, LT H.R. Harris, made an emergency descent using an...
Australian Airborne Insignia #1 – Airborne Platoon?
This is the first of an ongoing series of articles which will take a closer look at some of the...
WW2 USN Submariner ‘Dolphins’ from an officer aboard USS Skipjack (SS-184)
Another item from my collection this week. This time it is a WW2 USN “deep wave” type 2 Submariner badge...
A rare WW2 Hungarian Paratrooper’s medal group
Featured this week is a very nice medal group to a WWII Hungarian paratrooper that I hold in my collection....
Gen. Clarence R. Huebner, CO of the “Big Red One” on D-Day. Medals, militaria, firearms and estate items up for auction. 20 November 2019.
Whilst I am not a medal collector, this auction on the 20th of November 2019 caught my eye. It is...
Renowned Congo Mercenary ‘Mad Mike’ Hoare’s Wild Geese Patch
The Wild Geese patch as shown above is often misidentified as being a mercenary or mercenary veteran’s insignia. This is...
Malaysia trip report #2 – The Royal Malaysian Navy, Customs and Maritime museums, Melaka
During my first trip to Malaysia I did not leave Kuala Lumpur and whilst I did get to visit the...
Congo Mercenary. British Parachute Regiment & 5 Commando (the Wild Geese) group.
This is part of a larger collection of items belonging to a South African mercenary who served with the British...
Merredin Military Museum, Western Australia
Situated approximately 256 km (159 miles) east of Perth and roughly halfway to the goldfields surrounding Kalgoorlie, the town of Merredin was...
Army Museum Žižkov – Prague, Czech Republic
Undoubtably one of the highlights of my trip to Prague in 2015 was visiting the Army Museum Žižkov (Armádní muzeum...
The Mysterious Vietnam War Mary Poppins Platoon HAHO Parachutist Badge
Mary Poppins Platoon Combat Qualification Wing with the ARVN Jump Status Indicator for comparison. Collection: Julian Tennant This “Mary Poppins...
