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Historical and Archive MaterialUncategorized

Tirailleurs Tonkinois (Lintap) circa 1885.

This photograph, showing indigenous Indochinese infantrymen is number 16 in a series that was taken by one Dr Hocquard who...
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Insignia

Australian made USN Submarine Combat Insignia Restrike

Some of the more desirable of the WW2 era US Navy Submarine Combat Patrol badges are those made by the...
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Historical and Archive MaterialInsigniaMedals & Awards

Frank McNamara: The first Australian aviator to win the Victoria Cross

On the 20th of March 1917, Lt. Frank H McNamara became the first Australian aviator to be awarded the Victoria...
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Insignia

WW2 US Navy Submarine Combat Insignia

On March 26, 1943, the US Navy authorized an award, known as the Submarine Combat Insignia, for successful completion of...
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Exhibitions & DisplaysInsigniaMilitary Art

Shaun Gladwell’s video portrait of Mark Donaldson VC

This afternoon  I dropped by the John Curtin Gallery here in Perth to check out an exhibition by two recent...
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Battlefields & Museums

A quick beer at the “Bull” Allen Bar at the Ballarat RSL.

I have just returned from an overnight trip to check out the Ballarat International Foto Biennale in Victoria. It’s thirsty...
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Australian Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaInsigniaThe 'juleswings' Collection

Australian Airborne Insignia #3 – The RAN ‘Special Duties’ parachutist wing

Whilst many people think that these are a Special Air Service wing, because of its shape and similarity to the...
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Field Reports

Malaysia trip report #1- Two days in KL.

For my latest trip to Vietnam I decided to fly AirAsia and stop over in Kuala Lumpur for a couple...
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Collection Conservation & CareHistorical and Archive Material

Images of War: The Lost Diggers of Vignacourt.

The invention of photography in 1839 changed the world. It provided a more accessible means for society to record and...
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Australian soldiers at the battle of Long Tan
Historical and Archive Material

The Australian Army in action in Vietnam 1966

This is a 25 minute documentary made by the Australian Commonwealth Film Unit in 1966 shortly after the Australian Task...
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French troops crossing delta country in outdated US tanks during campaign against Viet Minh. Vietnam. 1950
Uncategorized

Information for the Vietnam war historian

I’ll add this to the links list, but for anybody interested in the conflict in Indochina, the Vietnam War Resource...
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Australian Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaInsigniaThe 'juleswings' Collection

A special pair of wings

These Australian SAS parachutist wings are amongst the most prized in my collection for a couple of reasons. Apart from...
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Australian Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaInsignia

The Olympic Games. Sydney 2000, watching from the shadows.

With the recent G4S security recruitment debacle and the heightened threat of terrorist attack much has been made of the...
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Field Reports

Vietnam’s infamous Dan Sinh “War Surplus” Market

Deciding to collect Vietnam War militaria is fraught with danger as the marketplace is saturated with fakes and reproductions. I...
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News & EventsThe 'juleswings' Collection

So, what’s this all about?

For as long as I can remember I’ve had a fascination with armies and military history. My parents recall that...
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I went back to MASH Co. Ltd. ( @surplus_shop_mash ) in Osaka on Friday and following @vintage_productions ‘s advice I spoke to Julia who showed me the insignia folders behind the counter where I found this nice US Army 46th Special Forces Company pocket patch. Thanks for the tip Bob. Any idea’s? I found this Airborne / Special Operations patch at the S & Graf surplus store in Osaka. But I am unsure if it represents an actual military unit, or if it is just a fantasy patch made for the airsoft/military cosplay community. My gut feeling is leaning towards the latter, but can anyone help confirm the ID? Wandering around Osaka today and I stumbled across this painted on a wall in an alley full of vintage clothing shops. Quite obviously inspired by the WW2 patch of the US Army’s 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) submariner insignia. Osaka. Dropped into the MASH Co. Ltd. ( @surplus_shop_mash ) today, so here’s a taster of some of the stuff they have in stock. It’s really cool shop filled with actual surplus and militaria. It was a first time visit for me and whilst I didn’t find any insignia for my collection, there are a couple of things that I’ll probably grab when I head back there next week. French Indochina. La Rafale – The French Foreign Legion’s Armoured Train Tokyo. Hanazono Shrine 花園神社 Flea Market. I remembered that last time I visited Tokyo there was a small flea-market on the grounds of the Hanazono Shrine, close to where I stay in Shinjuku. So, I took a stroll over this morning to check it out. Unlike the massive Tokyo City Flea Market, this is a tiny, but more focused retro / vintage market. I am unsure how well known it is to visiting militaria collectors, but there were about half a dozen sellers (including one that was at Oi Racecourse yesterday) who had military medals, ephemera and some uniform items at their stalls. That’s more than I saw yesterday so, if you’re visiting or close to Shinjuku on a Sunday morning it could be worth checking out. Japan. Some variations of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (陸上自衛隊) Military Free Fall parawings worn by MFF qualified paratroopers of the 1st Airborne Brigade (第1空挺団). Juleswings Collection

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