An Introduction to Arnhem Jim's Blog

Welcome and Slàinte Mhòr! (Great Good Health!), I’m hoping that with this blog I will be able to share both my interests and limited knowledge with others who may share similar interests. As a child growing up I acquired an avid interest in toy soldiers, more specifically W. Britains toy soldiers. For some reason I had the presence of mind to keep care of them in good condition, even to the extent of saving them all in their original boxes. When I went away to college, and subsequently during a tour of active duty in the Navy, my parents had the patience and foresight to keep the collection in tact.

As an adult my interests expanded to the collection of militaria, including the 92^nd Gordon Highlanders and the Parachute Regiment of the British Army. As a reserve naval intelligence officer my focus evolved around the World War II Battle of Arnhem (Operation Market-Garden) and the tragic, but heroic, action fought by the British 1^st Airborne Division. My reasons for this interest can be found in this blog on the page entitled. “Operation Market-Garden”. For some it may prove more than you ever wanted to know, hopefully for others, it will bring an entirely new insight to a battle which remains not that well known here in the United States.

As a collector, for now over six decades, my nature has tended to be what others define as a “magpie”, which has resulted in a fairly broad variety of items in my collection. In order to know a little bit about a wide range of artifacts, and with my military training, I learned quite early of the importance of building and maintaining a fairly extensive reference library.

Even with the acquisition of knowledge, like most others, I have been “burned” more than once, by individuals trying to make a fast buck off someone else’s ignorance. In an attempt to help other collectors avoid some of the pitfalls and tank-traps that exist in the hobby, a few years ago I published, and continue to maintain, several guides on e-Bay. As a direct result of the apparent popularity of those guides, I have decided to initiate this blog duplicating and incorporating those guides, and hopefully providing a forum where I, as well as others, can share knowledge and experiences, such that we can all gain new wisdom.

Comments are most welcome, and may be left by scrolling to the bottom of the page looking for either the open Comments window, or the word "COMMENTS". With your cursor on the word click and it will open a page for comments.

Best Regards,

Arnhem Jim

A Scottish Regimental Toast (48th Highlanders of Canada; affiliated with the Gordon Highlanders)

Commanding Officer:

A Mhàidseir na pìoba, òlamaid deoch-slàinte!

(Pipe Major, let us drink a toast)

Pipe Major's reply:

A h-uile latha a chì 's nach fhaic, an dà fhicheadamh 's a h-ochd gu bràth! Slàinte

don Bhànrigh! Slàinte Mhòr! Slàinte!

(Every day that I see you, or that I don't see you, the 48th forever! Health to the Queen!

Great good health! Health!)