A Vintage Set of W. Britains Toy Soldiers - The Cameronians - 1940

The Scottish Regiments of the British Army were always a popular subject of W. Britains Ltd., and frequently featured in action poses, as well as marching in review order. As most collectors know, Set No.11 was a classic, depicting the 42^nd Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) charging with fixed bayonets.  The set was issued in 1893, virtually at the founding of the company, and remained in their catalog, although going through a series of casting evolutions, until 1966 when all production of metal hollowcast Britains ceased. Not as well known was Set No. 6, The 2^nd Dragoon Guards (Royal Scots Greys), the only regular Scottish cavalry regiment of the British Army, also first issued in 1893.

Years of production saw representations of almost all the Scottish Regiments appear as W. Britains sets. However, it was not until the year 1940, with Great Britain again at war, that an un-cataloged set of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was issued. It was only produced for a very brief period 1940 - 1941, as Set No. 1913, very attractive but not in great quantity, and as such is very rare and greatly valued by Britains collectors.

Retired and on essentially fixed income, my collecting endeavors are rather limited these days. Recently I was successful in bidding on a set of Cameronians, boxed and in near mint condition. It has been stated that because of the wartime conditions and complexity (not actually) of the Douglas Tartan trews, that the set was limited to six marching riflemen and an officer. There was apparently an additional economy move, in that the plume on the officer's shako is the same as the riflemen, not taller as it should be.  There is no normal label on the set, and it merely has the number 1913 printed on a small paper square glued on the lid end where the normal label would be. The set is the second rarest in my collection of vintage W. Britains (James Opie rarity index of 83 out of 100 on a logarithmic scale).

The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), raised in 1689, were one of the early victims of force reductions in the British Army. Rather than face reduction in size or amalgamation the regiment chose disbandment in 1968 (ironic set of numbers). During their 279 years of service to the crown, 12 members of the regiment were recipient’s of the Victoria Cross, a justifiably proud achievement. Having fought in the peninsular campaign (Iberian Peninsula) against Napoleon in 1808, under the command of General Sir John Moore, they very deservedly earned one of their first battle honors “Corunna”, protecting the right flank of the greatly outnumbered British force.

Although traditionally the rifle regiments of the British army carry their rifles at the trail, Britains produced their set with the regiment marching at the slope, with both fixed and un-fixed bayonets.

Another tradition of the rifle regiments of the British Army is that they did not carry colours (flags) in the field, nor carry drums (communicated by bugle), but instead looked to the battle honors which were incorporated in their cap badges. Here is an example of a Cameronian regimental drum. Note the black rope stringing the drums as contrasted to the white rope on most rope strung regimental drums.

In addition to W. Britains, Ltd., several toy soldier/military miniature manufacturers produced examples of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). Here is an excellent 1/32 scale (54mm) figure by Greenwood & Ball produced in the 1960's depicting an officer of the regiment in review order circa 1914.

Taken from the book, THIER GLORY SHALL NOT BE BLOTTED OUT, The Last Full Dress Uniform of the British Army, MacLeod, LCol O., Lutterworth Press, Cambridge, 1986, ISBN 0-7188-2673-6, with full and grateful acknowledgement, is a plate depicting the Sottish Lowland Regiments of the British Army. The officer of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) stands out in his unique dark rifle green (virtually black) doublet and Douglas Tartan Trews.

   
For those who may be interested, the following is a series of archival films showing the Disbandment Parade and Ceremony in 1968. To all fellow Scots it was, and still is, a particularly poignant, and at the time, prescient event. Note the quick march cadence of a light infantry/rifle regiment. The regimental quick march being played by the drums and pipes of the 1st Bn Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) is 'Kenmuir's on an' Awa'.

Prior to the disbandment parade of the Regiment, King Gustaf VI of Sweden, the then Colonel-in-Chief of the Cameronians, awarded the regiment's commanding officer, adjutant, and RSM (regimental sergeant major) the Medal of the Order of the Sword of Sweden, for their service.

The various ranks of the Order of the Sword

Yeomanry Regiments of the British Army circa 1900 by Richard Simkin

It would appear that Yeomanry and Yeomanry Regiments, as part of a Territorial Army, is a concept unique to the United Kingdom. Today’s remaining regiments evolved from the original volunteer cavalry regiments raised in the 1790’s as an augmentation to the regular standing army, in order to provide an additional homeland defense against the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte in France, and the threat of invasion. Yeoman officers were drawn from both the nobility and the landed gentry. The definition of the word “yeoman" at that time being a small farmer who owned his own land. There was one unique proviso that existed in their regulations. No one could be sent abroad on foreign service duty without individually volunteering. However, officers and personnel of these regiments took their obligation as "nobles oblige" very seriously, and served with distinction throughout British military history, and even up to the present day.

As they continued to develop, and particularly during the Victorian era, it seems to this colonial that they became either a substitute or supplementary to membership in men’s private clubs. In any event their full dress uniforms became resplendent, rivaling those of the regular British Army’s hussar and lancer regiments of the times.  Naturally this provided rich (quite literally) natural material for the famous military artist Richard Simkin.

Again we are indebted to the pages of 'Tradition’ for the reprint of Simkin’s portrayal of their magnificent uniforms. Am not certain how many watercolors were included in the artist’s total effort, nor how many were included in the magazine’s reprint series. But I do know that the yeomanry regiments shown in these prints represent only a small fraction of the total number. The order of precedence from the Army List of 1914 shows 55 yeomanry regiments. 44 'regiments' still exist, albeit at reduced strength, i.e. squadron, detachment. What follows are the contents from those editions of the magazine in my collection.

ROYAL NORTH DEVON HUSSARS

ROYAL 1st DEVON YEOMANRY CAVALRY

Regimental Bands of the British Army c.1900 by F. Stansell not Richard Simkin

In the late 1960's 'Tradition', The Journal of the International Society of Military Collectors, reproduced a series of prints of the Regimental Bands of the British Army c.1900, erroneously thought by this author, until now, to have been executed by the famous military artist Richard Simkin. Hopefully nearing fifty years on, and with proper acknowledgement, the former publishers will not take excessive umbrage with their resurrected appearance in this blog page. For those who may be interested in obtaining original copies of 'Tradition', they may be obtained from; http://traditionoflondonshop.com/index.php.

Richard Simkin, earned respect and renown for his accuracy in both the research and execution of his watercolor prints. The prints can still be so considered by painters and collectors of military miniatures. It is hoped that readers will be able to both enjoy and use them as a standard reference source. The watercolors shown here represent only a small fraction of his lifetime efforts. All things considered, and in light of some of the more recent awards, it is truly unfortunate that he could not have been at least awarded the Order of the British Empire. But with all that buildup, the paintings are not by Simpkin.

With this blog author’s sincere apologies and major correction, as published in “Tradition” the plates were not given attribution. Superficially observing the style, and obviously without more careful examination, I attributed the paintings to Simpkin, in error. There were however other talented military artists working in the same time frame.

One, though not as obviously recognized as Simpkin, was a contemporary named F. (Frederick) Stansell (not further identified), and all of these plates should be attributed to him, not Simpkin. They were published in a book entitled Banks of the British Army, authored by W.J. Gordon, in London in 1914. Suffices to say the book is now extremely valuable.

This significant error was diplomatically brought to this author’s attention by a blog reader named “moonshadow” and is gratefully acknowledged. Thank you very much. The peculiar thing is the blog article was published in 2012, and the error has not been picked up until now, February 2018. I guess this just serves to show how esoteric the subject matter of the blog really is.

One interesting historical note can be observed in Plate IV. The kettle-drummer of the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) is wearing a black bearskin. The painting apparently having been done prior to the presentation, and/or authorization for wear, of the white bearskin to the regiment by its then Colonel-in-Chief, Czar Nicolas II of Russia (1894-1916). As is normally the case, double click on any of the plates to enlarge.

Major Frederick Joseph Ricketts
Bandmaster, Plymouth Division,
Royal Marines 1930 - 1944
(pen name Kenneth J. Alford)

The following is a video of the renowned march music of Kenneth J. Alford. Composing marches under that pen name, Maj Frederick Joseph Ricketts, RM, ranks in Great Britain and the Commonwealth, as well as the rest of the world, as certainly equal to John Phillip Sousa. His most famous march is "Colonel Bogey". Born in 1881, and joining the British Army as a Band Boy in 1895, he rose through the ranks to eventually serve as the Bandmaster of the 2nd Bn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. After a long and complicated process, in 1930 he was appointed Bandmaster of the Band of the Plymouth Division, Royal Marines (Principal Band of the Royal Marines). There he rose to the rank of Major, before his retirement in 1944, a span of time encompassing five monarchs and three major wars. Like Richard Simkin, given his life long service and truly remarkable musical contribution, he was not even awarded the Order of the British Empire. This is particularly galling in light of the OBE having been awarded in more recent times to certainly much less talented or deserving modern "musicians". Those who might be interested in more details, as well as a list of his most famous marches, are referred to the following on YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWxF_lp7UNs

 

A Brief Note of Appreciation and Gratitude to the Readers of the Arnhem Jim Blog

Since its 1^st Anniversary in March of this year, I have been trying to determine how I might express my appreciation and gratitude to both the regular readers, as well as newcomers, to this blog. The best thing I could think of was to try and continue publishing articles that explore esoteric and obscure subjects related to the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces in World War II, and the hobbies of collecting militaria, toy soldiers and military miniatures. I would also like to express my thanks to those individuals who have contributed to the blog, either directly or in-directly, and to Google for facilitating the overall effort. 

The apparent popularity of the blog is inexplicable to me. Beyond curiosity with the subject matter, the only thing I can come up with is that the content is “relatively” non-controversial, and like the hobbies themselves provides a momentary escape from the day’s necessary labors and problems. I am truly amazed and most appreciative.  Now, in about 18 months, there have been readers from all 50 states of the United States of America, and 132 other nations world-wide. Those readers have seen fit to show their interest with over 54,500 hits in that period of time. My most sincere thanks for your continued support and readership. I have tried to discern any consistency of interest in given subjects by careful review of the search terms/words people have used in discovering the blog, and will continue to monitor that parameter. As indicated at the initiation of the blog, readers are strongly encouraged to express their own specific interests in the ‘Comments’ section. Once more thank you all very much.

Drum-Major J. Harper and Pipe Major
S. D. Samson - The Last of the 92nd Gordon
Highlanders 1994

Slàinte Mhòr! Slàinte! (Great good health! Health!)
In commemoration of the service and sacrifice rendered by the Scottish Regiments of the British Army and Commonwealth throughout modern history, and their ongoing service today. 
Arnhem Jim

The Polsten 20mm AA Guns at Operation Market-Garden - 1944

A relatively unique, and as a result obscure, weapon existed within the TO&E of the 1^st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron at Arnhem. The weapon was the Polsten 20mm Anti-Aircraft Gun, No.2 Mk II. There were two guns forming a Section, each being towed behind one of the squadron’s jeeps. Primarily designed for limited air defense, their high rate of fire proved them to be a very effective ground weapon. Both the gun and jeep could be carried by a single Horsa glider.

The Polsten 20mm Anti-Aircraft Gun stowed inside an
Airspeed AS 51 Horsa Assault Glider; would probably
have jeep stowed with it in an operational flight

Although not the best of images the following is the official loading diagram for a Polsten 20mm AA Gun, along with a jeep, trailer and motorcycle, in a Airspeed AS51 Horsa Assault Glider Mk I.

Although taken later during Operation 'Varsity' in March1945
 this shows a Jeep and Polsten 20mm AA gun off-loading from
 a Horsa glider

Their presence is corroborated in the Air Load Manifest Operation MARKET - First Lift. See; http://arnhemjim.blogspot.com/2012/06/hamilcar-gliders-at-operation-market.html. Copies of the manifest are listed towards the end of the page.

The airborne configuration of the gun was magazine fed, primarily using a 60 round drum magazine (an alternate 30 round box magazine was also available). The 20mm round is believed to be the Oerlikon designed 1SS. Practical sustained rate of fire was between 250 and 320 rpm. This gun used a 400-grain (26-gram) charge of  smokeless powder to propel a 2,000-grain (130-gram) projectile at 2,800 feet (850 meters) per second. Maximum range being 4,800 yds.

Given their rate of fire, combined with that of the .303 cal. Vickers 'K' guns on each of the squadron's 39 jeeps, it would be curious to know what the ammunition allowance was for the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron going into the operation. 

As can be seen from the photographs and drawings, manning the gun without the protection of any kind of shield could be hazardous. In the combat environment that existed at Arnhem and in the Oosterbeek perimeter it proved deadly.

Their employment in the battle is established in the following war diary entry;
"1000 - Reports that the enemy have crossed the river LEK in force at RENKUM 6276 and is pressing east. Capt. Costeloe and Lieut. Christie site Polsten section to cover the road west.
1645 - Polsten sections leave to support A and D Troops who are under strong pressure from the enemy. Section fire on their objective. Lieut Christie killed whilst attempting to save Jeep and Polsten."

In addition, a Dr. Clous, a dentist living in Oosterbeek at the time of the battle, was able to take limited movies during the early stages of the battle. In this particular single frame taken from that film, the reader can see one of the two 20mm Polsten guns comprising the section in the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron, in tow behind a jeep of the squadron. Given Dr. Clous' records we even know the location and date; Lebretweg 1, Oosterbeek, 18 September 1944. Because it is movie film, and old, the resolution leaves something to be desired.

It's not often that an author has the opportunity to cite information directly from original source documentation. The following is a copy of the actual page of the War Diary of the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron, Royal Armoured Corps, which specifically cited the above entries:

In the movie "A Bridge Too Far" there is a poignant scene where a British paratrooper loses his life trying to recover one of the few parachuted CLE resupply containers which landed within the shrinking perimeter of the airborne forces at Oosterbeek. When the container is finally opened, it contains nothing but a supply of new red berets. A lot of viewers would immediately interpret this as mere Hollywood injection of theatrical dramatics. In real life who would be so stupid. Read it for yourself on another page of the Squadron's War Diary:

If the viewer can't quite make out the entry, it says "... One contains berets the other an assortment of crowns, pips chevrons, & cap badges ...". Manna from heaven, perhaps for an insignia collector, absolutely not for beleaguered paratroops.

I was not aware at the initiation of this page, and it is with both acknowledgment and apologies, that I can relate to you that Philip Reinders (already 'mentioned in dispatches' elsewhere in this blog) has previously written a booklet on the very same subject. I'm not certain whether he has any copies left, but if anyone is interested he can be contacted at his new blog page; http://4thparachutebrigadearnhem1944.eu. Subsequently Philip has graciously contributed the following additions from his personal research and collection. The first being a photograph of Lieut Christie's grave stone, and the second an empty 20mm cartridge casing recovered from the battlefield.

In addition Colin MacGregor Stevens CD, retired Manager of the New Westminster Museum and Archives in British Columbia, Canada (also Captain (Rtd), Canadian Army), is an advanced airborne collector, and maintains a web page where he discusses in detail the 20mm Polsten as well as other 20mm weapon systems. In this discussion he details a special gun carriage called the “Mounting, Airborne, 20-mm Gun No.2 Mark 2 Land Service.” Colin further states;  “I also have four 20mm shell casings dug up on the battlefield at Arnhem by Hans van der Velden near the Hartenstein Hotel where the British 1st Airborne Division made its heroic stand. These came from the Recce Squadron's second gun which survived to the end of the battle.” With acknowledgment the following is a complete 20mm round from his collection. For those familiar with the design and configuration of machine cannon cartridges, note that the diameter of the base of the cartridge is smaller than the cartridge wall.

As a brief aside I had the opportunity to meet Colin decades ago (1977) while vacationing in Vancouver, British Columbia, and subsequently trading him original shoulder titles of the Commando SBS and Commando 'D' (Depot) for original formation badges of the 153rd and 154th Gurkha Parachute Battalions. Both of us were very pleased then, and certainly even more so today.

The following photographs are of a very rare fully restored 20mm Polsten taken at one of the recent Anniversary Commemorations of the battle, and the second of another gun integrated into a diorama at the Airborne Museum, Hartenstein Hotel.