Some thing you dont see every day

[Jackhr]

To celebrate the one year anniversary of his section.
1915 Trench cap made in Australia as worn in Gallipoli and Western front.

[fairlie63]

Johnny Morgan was apparently the trading name of a Morgan Kenny who sold uniform and badges in defiance of the law during the Great War, being prosecuted time after time. There is a file digitized on the NAA site with his name in it - Johnnie Morgan is the way it is spelt in the title.

Quite interesting reading particularly page 40 where reference is made to him selling a badge for the Australian Flying Corps that resembled no badge that the military authorities were aware of but the whole of the recent reinforcements for the AFC had turned up wearing them. Unfortunately the attached example has 'disappeared' from the file but I wonder if it was the half-wing in wreath with the letters AFC under it that appears on a photo of a member of 4 Sqn AFC on his embarkation. See the SLSA collection of photographs of WW1 blokes.
Keith

[johnG]

Very interesting thread. Many thanks.

[Jackhr]

Keith are you able to put a link to the photo or post it.

Thanks

[fairlie63]

Sorry to be so long, there's 30 pages of images but this is the one.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/state-.../pool-slsaww1/

Just in case the link doesn't work it is SRSA ref GRG26/5/4/1243, the guy's name is Alexander CALDWELL

Years ago Peter Coleman had this photo and Jeff Cossum used a copy in his cloth book I think. Only saw it on this site the other day when I dug up the photo of the tank crewman.

Awesome photo this one, note the clear shoulder title as well.

Which leads to the $64,000 question - you're walking through Melbourne with another collector and in the window of an antique shop you see one of these badges. Do you -

A), point it out to your fellow collector and both walk away laughing at the gullible AIF blokes who bought this fantasy patch off a trinket dealer and were made to take it off as soon as they turned up with it, or
B) point out some hot bird across the road to your mate and while he is distracted slip into the shop and lay your grubby hands on your wallet and the patch?

It wasn't a real badge after all was it? Interesting thought, but I know what I'd do.

If you get the chance to look through the Great War soldiers' images on the State Library of South Australia site do so, it's amazing some of the badges and colour patches these guys are wearing and I don't think I have seen so many variations of signallers' crossed flags!

Cheers, Keith

[MH331]

Super officer Cor Blimey cap first I have seen made in Australia. Many thanks for sharing the pictures.

Mark

Originally Posted by Jackhr

To celebrate the one year anniversary of his section.
1915 Trench cap made in Australia as worn in Gallipoli and Western front.

[Jackhr]

Thanks Keith ,I shall go through those tonite as I love photos and that's a name I have not heard in a long time PC.

Cheers mate

[Jackhr]

Keith thanks for posting the link to the site the photos are brilliant ,to see so many different pieces of uniforms and badges are fantastic do the other states have sites like the SA one?

Thanks mate

[fairlie63]

I'm not sure Jack, SLV has got a lot of military photos but I haven't yet looked at their full site. Keith

[Chacal]

Originally Posted by fairlie63

Which leads to the $64,000 question - you're walking through Melbourne with another collector and in the window of an antique shop you see one of these badges. Do you -

A), point it out to your fellow collector and both walk away laughing at the gullible AIF blokes who bought this fantasy patch off a trinket dealer and were made to take it off as soon as they turned up with it, or
B) point out some hot bird across the road to your mate and while he is distracted slip into the shop and lay your grubby hands on your wallet and the patch?

To be quite honest mate my chances of ever visiting Australia greatly diminished after reading about the guy who has been bitten on his genitalia by a spider TWICE in one year (though hopefully not by the same spider).

But as I collect police badges I’d go with ‘A’, and follow the scorch marks on the pavement into the shop in the hopes there might be some old bill stuff as well.

Your point is well made though, how many of those collecting during the Viet Nam War, for example, wish they had paid more attention to locally made insignia (cloth and metal) that regularly command high prices?

Regards

Graham

[fairlie63]

Originally Posted by Chacal

To be quite honest mate my chances of ever visiting Australia greatly diminished after reading about the guy who has been bitten on his genitalia by a spider TWICE in one year (though hopefully not by the same spider).

But as I collect police badges I’d go with ‘A’, and follow the scorch marks on the pavement into the shop in the hopes there might be some old bill stuff as well.

Your point is well made though, how many of those collecting during the Viet Nam War, for example, wish they had paid more attention to locally made insignia (cloth and metal) that regularly command high prices?

Regards

Graham

Personally I'd be worried about any sort of bloke who keeps exposing his genitalia to spiders regardless of nationality!! But true, we grow up on stories about the redbacks under the toilet seat in outdoor dunnies, always worth checking first.

[JerryBB]

Originally Posted by Jackhr

To celebrate the one year anniversary of his section.
1915 Trench cap made in Australia as worn in Gallipoli and Western front.

A truly rare cap, great to see it, probably the only example I'll ever see.