Canadian Para Wing with Ribbons

[Tonomachi]

This para wing is supposed to be from the 1950s yet it looks mint like it was made yesterday. These aren't being made for the collectors market are they? Could also use some help with what these ribbons represent. The para wing is nicely padded. Thanks in advance for your help.

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[edstorey]

What you have was made for wear on the Bush Uniform which was used by the Canadian Army from the early 1950s until the early 1970s. Gradually from approximately 1964 onwards, Bush was replaced by the Combat uniform.

Insignia was not permantently attached to the Bush uniform, this helped with laundering, so armlets carried the various shoulder badges, formation badges and rank. For Officers, the rank was on shoulder slip-ons. Those in the military who had decorations and jump wings had them made up on panels that could be snapped in place. You have one of these panels.

If you wish to find out what the ribbons are, a quick use of google will lead you to the Veterans Affairs site where you can read and learn all about them.

Yes, be careful, the wings are being reproduced.

[Tonomachi]

Thanks for the information so I'm guessing this is a real piece that was probably made in the 1970s. I'll check out Internet sites on Canadian ribbons to determine what these ribbons represent.

[edstorey]

From the late 1950s and early 1960s. It is quite common to find these in relatively good condition.

[arnhem2280]

Hi

The ribbons are 39/45 ,Italy and F/Germany Stars, Defence Medal, Canadian volunteer service medal, British War medal and Canadian Forces Decoration.

Hope this helps

Arnhem

[edstorey]

The new collectors will never learn anything if we continuously spoon feed them all of the answers. Google is a great tool to learn how to research and find out the answers without always asking forums for the answer. Government institutions, companies and even individuals invest a lot of money and time developing sites with the specific details contained in them, so would it not have been better to let this person do the research on the ribbons and find out the joy of learning about them himself rather than just posting the answers?

In the case of these ribbons, they would not have been a difficult task to find out what they are, it is all about empowering people to use the tools at hand and to learn about the details of the items they want to collect.

Originally Posted by edstorey

The new collectors will never learn anything if we continuously spoon feed them all of the answers. Google is a great tool to learn how to research and find out the answers without always asking forums for the answer. Government institutions, companies and even individuals invest a lot of money and time developing sites with the specific details contained in them, so would it not have been better to let this person do the research on the ribbons and find out the joy of learning about them himself rather than just posting the answers?

In the case of these ribbons, they would not have been a difficult task to find out what they are, it is all about empowering people to use the tools at hand and to learn about the details of the items they want to collect.

Not my intention to hijack Tonomachi's thread.
I agree to a certain extent, but I don't think that a little help hurts. Without providing answers, we might have new collectors avoiding joining forums such as this one, and instead trying to do research on the internet, many times getting inaccurate information, which we all agree is rampant on the internet.
After all, isn't that one of the principles of our hobby, to learn, collect, and preserve information and then pass on what we have learned to future generations so it is not lost forever, or should each generation have to start from scratch again. Personally I would never send anyone away, if I could help with any knowledge that I have acquired in my 50 years of collecting.

Just my personal opinion

Tom

[edstorey]

I certainly agree that there is a lot of misinformation on the internet, just as there is in published books, the key is to check with several sources and make sure that the other sources are not quoting each other.

In the case of the ribbons question, I think that we can all agree that the Veterans Affairs Canada site would be a pretty safe source to look at when it comes to finding out what the dfferent ribbons represent. As well, finding out about the ribbons would not take that long to research using todays on-line technology.

The original question was pretty good concerning the wings and ribbons on the bush panel and I can understand that it would be very hard to find out using the internet why all of those items would be on the panel. I don't think that suggesting doing the research on the ribbons was all that arduous a task and I would hope that any new or experienced collector would be curious to find out the answers on their own.

Forums are a great resource for both the novice and experienced collector; I do think though and have been chastised many times for saying it, that many 'collectors' use and abuse forums to do all of the work for them. Items gets identified, valued and marketed without the some posters doing anything or ever contributing - I call it the 'magic box' syndrome; think of a question, type it into the box and await an answer. Once that question had been answered, ask another and so on and so on, all in the name of 'learning'. I don't think this is the case with this question and I hope the poster had a check to find out more about the ribbons by using the internet. I also found it refreshing to see a question on something that was not WWII related.

[Phillip Herring]

Originally Posted by edstorey

I certainly agree that there is a lot of misinformation on the internet, just as there is in published books, the key is to check with several sources and make sure that the other sources are not quoting each other.

In the case of the ribbons question, I think that we can all agree that the Veterans Affairs Canada site would be a pretty safe source to look at when it comes to finding out what the dfferent ribbons represent. As well, finding out about the ribbons would not take that long to research using todays on-line technology.

The original question was pretty good concerning the wings and ribbons on the bush panel and I can understand that it would be very hard to find out using the internet why all of those items would be on the panel. I don't think that suggesting doing the research on the ribbons was all that arduous a task and I would hope that any new or experienced collector would be curious to find out the answers on their own.

Forums are a great resource for both the novice and experienced collector; I do think though and have been chastised many times for saying it, that many 'collectors' use and abuse forums to do all of the work for them. Items gets identified, valued and marketed without the some posters doing anything or ever contributing - I call it the 'magic box' syndrome; think of a question, type it into the box and await an answer. Once that question had been answered, ask another and so on and so on, all in the name of 'learning'. I don't think this is the case with this question and I hope the poster had a check to find out more about the ribbons by using the internet. I also found it refreshing to see a question on something that was not WWII related.

I have been called "arrogant" for suggesting that people purchase books on a subject, and one forum member suggested that the more experienced collectors have an "obligation" to assist the new collectors. Do I have an obligation to spend several hundred dollars on reference material so that somebody else can save a few bucks and just get an answer from me? I find it particularly odious when somebody wants the information so they can turn a profit on an item and if they don't get an answer, they appeal to people's egos by challenging the forum.
I realise that the forum is a place to exchange information, but if a chimp like me can learn some of this stuff on his own, then so can anybody else.

Phil

[arnhem2280]

I was only trying to help out. I'll keep quiet in future.

Cheers

Arnhem

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Originally Posted by arnhem2280

I was only trying to help out. I'll keep quiet in future.

Cheers

Arnhem

Arnhem

I guess we both should. Some people just don't get it. What a way to encourage new members to this forum. Moderator please CANCEL my member status here. The arrogance of a few of the older members is nauseating


Tom Tweney

[edstorey]

Tom the intent of this discussion was not to drive you away, it is understood that you were helping and that is fine. The point of the discussion was that maybe the person who was asking the question could be directed into doing a bit of the research rather than all of us providing the answers. Especially in this case where the answer would be fairly easy to find.

[Charlie585]

Gents,

I shouldn’t really get into these discussions as it generally does me no good.

However, I agree that pointing members in the right direction on occasion is no bad thing but it seems to me that every now and then there are posts made than can be classed as nothing less than mean spirited.

Surely the purpose of joining a forum such as this is to gain and pass on accurate and pertinent information regarding our hobby.

The majority it seems are more than happy to do this regardless of how much they may have spent on reference material.

For those with this mean spirited streak, maybe it is you who should hand in your mess tins and find a hobby / forum that you like.

I can see no benefit at all to withholding information, for every question asked I’m sure that there are many in addition to the enquirer that welcome the answers, thus providing the attainment of knowledge and provoking possible further positive discussion.

Ry

[DavidS]

Originally Posted by Charlie585

Gents,

I shouldn’t really get into these discussions as it generally does me no good.

However, I agree that pointing members in the right direction on occasion is no bad thing but it seems to me that every now and then there are posts made than can be classed as nothing less than mean spirited.

Surely the purpose of joining a forum such as this is to gain and pass on accurate and pertinent information regarding our hobby.

The majority it seems are more than happy to do this regardless of how much they may have spent on reference material.

For those with this mean spirited streak, maybe it is you who should hand in your mess tins and find a hobby / forum that you like.

I can see no benefit at all to withholding information, for every question asked I’m sure that there are many in addition to the enquirer that welcome the answers, thus providing the attainment of knowledge and provoking possible further positive discussion.

Ry

A double affirmation of what Charlie said.