Awesome buckles 

My latest acquisition is this Gustav Brehmar  tropical buckle dated 1941. 

Two Hermann Goering Soldiers, in Itay, one with an custom made Italian Camouflage jacket. Curious shoulder strap on that Unteroffizer with the Tank Destruction Badge as he has a single Tresse strip, which is supposed to mean an NCO Candidate, but as we see he already is a Sergeant! Also has some kind of Cypher on it, embroidered by the looks of it, but can not really tell which it is.

Nice collection! My grandfather was awarded the Vichy Croix de Guerre for flying bombing missions in 1940 over Germany as a flight mechanic. He stayed in the Army in North Africa but was grounded for medical reasons (appendectomy gone wrong). After 1942 he was integrated in the Allied forces and spent the second half of 1944 capturing German radar scientists in France. After the war he participated in the building of the French air defense system.

A little information for you:   Your man is 7916 Private Frederick Thomas Magness Norfolk Regiment Military The 1911 Census shows him in 1st Battalion Norfolk Regiment. Stationed at Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Medal card Shows a disembarkation date of 15 Nov 1914 . Theatre of war description Mesopotamia & Bushire This means he was serving in the 2nd Battalion Norfolk Regiment as the 1st Battalion was serving in Ireland at the outbreak of the war August 1914 : in Bombay in India. Part of 18th (Belgaum) Brigade, 6th (Poona) Division of Indian Army. Moved to Mesopotamia, landing 15 November 1914. 29 April 1916: battalion captured after being besieged at Kut-al-Amara. Details and transport that had not been at Kut joined similar detachments of the 2nd Dorset and formed a composite battalion, named the Norsets. This was broken up on 21 July 1916, as the battalion had been reconstituted by the arrival of new drafts. February 1917: transferred to 37th Brigade in 14th Indian Division. Remained in Mesopotamia. I can’t find anything on the MSM   Personal Born 20 Aug 1890 Freebridge Lynn, Norfolk, England Baptised 21 Sep 1890 England In 1939 his occupation was Gardener and Chauffeur. Wife Annie Died 9 Nov 1968 3 Hunstanton Rd, Dersingham,  Norfolk, England

I haven't seen pics of Cubans wearing them, but remember that there weren't many Cuban soldiers in Grenada. The Cubans were advising the Grenadian PRA or Peoples Revolutionary Army. Most of the Cubans were either in civilian clothes or Cuban green uniforms in the case of some of the engineers. Being a Soviet ally, the Cubans acted as intermediaries to the PRA and were supplying many items to them. There was an article in a 83 or 84 issue of Soldier of Fortune that showed a supply room full of Soviet items like these that were unissued prior to the US invasion. So, my take is if anyone actually wore them, it would have been the PRA, much the Angolans.      Scott

Great write up and uniform, I really like seeing the uniforms of so many of these countries, it is interesting to see the heraldry as well as the utility in them. Thanks for sharing and educating many of us on a topic we seldom see.   Scott

Adding to the thread, CHEERS      

I recently acquired a small WWI British medal group. The group consists of a Victory Medal, 1914-15 Cross and a War Medal. There is also a British Legion lapel button. All three of the medals are named to "7916 PTE. F.T. Magness NORF. R.". I believe that is the Norfolk Regiment. I also found a ribbon for a Meritorious Service Medal, but am not sure it belongs with this group. I was just wondering if it is possible to learn anything about private Magness? I attached pics of the WWI Victory and 1914-15 Star medals. The War Medal is not available right now. Thanks for any help!

It could be haji created like so much of their other stuff. Or it could be legit. 

It looks like it’s from the late 1800s.   It could be from an Afghan unit during the British influence.

hello, and thanks for letting me join.  i served for 21 years and my last deployment was to afghanistan.  i was able to pick up a few things whilst i was there.  first is an all brass helmet.  i am guessing from the Boer war era.  i have tried finding a similar one on the interweb, but nothing exact.  all the webbing and chinstrap had rotted off.  there was an emblem or badge on the front, but i that was before i bought it at the Haji-mart.  there are some letters and/or numbers stamped under of the brim in the back.  just guessing, but probably a roster number or family name maybe.  can anyone tell me what exactly this is?