Here is the latest two purchases I made regarding my Badge collection ~ Th efirst the German Tanker's badge is in Superb condition and better than I anticipated ~ Bought at a very nice price out of Italy ~ the cpntainer is an added bonus ~ (The fifty cent 50th Anniversary end of WWII / "Weary Dunlop" coin wasa MD hunt find too ~ nice score~ ) I also haveanother bid pending to purchase a set of four extra same style period badges ~ Plus I just Luv the US Army cap badges ~ ever Since Terry foudn the US Army officer's badge I have a fascination with them ~ But I also have two more on the way in two lots~ (Hmm still running ot of space here ~ LOL) Hi Stuart, Found a little bit more info about the design of the US cap badge. No doubt about it , it’s a particularly nice design. I know you have a good idea of the design meaning as we discussed previously, however me being a nosey me, went a little further and came across this rather large YouTube vid and it gives some rather interesting facts about the badge symbol. Start at the 12 min mark ---- only goes on for a couple of minutes. Rather interesting. Secrets in Plain Sight 1-23 (Full video) - YouTube Terry
Well Our Wet season is building now ~ Every day there is storm activity across the area ~ it is hit and miss though as to whether one gets rained on hammered by lightning ~ I headed out to do a solo Hunt on an old site which I have worked extremely hard But as the dam, is dropping as it does leading into 2015 I figured was worth a few hours ~ Sure enough despite a lot of detritus and rotten 303 shells a few goodies appeared ~ A Water baby ~ hiding below the surface among the stones ~ Blink and you miss it ! A mystery item .. not the drum bung! ~ looks like a bearing cover to me ~ ANY IDEAS !?? HAd a line of thought but no back up on the theory ! Eventually I was forced back to the car by a downpour ! The couple of hours reward ~ The 2 lber Safely triangle is in tact and I will heat and straighten and fit to the 2 lber shell I am restoring ~ The small rod looks like a firing pin rod (?) and the point matches a 303 shell case primer impact perfectly ~ (??)
Is this the Bearing cap ? In fact this area was occupied by extensive numbers of Grant M3 tanks from 1942 on ! AWM Description WATSONVILLE AREA, QLD. 1944-04-28. TROOPS OF THE 2/6TH INFANTRY BATTALION MOVING FORWARD BEHIND GENERAL GRANT M3 MEDIUM TANKS OF THE 2/9TH ARMOURED SQUADRON FOR AN ASSAULT ON CHURCH KNOLL AND CATHEDRAL KNOLL DURING A TRAINING EXERCISE. ONE OF THE GENERAL GRANT TANKS DURING THE OUTFLANKING MOVE TOWARDS JAP HILL. AWM: ATHERTON TABLELAND, QLD. 1943 07 02. TANKS MOVING IN TO SUPPORT THE 2 13TH AUSTRALIAN INFANTRY BATTALION, DURING A DEMONSTRATION OF TANK AND INFANTRY ATTACK METHODS.
Well Seems my friend in Holland nailed the pin ! Ironically or co-incidently I found that other Booby trap trigger some 15 metres from this one ~ And if you go to "Switches" both of them are opposite each other on the right hand side of the picture ~
Put a big weekend on cleaning up some of my badge and buckle relics ~ Ideally I am merely removing the crud and never endeavouring to restore the item ~ but merely making them much more appealing ~ Most of the Australia badges , the webbing buckles and another 9mm round ~
Well~ Wednesday hunt yet again ~ One of my earliest up and at it, yet~ Up at 04.00 after a midnight finish at the Office and bed at 00.30! Ed and I on site around at 07.45! Still and warm already ~ Ed and I as always split in different directions ~ I was struggling with nothing outstanding ~ Terry arrived on site around 08.30 after driving from Cairns ~ He had stopped and did a small local hunt prior to joining us ~ And the bugger found "My Holiest of Holies " ~ A Unit cap badge! A Royal Pioneer Corp badge ! Pioneer (military) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Australian units listed mid page.) Mean while Ed had picked up a quite a few coins including a US coin ~I scored a .30 cal US shell case even more evidence of US presence in the camp site ~ Ed dug a nice AUST Army D/\D MUG~ Meanwhile Stuart is Struggling ! By midday the heat was on, the rise and Stuart was definitely on an off day ! Ed and Terry were doing quite well ~ We moved camp to site number one not far away ~ Terry was struggling ~ as I was ~ Ed headed off to the Wet canteen site for another base ! Ed was the big winner ~ ( I missed snapping his total for the day but he ended up with eighteen coins and a bewt hat Rising Sun ~ Terry scored several Trench art pieces ~ Nice ! Around 13.00 we headed back but Terry and I decided to spend some more time at his first "stop off" site of the APC badge as Ed had to go rescue a mate who had just bought a new boat ~ Terry fell short but the Australia badge and the AMF buttons saved my day ~ Plus a several nice period bottle/ jars added some dignity! ` Burning off cordite
Headed out around 11.30 on Saturday ~ heavy over cast southerly breeze. Fire up north~ Still bloody dry as ~ On site around midday ~ This is old ground which I have frequented regularly for the past two years and it rarely fails to deliver some goodies ~ Still no rain and dry as a cracker ~ the ground hard as ~ After several hours hunting at the half way mark ~ The oval piece is a manufacturer's identity plate ~ a tractor of machinery ?? (If it cleans up well okay ~ if not in the bin~ ) Plus an Aust badge and a rather sad Jack Knife ~ (The jack knife I now have in the electrolysis vat ~ I then went water wading ~ trying out the new waders for the first ~ a lot of targets and no shortage of 303 blanks ~ but had to chase around the bottom to catch a 1943 KG VI ! But they were great and I will be using them a lot more ~ Only spent an hour before heading back to home base ~ The final total The 12 gauge shot may in fact be a charge for a Mortar round ! The brass 12 gauge base is stamped 12 ELEY KNOCH with ICI logo. ‘I found the knife in a military WWII dump ~ along with with the webbing buckles, the 1922 KG V and the KG VI 1943 Pennies and the Aust badge ~ ( I actually found a fire site nearby (Approx a kilometre away), some time ago and among the buckles and remnants I found a lot of the cable U hooks ! So it would seem the Aust forces did sport Jack Knives ~ )
On Saturday it was a planned four man team hunt~ we were fully expecting to get seriously rained on! I had even offered to take a MD novice along for the day ~ but being a self proclaimed expert on the weather as he calls him self~ a Storm Chaser for BOM ~ he declined for that very reason~ "Going to be seriously raining!" So ~ the weather was looking very iffy as it has showered d for the last few days and humidity very high. In stead we were showered o three times.. and at days end I was Sun burnt on the lower legs and seriously burnt on the right fore arm where my shirt sleeve kept riding up while swinging the MD Jive ! I was on site around 07.30 ~ and headed off before the other blokes arrived. In my usual manner I started out by doing cursory / quick runs to recce the site. My results were not to flash ~ Too fast ~ Terry demonstrated in his usual fashion .. slow and steady with impressive results after his arrival ~ The rain showers swept through every few hours ~ and wet us but not deterred us ~ By midday I was looking grim again with only a 2/3 "AUSTRA~ " Badge and misc items ~ Terry was looking impressive with his usual slow and low technique ! Total mornings collection ~ 90% was Terry's effort . Lower frags were 4 1/2" mortar fragments ~ and a mystery item at upper centre. The "guest" Steve who is a weapons collector felt it may be a component of a Bren Gun and was planning to take it home to compare with his same weapons. After Smoko we headed out as a team with a target area in mind which none of us had Been on previously ~ but I had been 'eyeing off". As we worked toward the area I actually missed 'sighting' the FIRST EVER snake that blessed us with its presence as he slithered between Terry and I ~ But this afternoon was to be Stuart's win as I discovered a coin spill and a possible tent site as targets came as a Rush. Terry forged on to recce the areas ahead but fell well short of his mornings efforts ~ I scored the fourth blank ID tag in a row ~ The other two put in a mediocre show and left for Cairns around 14.30 ~ Terry headed home around 16.00 and I followed shortly after ~ A great day for me ~ TWO KG V 1916 Shillings + two trench are pieces the heart made from a penny as it still has some of the print still on the face. (As per normal , numerous 303 rounds and shell not included ~ or detritus ~ )
hree hunts in since the last report ~ Full on ~ One new site ~ One Weds , yesterday and another today Sunday ~ Another planned for Wednesday ~ Any suggestions ~ Advertisement 1933
Yet another Mid week Hunt ~ But hey ~ I am on three weeks leave anyway ~ Two of us rendezvoused around 07.30 and hit the site for a few hours which turned into 4 hours before the sheer Summer heat beat us back to the shelter of the Gum trees and the shade where a bonus breeze gave us a reprieve ~ Took us an hour to get motivated again ~ Dug some nice relics ~ Terry scored several Rising Suns and a nice KG V sixpence ~ Voted as Score fo the day ~ I almost tossed it as scrap but when I brushed it off ~ 1923 KG V ~ assume targeted by a "scoped' 303 LE ! Plus a mystery item which I know of one other found in a Canadian European conflict site ~ HELP!! Thought it was centre tube for a Mills bomb but does not fit the alloy centre tube I have ??? Plus the two pounder base was donated by mate Terry to my growing 40 mm / 2 lber collection ~ Any idea ~ The buttons and the penny was so badly encrusted they were un-identifiably~ so I flamed them ~
Woow ~ What a week ~ Hunts on Monday ~ Tuesday and another recce/ hunt today with my lady ~ Ms M ! Monday it was Terry ~ from Cairns ~ Ed has some family dealings but i was able to go out with Ed aon Tuesday~ We met up around 08.00 and headed into two sites ~ including one site which we have now written off ~ A sole find on the second find ~ dug to Tiwain for a modern 2 cent coin ( discontinued in the 1990s ? ) but the Weather man had other plans and we were seriously rained out by 13.30 ~ Mystery item My finds for the day ~
Tuesday ~ Very early start ~ up at .4.00 ~ on site 0.6.15 ~ Now site again ! I picked up a (Hat ) Rising Sun real early ~ which broke a hex I have been having regarding the RS's ~ Then I broke another Hex when I finally scored a stamped ID tag ( after digging some 5 blanks !) We split up and i had a good run except I git bogged down chasing the mythical "China Blue" Glassware in a bottle dump ! But I eventually slowed down and started producing the goods ~ I had a good day on ' Aust Military Forces' (brass) buttons ~ including an Officer's cap button ~ Ed was having a good day with the CTX again ~ ( also about being in the right place, regardless of MD ~ IMO !) But then I also chased a brilliant target which turned otu to be the Mess Stove top ~ a cast iron stove plate ~ By 13.30 we had enough the total contradiction of humidity and scorching Sun sent us home atad early ! The combined total . Mine at the lower half and Ed's at the top ~ The lower spoon I dug was unusual as it is extremely heavy ! The best of mine at day's end ~ also included another US Army webbing buckle~ But i am wondering now if these buckles are typical of the US Army kit that was being supplied to the Aust forces by 1944 ! (?)
Thursday ~ Several lay days and i got the itch again ~ I figured that I should take my (nature loving partner ) Ms M out fro a run ~ at first she was not fussed but decided it was great op to get out ~ So we headed out for a Recce to a yet another site ~ Took an hour t reach the site and we not even sure if we going to actually be able to access the site but ~ we got there ~ I insisted I be able to MD for an hour which she was more than agreeable to ! The KG VI and the AMF button as dug ~ More promise to come ~ I feel another Hunt coming on tomorrow ~
Having a Vegie day today ~ Just about buggered ~ lOL ~ went out again yesterday ~ 50 minutes drive to the site ~ Spent 4.5 hours on site and pulled out just as the storms started to build ~ AND BOY! did we have thunder storms last night~ Bloody Hell ~ thunder felt like it was on the front yard ! But interestignly never a lot of rain to follow ~ Any way ~ NO RS. NO ~ Coins ~ No AMF buttons ~ But hey I will dig these 20 mm shell cases all day ~ plus a few webbing buckles and a n intriguing Shrapnel piece ~ Dare say some one was Pig Hunting the hard way ~ An Arrow ~ and HOW the ^%^ do sinkers get here.. Surely associated with the AIF camp ?? Any ideas on the frag ? Late storms starting up ~
Finally take on the 22 mm shell ~ Huge day Tuesday ~ two of us ~ FIVE sites in one day ~ Two total fail ~ third positive but hard worked over as it backs onto a public road ~ Under the watch of locals .. I guess shot this photo as they were quite some distance and I zoomed to max and snapped away ~ A pair of classic Australian Wedge tail eagles.. Beautiful ~ The other two much more positive including old favourite ~ so lots of moving around ~ but I scored a few pieces ~ Intriguing failed trench art penny .. maybe he should have just used it for target practice like the previous one I dug ~ Intriguing comparison to the beat up penny KG V 1926 ~ as opposed to the shot target penny of last week, a KG V 1923 ~ the KG V coins are a nice/ "pretty coin" ~
Well it is High Summer now and the Wet season is ~ well supposed to be in full tilt! But despite the frequent thunder storms there is not a lot of volume to the rain~ When the storm clouds recede the days are extremely hot under high humidity in true Wet tropics fashion ~ So yesterday I headed out froa solo hunt in old grounds ~ A pleasant SSE breeze kept things pleasant and the ground being damp made for a pleasant experience up till around 13.00 Lots of targets and quality signals ~ but a lot of detritus ~ including many 303 blank cartridges and shell casings ~ a few good finds including mystery objects ~ more Primer flash tubes ~ and another ~ a third KG V which has been "tampered with"~ be it shot or a failed attempt at Trench art / ring~ I also dug up this length of strapping. It was quandary at first as it is synthetic material with an original brass eyelet ~ typical of those that drive us detectorists insane on Military sites ~ That is until I recalled that such fabric did appear long before WWII~ Not a bad day Hunt ~ Nice to actually find a ACP shell case that is not rotted which is so typical around these parts ~ in fact most US shells cases tend to rot much more easier that the Australian products ~
Decided to "clean up" some of the badges etc of recent as I have more than enough original patina items ~
Been very quiet of late as the "Wet " has turned on us big time and the rains have been incessant ! This scene has not been seen since 1967 !! The main highway into town completely cut 1 There IS a bridge under there ! Anyway we did get in one Hunt last week ~ pretty standard ~ form ~ but three sites ~ I previously took Ms M with me to the same site for time out and she scolded me for digging in the (little used) track ~ but I was NOT going to ignore a '87' signal on any account ! A superb AMF button ~ Ed's stash for the day ~ Mine ~ The best of mine ~ A sign of what was to come ~
Two of us did a 'research recce' on Wednesday two weeks back . Our aim was to ;- 1. Establish the extent of a tarred road built by the Aust Army in WWII to service the camps ~ particularity of concern during the wet season. 2. Confirm several campsites particularly & including the 2/2 Anti-tank Regt. 3. Confirm tracks via GPS Garmin and Google Earth Despite initial concerns regarding cyclone activity in these parts this week ~ it was a perfect day ~ Cool; < 24 deg C> ~ light breeze ~ cloud coverage and moderate to high humidity, First encounter on site was a large Goanna ~ that came back to haunt us later on~ We headed up the tar road around 08.30 hrs. The entire trek took us around 4 hours! First objective was to confirm the tar section actually elbowed back to another campsite we have researched extensively and or included a diversion onto others sites. It did not divert but simply elbowed around a deep creek rut ~ heading back the camp site mentioned ~ But as we suspected there was a track attached to the elbow and headed, ascending along a range of hills and into the dense bush ~ The track was extremely rugged and had recently been transversed by at least one 4*4 and was extremely churned over due to recent heavy rains in the entire area. We soon started to pick up misc pieces including 303 shell cases and detritus, Also a single period razor head. This told us that at very least there had been forced marches or training along the track/s. We checked several side tracks, These proved impenetrable or as in the case of one which also had not been used for a very long time, showed signs of Gun pit on he peak of the hill. The track associated with this was pit descended down hill at an extremely rate of descent~ The track we followed to the bottom of the hill where it petered with no obvious extension. We can only assume this was a training hill climb with perhaps artillery pieces and transport limber to the gun pit at the peak of the hill ~ there is no other logical reason for this track! Once we ascended the hill again we continued along the main track for several kilometers until it began to descend again ~ Working with the minimal maps we had we assumed the track descended further NE which was totally in the wrong bearing/s that we were endeavoring to locate, Looks like a scene from "The Thin Red Line" ! So after several hours which was far from distasteful experience we headed back the base camp for lunch and a quick hunt before heading home again ~ Once I coordinated the GPS readings we were indeed way off the target area ~ But a number of issues were addressed especially the question regarding the tar military road. Did not even notice our friend perched directly above us over Lunch ~ Plus we identified several potential camp sites which unfortunately are heavily over grown with dense ground surface grasses and these will not be accessible unless a brush fire clears the area ~