Wonder if any of you know what the attached is?...... have you ever seen one or heard of them being brought back as souvenirs? It's some sort of relief / engraving.... family story says the wife's grandad took it from an Italian tank in WW2. He fought in North Africa, Sicily and Italy and was injured at Cassino in May-44. He served in several regiments....... West Yorkshire Reg't, HLI, 2 A&SH and RASC. The item is approx 3"x6", a metal plate attached to a plastic mount. It looks like it's a depiction of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935-37. Taken from an Italian tank...?.. bought at a car boot in North Africa....?.... just don't know. Any ideas / info appreciated.
In the bottom right - is that possibly a date based on the foundation of Fascist Italy? It looks like A XIV EF Where A might be anno
Yep, you're right Chris..... the XiV denotes 14 years after 'Day 1' when the new Fascist calendar was introduced.... equates to 1936.
It seems to be a commemorative piece. In the opposite corner, the ‘9 - 5 - 936’ seems to refer to 9 May 1936, the date that Mussolini announced the annexation of Ethiopia and proclaimed Italian East Africa in a triumphant speech from the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia. He declared a resurgent Roman empire and asked the assembled crowd, "Will you be worthy of it?" The crowd answered with a cry of "Si!" May 1936 - Wikipedia
I'd say it is fabulous, whatever it is. It checks all of the right boxes for me, except for the fascist connection, of course.
