Youth Cadet movements

One of the by products of the Commonwealth is the influence on the youth of each region with Cadet movements.

The United Kingdom has the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) Army Cadet Force (ACF) Royal Navy and Royal Airforce cadets. I met some of these cadets when I was in the 78th Highlanders and 3rd Bde. Royal Artillery as they visited the Halifax Citadel.
www.cadets.ca


Canada has The Royal Canadian Army Cadets, The Navy Leauge of Canada cadets, Sea Cadets, Air Cadets. My father was a founding officer of the Enfield Legion cadets in Enfield, Nova Scotia. My best friend in high school joined them and eventually became the cadet commander. He also was one of 3 Canadian cadets to be sent to the British Army School of Piping in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Australia also has a Youth Cadet movement. I met some of these Cadets and their officers when I visited the Kapyong Memorial in Kapyong, Republic of Korea back in 1998.

Hong Kong also has a cadet movement, despite the colony going back to China.

More to follow

My Canadian army at War 1939-45 in 1/72

I would add pictures of my Canadian army in minature except for one reason:
 the figures are back in Nova Scotia.
However www.plasticsoldierreview.com does have shots and box art which can illustrate what I have.
 The figure sets I did use include
Airfix WW2 British Infantry X1(plasticsoldierreview)
Italeri/Esci British Infantry X3(plasticsoldierreview)
Matchbox British Infantry X1(plasticsoldierreview)
Revel British 8th Army Scottish Infantry X 2
(plasticsoldierreview)

Royal Canadian Artillery
(plasticsoldierreview)

Third Canadian Infantry Division:
 Maj-Gen. R.F.L. Keller Commander, Third Canadian Infantry Division. (www.cmhg.gc.ca)
Sherman Tank of Fort Garry Horse (www.cmhg.gc.ca)
 South Alberta Light Horse beating off the Germans (www.cmhg.gc.ca)

British Army DPM

British DPM Disrupted Pattern Material was initialy designed for the British Army back in 1966. By 1968, it was general issue to all regiments in the British Army.
Many Commonwealth forces adopted this uniform.
The DPM I am modeling consists of a pair of Soldier 95 trousers, and a combat jacket. My helmet is a Canadian M1 issue with foilage attached. This is what a marksmen/sniper might have worn if deployed to Europe or in Canada. The rifle is my 1910 Ross Rifle which was sporterized. The scope was a Christmas present from my father when I was 16. The rifle still shoots well.

The garrison of the Halifax Citadel, National Historic Site, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Halifax Citadel Regimental Association is a non-profit group which provides the soldiers for the garrison of the Halifax Citadel every summer.

Myself with my children with a L/Cpl of the regiment. He was corporal of the guard that day. I'm wearing my old glengarry with the Seaforth Highlanders cap badge. My sporran also has the stags head as I was a drummer sgt n another reenactment regiment. I served as a private in the 78th Highlanders as a university student.

My children and I with a Sargeant of the 3rd Brigade, Royal Artillery, the other regiment I served with as a student.

 

This is an excellent program which represents two proud regiments, but also gives great work experience to the men and women who are high school, college or university students.

who knows? My son and daughter might follow me into the regiment! The private is wearing the undress, or drill uniform. This is what we wore when going about our duties inside the fort, usually when doing drill. We'd save our redcoats for sentry duty, and for formal drill displays. There are alot of brass buttons to shine on them!
The weather was too wet that day for them to wear their feather bonnets. The feathers will drip dye out onto our uniforms which stain them.

 

Canadian army has been restored!

The government of Canada has finally rewarded the Canadian Army with their historic names, rank insignia, rank names.
Rather than the civilian sounding, or shall I say American sounding wordings, our army is once again known by the names it fought under prior to 1968.

The Commonwealth garrison of Singapore 1942

Commonwealth Warriors: The Battle of Singapore 1942

 

Singapore was the major British base in South East Asia. The garrison was made up of British, British Indian Army, Australian and colonial troops.

After the Japanese cut off the water supply, the garrison was forced to surrender. It was the worst defeat the British ever suffered.

 (plasticsoldierreview)

British Army:

18^th Division

118^th Field Regt. RA

135^th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regt. RA

148^th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regt. RA

125^th Anti-Tank RA

18^th Battn, The Recce Regt. 5^th Battn, The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)

9^th Battn, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (MG)

53^rd Inf Bde.

2^nd Battn The Cambridgeshire Regt.

5^th Battn, The Royal Norfolk Regt.

6^th Battn, The Royal Norfolk Regt.

54^th Inf Bde.

4^th Battn, The Royal Norfolk Regt.

4^th Battn, The Suffolk Regt.

5^th Battn, The Suffolk Regt.

55^th Inf Bde.

1^st Battn, The Cambridgeshire Regt.

5^th Battn, The Befordshire and Hertfordshire Regt.

1^st/5^th Battn, The Sherwood Foresters

Fortress Singapore

1^st Malaya Bde.

2^nd Battn, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)

1^st Battn Malay Regt.

2^nd Battn, Malay Regt.

 

2^nd Malaya Bde.

 

1^st Battn Manchester Regt.

2^nd Battn, Gordon Highlanders

2^nd Battn, 17^th Dogra Regt.

In reserve 2^nd Battn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (plasticsoldierreview.com)

 

Australian Army (plasiticsoldierreview.com)

8^th Division

22^nd Bde, New South Wales

2/18^th Battn

2/19^th Battn

2/20^th Battn

23^rd Bde,

2/21^st Battn, Victoria

2/22^nd Battn, Victoria

2/40^th Battn Tasmania

27^th Bde.

2/26^th Battn Queensland

2/29^th Battn Victoria

2/30^th Battn, New South Wales

2/10^th Field Regt. RAA

2/14^th Field Regt. RAA

2/15^th Field Regt. RAA

2/3^rd Anti-Tank Regt. RAA

2/4^th Anti-Tank Regt. RAA

2/4^th Machine-Gun Regt, Western Australia

2/3^rd Pioneer Battn

 

British Indian Army

III Corps (plasticsoldierreview.com)

9^th Indian Infantry Division

3/17^th Dogra Regt

2/10^th Baluch Regt

2/12^th Frontier Force Regt (Sikhs)

1^st Mysore Infantry

1^st Hyderabad

22^nd Indian Inf Bde.

2/18^th Royal Garhwal Rifles

5/11^th Sikh Regt.

1/13^th Frontier Force Rifles

5^th Field Regt. RA 4.5inch Howitzers (model with WWI guns)

88^th Field Regt. RA 25pdrs

80^th Anti-Tank Regt. RA 2pdr/47mm guns

21^st Mountain Battery Indian Artillery 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzers

 

11^th Indian Infantry Division

6^th Indian Inf Bde

1/8^th Punjab Regt.

2^nd East Surrey Regt.

2/16^th Punjab Reft.

15^th Indian Inf Bde.

1^st Leicestershire Regt.

1/14^th Punjab Regt.

2/9^th Jat Regt.

28^th Indian Inf Bde.

2/1^st Gurkha Rifles

2/2^nd Gurkha Rifles. (plasticsoldierreview.com)

2/9^th Gurkha Rifles

 

3^rd Cavalry

1^st Bn Bahawalpur Infantry

137^th Field Regt. RA 25pdrs

155^th Field Regt. RA 4.5inch howitzers

22^nd Mountain Regt. IA 3.7inch howitzers

80^th Anti-tank Regt. RA 2pdr/47mm

100^th Light Tank Sqd

 

 

Malayian units

1^st Battn, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

2^nd Battn Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

3^rd Battn Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

4^th Battn Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

1^st Light Field Regt, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

Armoured Car Squadron Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

Sarawak Rangers

11^th Coastal Regt. Hong Kong and Singapore RA

3^rd Battn, Straits Settlements Volunteer Force

When I returned to Canada, my father had acquired an Imperial Japanese Army helmet. Someone thought it had been a Soviet Union helmet and had painted a peace symbol on it.
When I looked at it, all I could think of is some poor, scared, angry young boy who was told to die for his emperor fighting against the largest allied force ever assembled. And the face I saw was the face of my two older Japanese sons.

The Canadian Army: Cavalry Regiments 1939-89

After the First World War, the Regiments of Horse which the Canadian army possesed, slowly changed to regiments of truck, tank and armoured car.
(plasticsoldierreview.com)

The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps




Troopers of the 29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment) enjoying a game of cards in front of their camouflaged Sherman tank, France, summer 1944. (DND) www.cmhg.gc.ca

Trooper, 29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment), 1944-45

This tank crewman is a identifiable by the cap badge he wears on the black beret of the Canadian Armoured Corps. The 29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment) was the divisional armoured reconnaissance regiment of 4th Canadian Armoured Division. This man wears the British 'Oversuit, Tank Crews' introduced in late 1944. It was nicknamed the 'Pixie Suit' by the troops. Reconstruction by Ron Volstad. (Canadian Department of National Defence)

 

The Royal Canadian Dragoons  These Regiments are equipped with the

Lord Strathcona’s Horse 
     

Canadian M4A3E8 Sherman tanks, Korea, 1951

Sherman tanks of 'C' Squadron, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (2nd Armoured Regiment) in Korea, 1951. (DND) www.cmhg.gc.ca  


  Leopard 2 Tank and the Coyote Recce Viechle

Leopard C1 main battle tank, Canadian Forces, 1981

The German Leopard C1 battle tank replaced the British Centurion in the Canadian Forces in 1978. (DND) www.cmhg.gc.ca

12e Regiment Blinde

Reserve/Militia

Governor General’s Horse Guards

The Halifax Rifles(plasticsoldierreview.com)

8^th Canadian Hussars

The Ontario Regiment

Queen’s York Rangers (1^st American Regiment)

Sherbrooke Hussars

1^st Hussars

Prince Edward Island Regiment

Royal Canadian Hussars

The British Columbia Regiment

South Alberta Light Horse

Sasketchewan Dragoons

King’s Own Calgary Regiment

The British Columbia Dragoons

The Fort Garry Horse

Regiment du Hull

The Windsor Regiment.