| About Us and Why A chance meeting and talk of the regimental reunion and I started getting nostagic about the old days, I began looking for reminders of my dim and distant past, but as I searched for memorabilia I soon realised that there was virtually nothing that represented my time in the army, there were some ordinary generic souvenirs such as coffee mugs and key rings and the traditional wall plaques, but nothing that was actually relevant, nothing that I could relate to, and it didn't help matters that two of the regiments I served with have since been disbanded so there was no longer a regimental PRI shop to get even the usual souvenirs. So I decided to do something about it. The aim was simple - to make military ornaments that were relevant, realistic and accurate, with the badge of any regiment from any decade, and importantly of a quality that I would want to put on display, and of course to keep them affordable. It took a couple of years and a lot of work but eventually I set up this business. When I was setting up the business my teenage bank manager said he couldn't see the point as there was no need for the products, they don't have a purpose, the ornaments are nothing more than decoration. He's quite right of course the replica ornaments have no practical purpose, but he's also a civilian and he's never served in the armed forces and he certainly doesn't have the memories that I have. Very few civilians realise that British forces have been in action every year without exception for over three hundred years, and although some recent events receive a considerable amount of publicity most conflicts go largely unreported, in fact since the end of the second world war eleven Victoria Crosses have been won and 1968 was the only year that members of British forces have not been killed on active duty. British and Commonwealth troops have been deployed on more than eighty operations since the end of World War Two, from the mountains of Korea to the swamps and jungles of Malaya and Borneo, the heat of the African bush and the freezing wetness of the South Atlantic and to the roasting dry daytime heat of Aden and the middle east, or in the backstreets of cities closer to home, and whether the conflict is called a war, a police action, peacekeeping, or the latest politically correct term of conflict management, young soldiers live in atrocious conditions, work more hours in a week than most civilians do in a month while risking their lives for little money and even less gratitude. It's a disgrace that the vast majority of the public don't realise that the very countries they now visit on family holidays are the same places that troops fought and died in recent decades, and that even though there are more than ten million former service men and women in Great Britain they tend to be a neglected section of society. A civilian could never understand that the ornaments are like photographs, they trigger memories, some good, some not so good. A simple ornament can bring back memories of the regiments we served in and the noise and fumes of the quipment, reminders of the hours on guard duty protecting the camp against the enemies of the free world armed with nothing more than a pick axe handle, polishing and painting everything because a VIP was passing within a couple of miles of the base, the exercises waist deep in snow and crawling fully dressed into a damp sleeping bag for a couple of hours before the next stag, hugging the engine decks to try to get warm and laying in a hole in the ground while it filled with rainwater during stand-to, boiled sweets and processed cheese in compo rations and brewing up in a mess tin on hexamine blocks, and when was the last time you had an egg banjo? Memories of not just friends but comrades, people you can really depend on to back you up (except of course when you're trying to impress the same girl in the local bar), being physically and mentally exhausted and still carrying on because you don't want to let your mates down, and the long periods of monotony before the sudden burst of excitment and exhilaration of a "contact" followed by relief that you can't explain to anyone that hasn't been through it, and hang fires and misfires that weren't so funny at the time, not to mention more than a few alcohol related incidents that shouldn't be discussed in public. And it really doesn't matter what regiment you were with or even which branch of the forces you were in or when and where you served, there's shared common ground, some of the tools might change but the job is still the same. So the ornaments are a lot more than just decoration, they're also reminders, not just for us to remember our own past but also to remind others of our past, so when they ask what it is, and they do - tell them! The business is based in the north east of England and every single piece is crafted by hand in our studio workshop using a combination of traditional and modern techniques and materials, and because we're small we are also flexible, which means that we can cater for most requirements, we can modify and combine pieces and produce special commissions, and we can make sure that the quality of our products is maintained. I hope you like the range and hopefully there's something to represent everyone, whether a gun number or tank crew, a signaller in a command post, a medic, mechanic, an infantryman or in ammunition resupply. And there will be regular additions so it is worthwhile checking back frequently. If you have any comments about the site and how we can make it easier or better please get in touch using the Contact Us Page and I would welcome any suggestions for new replicas to the range, and if you have any criticisms or comments about the ornaments and how they can be improved please let me know. All the best and thanks for taking a look at the site, |
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| | Nothing Changes. Written by Private Blanchford about his first day of training in 1870. "We were marched on to the gravel parade and left to the tender mercies of the drill instructors. First came a cockney corporal, a most caustic little beast, who pushed and pulled us into something like a line, finding a fresh insult for each in turn. Then came a coarse growl from the rear "Don't dress the scarecrows Corporal Oliver, I'll soon lick the lubbers into shape". Sergeant Hallowell .. he had a comic face, with a red nose, bushy eyebrows, and a rusty bristly moustache, his chest puffed out like a pidgeon. His expression, fierce and comic. In the deepest, harshest bass voice that ever spoke .. this remarkable warrior at once began to address us. First he stalked up very close to the line and glared at us as though he thought of drawing teeth.. 'You miserable devils, you miserable devils'.. he walked back some twenty yards, halted and roared out 'You - miserable - devils' and we stood motionless, 'You are raw recruits; raw and green, I'm here to dress you and drill you, and frizzle you and grill you, and pepper you and salt you till you're done to a turn; and by my whiskers a shall do it. Don't grin at me, that man with the muffin face, I'll soon sweat the smiles off you, and look to your front, you poor unsaved sinners, and learn wisdom'. Here the sergeant made a rush at a man near the flank and roared out 'What's your name?' 'Firwood sir', 'Don't "sir" me; call me sergeant. What's your father?', 'A tailor sergeant', 'A tailor, if he doesn't make better coats than soldiers he aught to be hanged for a botch. Go to the centre Firwood, and grow, and trust God, Firwood, and turn out your toes, you - miserable - devil'. The sergeant stepped backwards again, 'Now, when I say "Eyes front" look straight to your front, or as straight as you can, and forget your past sins and listen to me. I shall make men of you. I shall be your father and your mother and your uncle Tom from Devizes, and you'll live to bless me in the coming years - if I don't murder you in the process. Eyes front'." |
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