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MENU OF SUB-SECTIONS (click the button to reach the section):
HAT & TUNIC BADGES, PINS and EMBLEMS of JEWISH UNITS and SOLDIERS:
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Eretz Israel - beautiful cap badge of the "1st Judean Battalion" (in Hebrew, 'Ha Gdud Ha Rishon Le Yehuda'), 1919.
The Battalion was a post-World War I formation of Jewish volunteers, former soldiers in the wartime (1917-18) Jewish Battalions (the 38th, 39th and 40th Royal Fusiliers - commonly called the 'Jewish Legion'), particularly of the 40th Battalion of Eretz Israel volunteers. Though the Menorah (Jewish candelabra) emblem was the symbol of the Jewish Legion, it only became a uniform emblem in 1919 with the creation of the 1st Judean Battalion, and the Battalion served guard duties in Palestine from 1919-1921, until it was disbanded.
This emblem is manufactured in the standard British Army style, with a flat 'slider' on the reverse; weight: 6.90g; it is not marker-marked, and is of the variety with a bell-shaped base on the Menorah (others have a base with flater sides). The Hebrew text on the scroll at the base says "Kadima" ('Forward').
More pictures: front of emblem, back of badge, side angle of back of badge
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Item Code: 0120042 Price: €235
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Rare metal hat emblem badge of the Palestine Regiment, 1942-1943: slightly curved with two pronged loop backing; smooth reverse; not maker marked; weight: 9.85g. In excellent condition with some [manufacturing?] residue around a few of the letters.
The Regiment was a shortly-lived Arab-Jewish formation created by the British authorities in Palestine, and drew upon soldiers from existing forces in the British Army, namely "the Buffs".
Although there were already by this time Jewish and Jewish-Palestinian units in the British Army, from a Jewish-Zionist perspective the local community in Palestine was not being encouraged by the British to take arms for proper combat service: this Regiment, like most other such forces was assigned guard duties either within Palestine or in neighboring countries, like Egypt or Cyrennaica (Libya). The Zionist leadership in Palestine was keen on the one hand to have Jews serve in the forefront of the struggle against Germany, and on the other to acquire combat experience which would be needed at some future date to help establish a Jewish country (i.e. Israel). The British, for their part, were wary of precisely that latter goal and so for most of the war prevented Palestinian Jews from service in mass front line duty, especially in all-Palestinian Jewish units.
The second element of this emblem's significance is its design: only in December 1942 did the Zionist leadership and then the Allied leaders publicly announce that Germany was systematically murdering Europe's Jews. This made the Zionist push for military enlistment and nationalist awareness even more pronounced, and together with public pressure by the Jews in Palestine to serve especially in combat forces against Germany, they also wanted to wear emblems signifying their nationality or to raise the Zionist flag - the British at that time categorically and emphatically refused.
This led to a spate of occurences in which either the Zionist flag (today's Israeli flag) was raised and not the British Union Jack, or to localized mutinies in which Jewish-Palestinian soldiers refused to wear the emblems issued to them, such as this one. The issue with the Palestine Regiment is that in spite of its unique name and high Jewish recruitment rates, the Jewish recuits were extremely and publicly unhappy about its emblem's design and most refused to wear it. One British official noted: "...I can see no objection to the design, but I feel sure it will not satisfy the Jews. The olive branch certainly does not denote the offensive spirit, but it may be taken to imply the burying of the hatchet [hatred?] between the Jews and the Arabs" (Gelbar, p. 638). It's design looked like local mandatory coinage, leading the Regiment to be nicknamed the "Five Piastre Regiment". In one instance in October 1943, 69 members of the Revisionist "Beitar" movement refused to wear this emblem and received prison terms in Sarafand (today's "Tzrifin" IDF base). Eventually, when the Regiment was disbanded and the Jewish Brigade created (September 1944), its members were allowed to wear special Jewish and Zionist insignia on their uniforms, and to fly the Zionist flag.
The uniqueness of this specific piece is that it does belong to the Palestine Regiment: in the collecting community we normally come across the crude gold-gilt colored version of these emblems, with rough lumpy surfaces and improvised slider backings; these are often confused with Regiment emblems because their design was also retained by the Jewish Brigade's 2nd battalion.
However, professionally manufactured pieces like this were commissioned by the British firm J.R.Gaunt and herein lies what may have been part of the Regiment members' anger at the design: in Zionist parlance, the region called "Palestine" is called "Eretz Israel" (Land of Israel) and this is the name used in all Zionist materials in reference to this region; the emblem instead uses a kind of standard compromise phrase of that time between Zionist and Mandatory parlance, and reads "Palestine (EI)" - Palestine (Eretz Israel) - in Hebrew. From a Zionist perspective the phrasing is less offensive than the fact that the Hebrew spelling is imperfect: the first two letters (from right to left) are incorrectly designed. The letter "Pay" ("P") looks just like the Hebrew letter "Nun" but with a dot in the middle - for the "Pay" sound, a dot is used, but part of the letter's stroke from the top left and down is missing; the "Lamed" letter, the 2nd letter, is lacking a stroke which would extend above the upper border line of all the letters, making it look like the Hebrew letter "Resh". As these badges are rarely encountered its hard to appreciate their distinctions until closely examined.
More pictures: front of badge, front of badge at angle, back of badge at angle, back of badge different angle, surface of badge at angle, JR Gaunt's emblem design proposal (here the Hebrew letters are fine)
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Item Code: 0120065 Price: €550
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Jewish Brigade metal hat insignia badge, 1944-45; curved, with standard crude manufacture and long, slim slider on reverse; weight: 11.05 grams. Based on a design worn by the Palestine Regiment (1942-1943), badges of this style were worn by the 2nd Battalion of Jewish Brigade Group 1944-45 (which was composed of former Regiment members). The British firm J.R. Gaunt & Son was originally commissioned to produce these for the Palestine Regiment though their execution caused spelling mistakes in Hebrew and their general design angered the Jewish soldiers of the Regiment. Brigade-worn versions with the corrected Hebrew text look like crude local productions (this sample being somewhat better than most). Good detail visible, excellent condition and luster.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge, back of badge at side angle, back of badge at angle from its head
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Item Code: 0110044 Price: SOLD
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Jewish Brigade 'Giyus' (enlistment) pin: stylized badge formed of a square blue face on round gray backing, with a stylized Hebrew letter "Gimmel" ('G') formed from the back stroke of the "Gimmel" and the leg formed from the letter "Ayin" - for the words "Giyus Ivri" (Hebrew Recruitment); the badge back is a safety pin inset into the back; weight: 1.05 grams.
The Jewish Brigade (known popularly as the "Brigada" in Hebrew) was formed in September 1944 and fought on the Italian front until the end of the war; it was later stationed in Belgium and assisted in the covert transport of Jewish refugees on their way to Palestine. Rare.
More pictures: front of pin, back of pin at angle, back of pin, back of pin, measured
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Item Code: 0120033 Price: €175
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Israel - shoulder patch of the Jewish Brigade Group of the British Army, in the Second World War, 1944-45. The Jewish Brigade's origins lie in the movement of Palestinian-Jewish volunteers who joined the British Army with the outbreak of the war. The volunteers initially enlisted in the 'East Kent Regiment' (the 'Buffs') in 1940, and fought in Greece. In August 1942, the British raised 3 battalions of Palestinian-Jewish volunteers who formed the 'Palestine Regiment' (whose hat-badge earned them the nickname 'Five Piastre Regiment' - owing to its similarity to the Palestinian coin) which fought in Egypt and north Libya. After much hesistation, the British government agreed to the formation of a larger Jewish unit of 5,000 men, which in September 1944 was established as the Jewish Brigade Group. This formation fought in northern Italy from March to May, 1945; after the war it was based neard the border between Italy, Austria and Yugoslavia, where its members played a key role in the clandestine immigration of Jewish refugees to Palestine. In July, the brigade was transferred to Belgium and then to the Netherlands, and in the summer of 1946 it was disbanded. The wartime combat experience accumulated by its men proved invaluable during Israel's war of independence two years later. The insignia of the Brigade consisted of this shoulder flash (bearing three Hebrew letters in the form of an abbreviation, which can either be read as the word "Khayal" - 'Soldier', or as the abbreviation for "Kheyl" - meaning 'Force', 'Corps' or 'Army'), together with a square blue-and-white patch bearing a golden Star of David.
More pictures: front of patch,
back of patch
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Item Code: 0010137 Price: SOLD
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French Israeli Six Day War commemorative medal, 1967; struck in silver (marked 999 on rim); no artist/maker mark; weight: 13.1g; size: 33mm: obverse depicts flag of Israel with sword and olive branch on either side and a variation of the French national motto ("Liberty, Brotherhood, Equality) rendered here as "Freedom, Peace, Brotherhood", the Hebrew word "Bazak" ("swift") and "Under the Star of David, Campaign of 6 Days" and the period underneath; on reverse a legend in Hebrew along the edge "With G-d's Will Was Saved the Peace of the World" with images of a plane, a tank and the Torah.
Possibly issued by French-Jewish volunteers in the war effort (a common practice in 1948, 1967 and 1973 on the part of Jewish and non-Jewish concerned parties). In UNC (possibly originally a proof issue, now with a few finger prints and toning).
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0130067 Price: €100
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YISHUV and PALESTINE MANDATE HAT & TUNIC BADGES, PINS and EMBLEMS:
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Palestine Volunteer Force metal hat insignia badge, circa. 1942-1943. Intricately designed and featuring image of patron saint, St. George, slaying a dragon (i.e. Nazi Germany); known in Hebrew as the "Kheyl Mitnadvim Ha'Eretz-Israeli", it numbered up to 2,000 men as a home guard force. In excellent condition, curved; not maker-marked; with slider back; 4.75g weight. Rare.
More pictures: front of badge, front of badge at angle, back of emblem, back of badge, at angle, badge measured
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Item Code: 0120039 Price: €350
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[Jewish] metal cap badge of the Fire Brigade in the Palestine Mandate. The badge is nicely detailed, stamped curved metal piece stylized as 6-pointed star bearing the emblem of the fire and rescue services - a helmet superimposed on two crossed axes (the helmet bears a Star of David on its front). The reverse has a folded metal band soldiered to the badge and formed into a two-pronged 'pin'.
The fire rescue services of Israel find their origins in 1897, when, following a fire at his vineyards in Zichron Ya'akov, Baron Rothschild ordered the youth of the settlement to form a fire service. Fire prevention services [in the Jewish 'Yishuv' - community - of Palestine] were first officially created in Tel Aviv in 1925, on a volunteer basis, and then during the years until 1948 more volunteer fire brigades were raised in other Jewish cities and towns of the Mandate. In 1959 the Knesset formally established the guidelines for the organization and management of the country's fire services.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge
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Item Code: 0010201 Price: €35
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Palestine, mandatory period hat insignia badge for "TASC": legend in English and Hebrew, bearing the Royal Crown; in darkened tombak with double-pronged back; not maker-marked. Weight: 3.25g. The Hebrew legend reads "Guarding and Protection" ("Shmira u'Bitakhon").
Most likely worn by the "Temporary Additional [Security] Constables" recruited through the Palestine Police as supplemental Jewish security forces (known as "Notrim" in Hebrew), in the period 1936-39 during the Arab Revolt. British insignia bearing the Crown and with Hebrew text (especially without accompanying Arabic corresponding text) are highly unusual, implying Jewish-only membership.
The original prongs on the back have been clipped down and replaced by improvised, soldiered prongs placed a little further down, on the back side of the "TASC" legend bar. Seen worn on period white-and-blue visored hats of Mandatory uniformed agencies. Rare.
More pictures: front of badge, side angle of badge, back of emblem, at angle, back of insignia, badge measured
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Item Code: 0120038 Price: €275
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Rare sweetheart membership pin of the TASC, circa. 1936-39. The TASC is a little documented Palestine mandate formation, most probably the "Temporary Additional (Security) Constables" recruited by the Palestine Police among the Jewish population to provide auxiliary armed security during the Arab Revolt of 1936-39. Manufactured in the style of British sweetheart pins of that time (for wear on civilian clothes), though the pin on the reverse may be a replacement of the original. The emblem device is an exact miniature of the formation's cap badge (see item 0120038), and the text reads "Guarding and Security" in Hebrew ("shmira u'bitachon"). Weight: 1.75g; not maker marked. Very rare.
More pictures: front of pin, detail of emblem, back of pin,
detail of emblem reverse, side angle of reverse
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Item Code: 0120050 Price: €175
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Cap badge of the Palestine Police, 1920's-40's. This is the silver-finished version of brass badge, with the long, flat hook on the back for insertion into a cap (in the standard British style of hat badge manufacture). This piece is not maker-maked. In excellent condition.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge
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Item Code: 0010009 Price: SOLD
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Cap badge of the Palestine Police, 1920's-40's. This is the black-finished lightweight metal badge, with two copper-colored prongs on either side of the badge at back (a pin would hook through them in order to attach the badge to a hat). This is a more uncommon version of the insignia badge and was probably used for night-duty. The piece is not maker-maked; well crafted and is in excellent condition.
More pictures: front of badge, back of badge
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Item Code: 0010010 Price: €70
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MEDALS, ORDERS, DECORATIONS & MOMENTOS of JEWISH UNITS or SOLDIERS:
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British War Medal 1914-1920 issued to Abraham Krishevsky, Private (J-4545), Royal Fusiliers. In VF.
Partial research confirms that "A. Krishevsky" etched on this medal is Abraham Krishevsky and that this is the same person's service number. Our consignor specifically collected Judaic materials and it is very possible that Private Krishevsky served in one of the 4 Jewish battalions of the Royal Fusiliers (38th to 42nd; the "Jewish Legion"): British army service numbers starting with the letter "J" are reported to belong to those 4 Jewish battalions - but the Royal Fusiliers in the First World War encompassed a total of 53 battalions, such that further research is needed to confirm Krishevsky's actual battalion.
This medal was issued to army personnel and civilians who served in the war between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918 (or saw service in Russia in 1919 and 1920).
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal, detail of rim etchings
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Item Code: 0130656 Price: €200
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Extremely Rare "Eretz Israel Volunteers Medal", 1918: issued to Jewish volunteers from Palestine-Eretz Israel on the eve of their departure to join the Jewish Battalions (i.e. the Jewish Legion; specifically the 40th Royal Fusiliers), which fought in Palestine under General Allenby.
The medal depicts "Bat Zion" (Daughter of Zion - symbolic of the Jewish People) freeing herself from Roman captivity, with the legend beneath "Judea the Freed", and the maker-mark of "Bezalel" on the obverse, and a Kabbalistic symbol surmounted by the legend "For the Volunteers of the Nation in Eretz Israel" and the Hebrew date 1849 (i.e. 1912 BC) on the reverse - probably a reference to the birth date of Rebecca, daughter of Bethuel ibn Nahor, wife of the Prophet Isaac, and mother of Jacob (ref. Esau, and Rachel, Leah and Laban).
Although seldomly encountered and not a standard catalogued item, there is a very precise account of its issue in Ever HaDeni's book "A Nation in its Wars" (publ. 1948; pg. 104):
"In mid June-July [month of Tammuz, 1918] there was organized a large assembly at the ruins of the home of Rabbi Yehuda the Chasid in Jerusalem [a reference to a famous Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City called the "Ruined Synagogue" - "HaKhurva"], with the participation of James Rothschild and his escort Lieutenant Lipsy. The son of the Baron [Rothschild] delivered a speech on the importance of the Hebrew [i.e Jewish] Battalion which would fight shoulder to shoulder with the British. After him, spoke Lipsy and the Rabbi Harelp, who said: "Who is the G-d fearing and good hearted man who will go forth and return to his home."
The wise man Laniado gave support to his son the volunteer and at the same time people distributed fliers sponsored by the Battalion committee with the cry "Long Live the Hebrew Battalion". Students of the seminar answered the call and from sixty men, close to 40 enlisted as did 17 year-olds and teachers from the Boys' School. Fathers took with them their sons; mothers sent their children to enlist and brides sent their husbands. The Yemenite community sent upwards of 50 people (from Jerusalem); and volunteers from the religious Yeshivot also came.
On 4 July 1918 in the morning, after the departure ceremony, the volunteers were issued a "Bezalel" made medal on which was stamped, "Bat Zion Who Broke the Chains of Exile" - and depicting the Roman running away from her. At 12 o'clock the volunteers set out by train, accompanied by a crowd of 10,000 people."
The significance of this medal is that it represents the first military medal ever issued by Jews for Jews, commemorating military service for Israel. The British conquered Jerusalem in December 1917, although northern and southern Palestine were still in Ottoman-Turkish hands at this time.
There was no central government and so the issuance of this medal can be seen as "official" even if only within the Jewish community of Palestine. The Jewish Battalions (the "Jewish Legion"; 38th-40th Royal Fusiliers) succeeded an earlier formation called the "Zion Mule Corps" which served in Gallipoli, in 1915; although the Mule Corps by default faced front-line action, the Jewish Legion was technically the first all-Jewish combat formation in 2000 years. The medal originally had a loop at top for wear and has since been removed; in excellent condition; weight: 6.00g.
More pictures: front of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0120076 Price: SOLD
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Cloth shoulder patch of the Jewish Brigade (1944-46): as worn by Private Eliyahu Brigel; size: 5.3cm x 5cm.
The Brigade was a unit of the British Army, which served with the 8th Army in Northen Italy (1944-45), and later, after the war, in France and Belgium.
These emblems were a unique concession by the British as they were the first ever emblem worn by Palestinian-Jewish units which displayed a form of the Zionist flag (today's Israeli flag) - a solid expression of national identity as separate from the British symbols. Although these flag patches appear in various forms due to different manufacturers, they were always worn on the upper left sleeve of the battledress tunic and surmounted by a shoulder flash reading "Jewish Brigade Group" (in Hebrew: "Khativa Yehudit Lochemet" - Combat Jewish Brigade) which also appear in a few different forms themselves due to different manufacturing sources.
The actual significance of the Brigade was ultimately due less to acquired combat experience and more to its vital role in assisting Jewish refugees: publicly giving them moral and physical support, and covertly, facilitating their escape from Europe and (illegal) immigration into Palestine (a movement called the "Bricha" - escape). Members of the Brigade on their own initiative also tracked down specific war criminals and their collaborators and killed them.
Enclosed are duplicates of photographs of Eliyahu Brigel from his period in the Brigade.
More pictures: front of patch, back of patch, stitch detail, Brigel with brigade insignia, Brigel, 2nd from right (standing), with lorrie - note the Brigade emblem on left, Jewish Brigade members with American soldiers in France (Brigel standing in center), Brigade members with Americans in France (Brigel kneeling 5th from right), Brigel in Brigade Dodge truck
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Item Code: 0120068 Price: SOLD
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Jewish Brigade decoration: small rectangular Badge for Service with the British forces in World War II. Awarded to every soldier who served in the Jewish Brigade of the British Army for a minimum period of 6 months.
In its original version this badge was in enamelled color - blue-white-blue - with a Star of David at the center. Later versions also included thin red bars underneath, whose number indicated the battalion in which the soldier had served (1 to 3). After the establishment of the State of Israel, in 1961 the State instituted a ribbon for security engagements called the "Volunteers Ribbon" whose criteria for merit overlapped with that of the British badge for service, and could therefore be worn on top of the Volunteers Ribbon.
This piece's rectangular body measures 55mm wide x 70mm high, with a double-pronged back (formed from a single length of wire), and weighs 0.60 grams. Scarce.
More pictures: front of decoration, back of award, at angle, back of decoration, back of decoration, measured
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Item Code: 0120034 Price: SOLD
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Jewish Brigade 2nd Battalion uniface commemoration medal, 1969; struck in silvered bronze(?); no makers mark, though possibly made by Shbitelnick and Baratz of Tel Aviv (ref: WMR 37D #804); weight: 94.2g; size: 60mm. Obverse depicts emblem of the 2nd Battalion with dates 1939 and 1969 and legend "The Jewish Combat Brigade Second Battalion".
The medal probably commemorates the 30th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War rather than of the battalion itself, as the 2nd battalion was originally established in 1942; its origins derive from Eretz-Israel volunteers in the East Kent "Buffs" regiment - but thst force dates to 1940. In UNC, with lacquered surface; JTM-MM-13.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130122 Price: €35
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Jewish Brigade 2nd battalion assembly uniface commemoration medal, 1971; weight: 14.5g; size: 35g. Obverse bears square image of Israeli (i.e. Zionist) flag with Star of David and number "2" in center, with legend "Assembly of the 2nd Battalion, 1971".
The 2nd Battalion originates from the Brigade's precursor, the Palestine Regiment: the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment was formed in September 1942 from Eretz-Israel volunteers and assigned guard duties of installations first in Haifa Bay and later (1943) in Libya. However the lack of combat participation angered its members, and their demonstrations (known in local political-military lore as the "Struggle for the Flag and Symbol") of such led to the battalion's suspension from activities, though later (1943) it was reinstated and refitted for combat duties. When the Jewish Brigade was created in 1944, this battalion became its 2nd Battalion (of 3). In UNC.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130132 Price: SOLD
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Jewish Brigade 1st battalion commemoration medal for Israel's 25th anniversary, 1973; weight: 17.4g; size: 34.5g. Uniface medal bearing emblem of the 1st battalion (with 1 red bar under square flag of Israel - the miniature emblem they wore on their compaign ribbon) next to official emblem of Israel's 25th anniversary, with legend "1st Battalion Hebrew Combat Brigade 24.7.73". In AU-UNC.
More pictures: obverse of pin, reverse of pin
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Item Code: 0130143 Price: SOLD
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MEDALS, ORDERS, DECORATIONS & MOMENTOS of YISHUV and MANDATORY PALESTINIAN FORCES:
ACCOUTREMENTS, HEADWEAR and UNIFORMS of JEWISH and PALESTINE MANDATE FORCES:
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Rare pre-State Israeli made steel helmet for "Magen David Adom" (the Jewish equivalent of the Red Cross organization), circa. 1940-42. This is a metal helmet formed from a single pressed piece of metal, in a design similar to the American Brodie / British Mk II helmets but without a crimped edge. Relatively invested in its manufacture, the helmet bears a comfortable thick padded crown, with light green leather sweatbands and a brown leather chin-cord with the factory's name ("Pleese Ltd." - 'Brass', in Hebrew - located in the city of Holon, south of Tel Aviv) imprinted in Hebrew and in English letters. The strap loops are held in place by Canadian-styled split-rivets. The front of the helmet bears a red Star of David on a round white background with the medical unit number in the center, and has a dark green paint finish (missing in places) to the surface. The helmet also has a top bolt bearing the name "Crescar Ltd." Overall in excellent condition. The chin cord however is broken at the center (under the top bolt), though it's all held in place, and the liner is a little loose.
Eretz-Israeli made steel helmets were used during the Second World War and after, in the War of Independence, especially in homefront capacities - medical aid (as in this case) and air defence forces (the Hebrew "Haga", the equivalent of the English "ARP" Air Raid Precaution organization) through these are extremely difficult to come by in any condition. These helmets also do not bear any other maker's marks (i.e. stamped on the inside of the helmet's metal) as on British/American made examples. The factory which made these helmets, Pleese Ltd., also bears the distinction for being the firm which produced the 25 Mils coin series of 1948 - independent Israel's first coin.
More pictures: front of helmet, front view at angle, overhead view of shell, side view of helmet, overhead view of liner, liner detail and markers mark, angled view of inside liner, detail of chin strap loop, detail of strap loop rivet, close-up of liner suspension, view of top bolt
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Item Code: 0110037 Price: SOLD
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Rare Palestine Police Gendarmerie (PPG) breeches, circa. 1920-1926: an excellently preserved set of dark blue and purple pants reinforced along the inside-facing lengths of the pant legs to make them breeches worn above jack boots and made suitable for horse-riding (i.e. cavalry). The pants are made of thick, coarse corduroy-like fabric, well tailored and stitched, and stamped inside above the lining of the left pocket with the Gendarmerie emblem of a horizontal diamond featuring the Royal Crown above the initials "PPG"; on the rear are the remains of a paper tag - possibly that of the manufacturer. The pants feature tall belt loops (for webbing), a button-down fly, two front slit pockets, reinforced back construction and extension swatches of purple fabric around the leg cuffs (for extra width). The breeches are near mint, with only the very lightest wear along the leg cuffs (the anomalies in the photos are from shadows in the poor light) and no wear at all along the waistline; all the buttons missing - standard dark brown British-styled buttons with a dip in the center and "+" styled stitching in the middle - however it may be deliberate as the threads to hold the buttons are tied into knots, and it may be that these pants were a surplus piece.
Although the Palestine Police existed from 1920 to 1948, the Gendarmerie was short-lived, existing side by side with the "British Gendarmerie" in Eretz Israel/Palestine and both being disbanded in 1926; their members afterward transfering either to the Palestine Police itself or to the newly created Transjordan Frontier Force.
More pictures: front of breeches, back of breeches, leg cuff detail, pant flap detail, front pocket, front flap - buttons missing, Palestine Police emblem, waist back side and manufacturers label
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Item Code: 0110041 Price: €250
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DOCUMENTS and EPHEMERA of JEWISH and PALESTINE MANDATE FORCES:
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"Noter" (Hebrew constable/supplementary Police) training manual: "Application of Fire" ("Matan Esh ve'Shimusha"), 1937. A Hebrew translation of one of a series of English-language military training manuals used by the British Army.
This is booklet "B" of the series on "Small Arms Training", published by "La'Noter" ("For the 'Noter'") publishers and printed by M. Sokhovolsky press in Haifa, 1937; hardcover with 48 pages, including diagrams; "For the Use of Supplementary Police" ("Shotrim Musafim", as written in Hebrew). Imprinted with the price (50 Mils) on the back cover. The cover is mostly loosened from the folio of pages, with some signs of water damage on the front cover, but all the pages are clean, intact and well bound together.
The Jewish "Supplementary Police" (in any of its various names, known collectively in Hebrew as the "Notrim") was a legally approved Jewish armed force as of 1936, funded partially by the Palestine Mandatory authorities and also by the Jewish Agency for Palestine. Part of the Agency's assistance came in the form of these translated British training manuals. These were again published in 1939, 1942-43 and even as late as 1948 - twice, before the establishment of the IDF and also after. Most of the manuals in these series' are softback, making the hardback issues scarcer to find.
For additional items relating to the "Notrim" please see items 0120035, 0120036 and 0120028 in our "Eretz Israel memorabilia section" here.
More pictures: front cover of "Noter" training manual, inside page of manual, sketch of how to aim fire from a water tower, a typical feature of the-then Jewish settlements
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Item Code: 0110057 Price: €50
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Palestine Mandate Jewish Settlement Police ("Notrim") - original black and white photo of Supernumary Police (Settlement Police) in Palestine. Photo dated July 1947. Excellent condition.
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Item Code: 0020016.2 Price: SOLD
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Jewish(?) soldier in British Army in Palestine leave pass for a soldier of the 2nd Battalion's workshop of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME - formed in 1942 and similar to an Ordinance Corps), 1944-46. From the document details it seems like the soldier spent a week at a time on leave, apparently going to the main recreational center in the Mandate - Tel Aviv. It is possible that the soldier was either Jewish or a student learning Hebrew, judging by the rudimentary Hebrew handwriting on the reverse, spelling out how many socks and other clothing items to bring. Fine - Very Fine condition.
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Item Code: 0010055 Price: €12
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Rare British Army "Extract" (mini military biography) of a Jewish soldier serving in the Polish forces in exile, in World War II; 1947. Though noteworthy on its own for the details contained within (see below), the historical significance of this paper lies in its background: after the Second World War, many soldiers of the Polish Army in exile remained in the British Isles with Poland herself now being under Soviet/Communist control, and the British viewed these Poles with a degree of suspicion; during this time there erupted the "Hebrew Revolt" against the British Mandate in Palestine, and after the July 1946 King David Hotel attack by the underground Irgun/Eztel organization and frequent parcel-bomb attempts by that organization in Britain, the British exercised great caution with trained Jewish soldiers expressing interest in immigrating to Israel.
In this specific case, among the many Polish soldiers stationed in the UK, there were 245 who had just completed service in Palestine as the "Palestine Group" expressing a desire to remain/return there. The Home Office, leery of the impact these trained Jews would have both in Britain and in Palestine, asked that when the Palestine Group returned to the UK, they be kept as far from London as possible. With this goal in mind, the War Office posted this force to Thurso, Scotland, and held them there for security screenings through no mention of their specific segregation from other Polish forces was to be revealed. Their leave from base was also postponed for 2 weeks to give MI5 (British domestic security) a chance to investigate them. When the force members were given leave, the Home Office, MI5 and MI11 (British Field Security) all wanted to know about it.
This extract was prepared at the Engineers Training Centre P.R.C. at Dounreay Airfield (also known as "HMS Tern II", an airfield run by the Admiralty, and soon thereafter to become a nuclear reactor site in 1955 and secondary base for V-Bombers in the cold war) in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, by a Polish Record Officer, Lieutenant Brzezinka, from the record sheet of a Lance Corporal Markus Cukerberg (born 1896). The document is stamped by the "Polish Forces Engineers Training Centre". Summarizing details in the bio, Cukerberg arrived in Iran (probably from Poland via the USSR) and began to serve in 1942 "under British command"; he faced a Polish recruiting board medical exam in October 1943 and on the same day was assigned by the Polish Recruiting Office to the ordnance services in Basheet (Gaza/Palestine?). His service record shows duty in Palestine from November 1942 until February 1943; membership in the 37th Ordnance Company in March 1943; service in the Italian Campaign, from January 1944 until May 1945, and service again in Palestine, in the "Palestine Group" from March 1947. This document was prepared in May that same year. Cuckerberg earned the Monte Cassino Cross in March 1945, the 1939-45 Star / Italy Star in December 1945, the Military Medal in April 1946, and the 2nd Corps Distinction in September 1946. In excellent, preserved condition with minor edge wear and a few small tears. For a related item, please see item 0010132.
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Item Code: 0010213 Price: SOLD
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Jewish Brigade Group - original black and white photo of four soldiers of the Jewish Brigade. Handwritten in French on back that photo was taken in "Belgium" (undated but probably 1945). Photo is preserved though two corners are slightly bent. Rare. Enclosed pictures includes a close-up of two solders' sleeves in order to highlight the Brigade's insignias.
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Item Code: 0020016.1 Price: SOLD
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Lot of 3 Polish military documents, 1934-35. A 4-page reservist mobilization card, an 8-page military instruction booklet and a hard-bound military booklet issued to Ischok Kramers (son of Nuchim - Nachum? - and Marjanna - possibly non-Jewish mother) of Kostopol. The documents identify Ischok as a Jew, born 29 April 1907, with military qualifications as a gunner, who was on active duty from March 1930 to September 1934, and partaking in military exercises in August-September 1933. His booklet also indicates that he was issued with a tunic, pants, a coat, shoes, a "Czapka" (Polish military hat), and a gas mask. His reservist mobilization card was issued in September 1934, and Ischok would have reported to the barracks of the 50th Infantry Regiment ("Pulku Piechoty") in the locality of Kowlu. According to the notes in his military booklet, Ischok moved to Palestine in June 1935, and registered himself with the Polish Consulate in Tel Aviv again in September of that year. A unique glimpse at the Jewish experience in an army that prevented many Jews from joining and later fighting. In well-preserved condition, though the hard-bound booklet is a bit loose.
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Item Code: 0020024.1 Price: SOLD
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