Andrew Upton Posted 14 October , 2019 Share Posted 14 October , 2019 (edited) I just purchased an original MGC officers shoulder rank jacket that was badly listed on Ebay, and was also quite pleasantly surprised to find when it arrived that the seller had completely failed to mention that it still sports some form of divisional (or similar) insignia on the right shoulder. Pictured below, this takes the form of a hollow square in green wool stood on its corner, and measures about 3/4 inch along it's sides. Does anyone recognize what this is for? With thanks in advance. Edited 30 December , 2019 by Andrew Upton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrough Posted 14 October , 2019 Share Posted 14 October , 2019 Might be Ginchy diamond awarded to some members of the 16 Irish division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 15 October , 2019 Author Share Posted 15 October , 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Murrough said: Might be Ginchy diamond awarded to some members of the 16 Irish division. Thanks for that, it certainly sounds promising from a search of the forum - it seems Tocemma once had an example, though he hasn't visited the forum in some time I have sent him a PM to see if I can get him to comment: "There's also a thread on the Ginchy Diamond scheme of 16th Irish Div somewhere. I once had a Trench Mortar officer's jacket with the voided green felt diamond badge on the upper sleeve. I believe there is an example of the award certificate for the 16th Div in a previous post..." "I seem to remember (but I can check when I get home) that 16th (Irish) Division had a diamond shaped cloth "battle badge" in green cloth, which was awarded to soldiers as a mark that they had distinguished themselves in some way. 16th Division fought at Ginchy so I wonder if this could be what is meant by "Ginchy Diamond"?" "He was awarded the 'Ginchy Diamond' the highest distinction available in the Irish division. (It came in the form of a green diamond shaped ribbon worn on the right arm.)" Edited 15 October , 2019 by Andrew Upton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovetown Posted 15 October , 2019 Share Posted 15 October , 2019 (edited) Great result Andrew - 'tis indeed the Ginchy Diamond. Hope Paul doesn't mind, yet I saved the image of his down ages ago. Cheers, GT. Edited 15 October , 2019 by Grovetown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrough Posted 15 October , 2019 Share Posted 15 October , 2019 Found another example here http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230007&highlight=ginchy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrmh Posted 15 October , 2019 Share Posted 15 October , 2019 Here too: https://www.nickmetcalfe.co.uk/certificates-for-gallantry-awarded-by-10th-irish-16th-irish-and-36th-ulster-divisions/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 16 October , 2019 Author Share Posted 16 October , 2019 19 hours ago, Grovetown said: Great result Andrew - 'tis indeed the Ginchy Diamond. Hope Paul doesn't mind, yet I saved the image of his down ages ago. 16 hours ago, Murrough said: Found another example here http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230007&highlight=ginchy 16 hours ago, Jrmh said: Here too: https://www.nickmetcalfe.co.uk/certificates-for-gallantry-awarded-by-10th-irish-16th-irish-and-36th-ulster-divisions/ Thanks for the picture Johnny, and the additional links Murrough and Jrmh. The tunic needs some minor restoration work to bring it back to it's former glory, and it seems I might need to add a 16th Division shamrock patch to the list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 30 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 30 December , 2019 (edited) I thought other forum members might be interested to see how work progresses with the tunic :-) I was officially given the tunic as a Christmas present by my mother, but I have been hunting out spares in the meantime. Firstly, the tunic as received. It was obscurely listed on Ebay as WW2 but picked up by my searches as the seller had correctly described the MGC marked buttons. It displays many typical features of a late war shoulder ranked jacket, with wear and tear from age plus a few period repairs (such as the well executed one to the wearers lower left pocket). The collar badges and rank insignia had been removed at some point, and three MGC buttons were missing. The remainder are a matched set by Firmin, and though they have evidently replaced another set that was on the jacket at some point (they are very crudely stitched in place and several are at decidedly odd angles) these clearly match the ghost marks of MGC collar badges on the lapels: Edited 30 December , 2019 by Andrew Upton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 30 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 30 December , 2019 (edited) The unlisted Ginchy diamond on the right shoulder was a very pleasant surprise - a rather ragged hole on the left cuff not so much! Something else to sort out. It is interesting to note though that the inverted-V shape of the Lancer cuff has been formed from a double layer of material only on the external face of the sleeve - the narrower band of material that would typically be found on the internal side of the sleeve has been omitted. In the meantime however my own spares box of MGC buttons provided originals of two of the required MGC buttons (also by Firmin to ensure a perfect match), and Ebay an original matched set of four bronzed rank pips plus a matched pair of MGC collars: Edited 30 December , 2019 by Andrew Upton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 30 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 30 December , 2019 (edited) Before and after - with no new holes and the most minimal fettling the Lieutenants rank and MGC collars are back in place as if they had never left. I am still after at least one more pocket-sized MGC button by Firmin in very good (or better) shape so that I can replace the missing front button and lower pocket buttons. Also, if anyone has any scraps of original WW1 officers SD material they might be tempted to part with (to help patch the worst sleeve damage) I would be interested to hear from you: Edited 30 December , 2019 by Andrew Upton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberley John Lindsay Posted 30 December , 2019 Share Posted 30 December , 2019 Dear Andrew, Well done! Kindest regards, Kim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark holden Posted 30 December , 2019 Share Posted 30 December , 2019 Excellent restoration Andrew and a (very) lucky find. All the best for 2020 Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottmarchand Posted 30 December , 2019 Share Posted 30 December , 2019 Very nicely restored Andrew! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 31 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 31 December , 2019 11 hours ago, Kimberley John Lindsay said: Dear Andrew, Well done! Kindest regards, Kim. 7 hours ago, mark holden said: Excellent restoration Andrew and a (very) lucky find. All the best for 2020 Mark 5 hours ago, scottmarchand said: Very nicely restored Andrew! Thanks for the compliments - just the missing button/s and hopefully some matching material for patching needed to finish it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark holden Posted 31 December , 2019 Share Posted 31 December , 2019 (edited) Hi Andrew, I have some scraps of original WW1 OSD jacket material( came from the remains of a cuff rank jacket found in a garage in Belfast) I can’t promise a match but if you let me know by pm how much you need I’ll post it on. Likewise I’ll check my MGC small buttons for a Firmin made example. regards Mark Edited 31 December , 2019 by mark holden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark holden Posted 31 December , 2019 Share Posted 31 December , 2019 Andrew, Scrap material and small MGC Firmin button. PM me if you would like them. Regards Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wardog Posted 31 December , 2019 Share Posted 31 December , 2019 Nice gesture Mark. Good man. Regards, Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 1 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 1 January , 2020 On 31/12/2019 at 12:11, mark holden said: Scrap material and small MGC Firmin button. PM me if you would like them. PM most definitely sent, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 18 February , 2020 Author Share Posted 18 February , 2020 (edited) I thought I would give an update to show how work has progressed on the tunic in the last week, made much easier by Marks generous donation: Edited 18 February , 2020 by Andrew Upton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 18 February , 2020 Author Share Posted 18 February , 2020 (edited) I have executed a number of similar repairs to the exterior to make some of the more ragged holes less visible and reduce the risk from further damage, remedied some less obvious damage to where the seams of the sleeves meets the main body inside the jacket, and a few other minor sewing jobs. I also replaced the missing MGC buttons for display. The exterior holes were done by cutting a piece of the donor material sufficiently big so that it overlapped the edges of the hole by a small margin. This was then roughly stitched into place through the centre of the hole (to prevent it's accidental loss) before the edges were carefully poked underneath the outer layer. The rough edges of the jacket were then lightly stitched down over this. The damaged left cuff was the worst, and took nearly four hours alone. The results are well worth the effort though: Edited 19 February , 2020 by Andrew Upton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wainfleet Posted 18 February , 2020 Share Posted 18 February , 2020 Great work Andrew, a very nice tunic brought back to life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 19 February , 2020 Author Share Posted 19 February , 2020 22 hours ago, wainfleet said: Great work Andrew, a very nice tunic brought back to life! Thanks . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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