Like all the other nations in the Empire, South African troops were supported by a charitable sector in their homeland that supplied troops with little gifts to make their time away from home more bearable. The South African Gifts and Comforts Fund supplied a small tin of cigarettes to troops every Christmas throughout the war and tonight it is the 1943 comforts cigarette tin we are looking at:
The tin is printed with a design featuring a springbok (generally regarded as the animal of South Africa), a ‘V’ for victory, the images of the Prime Minister Jan Smuts and his wife and ‘Christmas’ in both English and Afrikaans:
The rear of the tin has the details of who had supplied the tin of cigarettes, again in both English and Afrikaans:
Inside the tin is printed the signatures of both Jan Smuts and his wife, sadly quite badly damaged in this example:
The South African Legion’s website gives more details of the work of the South African Gifts and Comfort Fund:
The South African Gifts and Comforts Fund was a benevolent fund that sought to give comfort and messages of motivation and support from the public in South Africa for all the tens of thousands of South African volunteers who went off to war during World War 2. It was created by Field Marshal Smuts, and administered by his wife “Ouma” Smuts and her “Band” of Voluntary Workers in co-operation with the Quartermaster-general.
Gifts to the servicemen and women during the war reminded them of home comforts and reinforced the moral support they were getting from home in their fight against European tyranny, Especially over times like Christmas when family and “home” became a yearning for anyone enduring the hardships of war. Known as “Glory Bags” at the time, these parcels contained all sorts of reminders from home, Christmas Cake etc. and collectable items such as Christmas anniversary cigarette tins, which became highly popular – stamped with an image of both Jan Smuts and Ouma Smuts and giving good Christmas wishes.
The case is made of brass that has been silver plated and in the bottom right hand corner there is an engraving of the cap badge of the Army Service Corps:
The lettering indicates that this case was owned by M/348444 George Armstrong of 1019 Company who were based in Mesopotamia and Persia and there is even a date of 1918. As a collector it doesn’t get much better than this! Sadly I have so far drawn a blank on the man himself, although I have discovered that 1019 Company were a mechanised transport company that was based in Basra in what is today Iraq in 1918, they were issued with Ford vans.
Inside a pair of elastic straps are fitted to hold the cigarettes in, surprisingly they are still supple and a little stretchy even after a century:
This is a delightful little object and hopefully the research will come together to help me tell George Armstrong’s story.
Our picture shows a Subadar-Major, holding the honorary rank of lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, in Full Dress. Raised in 1798 as a part of the Madras Native Infantry, this battalion remained a portion of the Madras army until it was reconstituted in 1903 as the 89th Punjabis with its present composition of Sikhs and Punjabi Musalmans. During the Great War it saw service in Egypt, Gallipoli, France, Iraq, Salonika and the Black Sea. This officer is a Musalman from the Northern Punjab and he has been awarded the Order of British India in recognition of distinguished service. The background shows Lahore Fort, Navlaka
Our illustration shows a British Major (in Full Dress) of the 1st Battalion (Coke’s), which was raised in 1849 by Captain Coke as the 1st Regiment of Punjab Infantry. Shortly after this date it became part of the Punjab Frontier Force which was maintained till the beginning of this century as a local force for the protection of the North West Frontier. Under Lord Kitchener’s regime this localisation ceased an all infantry battalions of the Indian Army now share the guarding of the frontier, as well as other duties which fall to their lot. Coke’s Rifles saw fighting in the Great War in East Africa and on the North West Frontier.
Our picture shows the Subadar-Major (the senior Indian officer of the 10th Battalion) in Full Dress. In each Indian Regiment the 10th is the Training Battalion, which trains the recruits and acts as record office for the three, four or five active battalions of the Regiment. The Dogra Regiment is recruited entirely of Dogra Rajputs, who are high caste Hindus descended from the original Aryan invaders of India. They inhabit the foothills of the Himalayas between the Jhelun and Sutlej rivers in the Punjab. It is one of the few regiments which is composed of a single class, the majority being made up of class squadrons or companies. The Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, appears in the background.
The 120 Infantry battalions of the Indian Army include twenty of Gurkhas. These are divided into ten regiments of Gurkha Rifles, each with two battalions. The most senior of these dates back to the end of the Nepal War in 1815. The 10th is the youngest, having been formed in 1890, but during the Great War it earned a reputation equal to that of the older regiments in Gallipolli, Eqypt and Iraq. These regiments are composed entirely of Gurkhas, turdy and cheerful little hillmen of Mongolian stock, who are subjects of the allied kingdom of Nepal. The rifleman shown in Full Dress in the picture is wearing the famed kukri, of Gurkha knife.
The Indian Mountain Artillery batteries, which number twenty-one, are units of the Royal Artillery, and their number is on the increase, as new batteries are formed to take the place of light batteries which are disappearing form the British Army. In the rough country of the Indian Frontiers, where hills are steep and roads are few, there is still room for artillery carried on mules, which can cover ground impassable to mechanised or horse-drawn guns. There is in addition an Indian Regiment of Artillery which came into being in 1935 and which consists at present of one field-brigade. This will ultimately be officered entirely by Indians. Our illustration shows a Subadar-Major in Full Dress.
The Alwar State Forces, of which our picture shows the Commandant in Full Dress, consist of two troops of Lancers and one active and one training battalion of infantry. The forces of the Indian Princes which are classed as Indian States Forces are organised on the same lines as the corresponding units of the regular Indian Army. The active units of the Alwar Forces served in the Great War, the Lancers on the North West Frontier and in Afghanistan, and the infantry battalion in Egypt and Palestine. Alwar, which is situated in Rajputana, has a population the three quarters of a million.
Bahawalpur is a Mussalman state lying to the south-west of the Punjab with an area of 15,000 square miles and a population of about one million. The Nawab of Bahawalpur maintains as Indian State Forces one troop of bodyguard lancers and one and a half battalions of Infantry. The Major shown in Full Dress in our picture belongs to the 1st Bahwalpur Infantry (Sadiq Battalion). The Bahawalpur troops have more than once been loaned for Imperial purposes, and in the great War the Sadiq battalion served in Egypt, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as on the North West Frontier of India. The Sadiq Garh Palace is shown in the background.
The officer shown in Full Dress in the picture is the Lieutenant Colonel of the Baria State Forces, which consist of about 150 men organised as one troop of cavalry and two platoons of infantry. Baria is a Rajput state in Western India covering about eight hundred square miles and with about 160,000 inhabitants. The Raja of Baria, who takes a great personal interest in his forces, was promoted in 1937 to the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army. The background shows the Secretariat, Devgad Baria.
The Bikinir State Forces number about 1,800, consisting of one battery of artillery, two motor machine-gun sections, two squadrons of lancers, an infantry battalion and the Ganga Risala, a Captain of which is shown in our picture in full dress. This famous camel corps rendered good service in the early days of the Great War in the fighting east of Suez. Bikanir is one of the largest of the Rajputana states, but much of it is desert, and its population numbers less than one million. The Maharaja of Bikinir holds the honorary rank of General in the British Army and is an extra Aide-de-Camp to the king. The Old Palace and Fort, Bikinir, are shown in the background.
Dhrangadhra is one of the smaller states of Kathiawar in Western India, covering an area of about twelve hundred square miles and having a population of about 90,000. The Maharaja of Dhrangadhra maintains a bodyguard of two mounted troops and two companies of Infantry known as the Dhrangadhra Makhwan Infantry. The officer shown in full dress in our picture is the Commandant of the infantry. The State-Forces are mostly composed of Rajputs, but have an admixture of other Hindus and also of Musalmans. The Delhi Gate, Dhrangadhra, appears in the background.
This is made from a piece of grey marble, nicely finished and polished smooth:
What interests us however is the inscription around the edges that indicates it was made as a souvenir for the Royal Engineers during their campaigns in Northern Africa in 1942 and 1943:
In the centre is a carved formation badge for the First Army:
This badge consists of a shield, with a crusader cross on it and a sword superimposed upon it, this formation was assembled for the allied landings in Operation Torch.
No 22.- Gloster “Gladiator “ Fighter
No 23.- Gloster Unnamed Fighter
No 24.- Hawker “Demon” Fighter
No 25.- Hawker “Demon I (Turret)” Fighter
No 26.- Hawker “Fury” Fighter
No 27.- Hawker “Hurricane” Fighter
No 28.- Supermarine “Spitfire I” Fighter
No 29.- Saro “London” Flying Boat
No 30.- Short “Singapore III” Flying Boat
