(with some WW2 Canadian thrown in for good measure) The 2 Cruise Brodies are exceptionally rare as is the WW1 tankers face mask. Having walked the battlefields of Cambrai and being a bit of a tank nut that item has a special place in my collection. The Cruise Brodie with the "devils horns" has provenance to Captain David Anderson, No. 2 Construction Battalion, CEF. No. 2 Construction was the only black battalion in the CEF, and was commanded by white officers. Anderson was born 27/6/1877 in Springhill, Nova Scotia. A storekeeper by trade, he posted 20 years service in the 93rd Regiment, Canadian Militia before enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1917. Anderson landed in France on 14/6/17, and despite being hospitalized numerous times, survived the war, returning to Canada on 14/3/19. Almost as rare, a WW2 1st Can Para Btn. beret with the correct and original bakelight badge and bakelight pin. :canada:
Can I just add this ... for background SSTk ?? No. 2 Construction Battalion, 1916 – 1920 Nova Scotia The black military heritage in Canada is still generally unknown and unwritten. Many Canadians of all races have no idea that Blacks served and died on European battlefields, all in the name of freedom. The No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), was the first and only all-black battalion in Canadian military history and reflects the strong determination of Black men to contribute to Canada's participation in the First World War. Though hesitant to accept Black men into the Armed Forces, the Canadian military eventually admitted them by creating a segregated non-combatant labour battalion. Half of the battalion's 600 members were Nova Scotians - a sizeable contingent came from the United States; and the rest from across Canada. Authorized on July 5 1916, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel D.H. Sutherland of River John, Nova Scotia, the Battalion consisted of 19 officers and 605 other ranks. All but one of the unit's 19 officers were white, the exception being Honorary Captain William A White. Rev White was the only black chaplain in the entire British Army. On March 25, 1917 the Battalion embarked from Halifax on the troopship Southland. As it was “three hundred under strength”, it was reorganized into a construction company and detailed into working parties digging trenches for the troops in training in England, and repairing roads within the bounds of the Canadian command. Later that year, they were attached to the Canadian Forestry Corps, departing for France on May 17. Upon arrival at La Joux, Jour Mountains on May 21 - they assisted in logging, milling and shipping operations, repaired roads and assisted in relaying water supplies.
