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Sir, greetings from Durban. I do war books as a hobby. see my website www.dandy.co.za

I am busy with a book on the South African Police. I will happily send you a PDF of the one chapter as the book is nearly finished. I am looking please for a hi res scan of your colourful SANP badge.

I am on email; pittaway@iafrica.com    thanks Jonathan

COVER_SAP_L RES.pdf

Dear Andreas,

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide me with information about my medals. They were an impulse buy but I am very pleased with them...I could well become interested in this field of collecting.

Kind regards,

Kevin.

Hi Dave, 

I was reading an article on this site, "Jewish Officers in The German Army of WW1."

http://gmic.co.uk/topic/17642-jewish-officers-in-the-german-army-of-ww1/

 am tracing a story that I recently heard from my brother-in-law that his grandfather, Leo Kahn (1893-1940), received the Iron Cross while serving for Germany in WWI.  Unfortunately that is about all I know at the moment.  He is from Kirf, in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, according to Wikipedia.  Do you have other info about a Leo Kahn being awarded the Iron Cross?

Thanks,

Steve Snyder

Reston, Virginia, USA

cat2steve@yahoo.com

Mr Danner. I was interested in the printing of the Schwarzburg rolls and when they might be available. I apologize if that already took place and I missed it. I appreciate all your efforts in this regard.

Joe Miller

New to this forum but in desperate need to get some help in trying to establish some family history.

This is a photo of a relative. The "family legend" tells that he served in the personal guard for the tsar family - and yes I know this can be a very wide description. There are lot's of different parts that are referred to as to tsar Nikolaj II personal guard. Nevertheless this is part of what I am trying to establish. The photo is from 1915 and he is 25 years old. It has always been said that he was highly (?) decorated and there was reference that he had been awarded the St Georges Cross in all 4 classes. Now from what I can make out from this photo - the 4 medals to the left do seem to be St Georges Cross - they are all identical from what I can see.

What do you think - are these St Georges Crosses?

Secondly - any guess on what the other medals might be? I make it to be 5 more medals - not sure if the last item is a medal or a symbol for the regiment?

Thirdly - anyone talented in identifying imperial Russian uniforms and could tell/guess what regiment he belonged to?

Finally, is there somewhere a list of who was awarded these?

Thank you for sharing your wisdom on these,

Sincerely

Peter Romanov

img-203161755-0001 (1).pdf

Col Van D Bell is my uncle. I'm very curious to know how you obtained his Navy Cross.

hi William, Fraser from Scotland here, I sent you a message regarding Jeff Nichols from WA forum..cheers

Hi Chris

Hope all is well on your side. 

Not sure whether you saw the DAK Fallschirmjager helmet I have in my collection, photos were posted on the Wehrmacht Awards site.

I have now decided to sell it and want to know if I have to put a price with the photos if I list it on GMIC or can I ask for offers?

Many thanks.

Cheers

James MacKenzie

Hey, Chris!  How's it going these days?  I've been out of the collecting game for a little while, but checking in...  I can't let this Pass pass me by...  What's the best deal you can give me on the Pass and the Garde Art. EK document together?  I could even then go the full 35 Euro on the Prussian Ehrenzeichen.

http://britishcavalryregiments.com

Photos  of Saxons officers an troops: this is an exceptionnal collection !

Many of these persons have participated to the battle of Dinant on 23 August 1914.

Do you have reports that were archived with these photographs ?  Do you have other documents ?

Sincerely your's,

Christian Amand

Kornel,

Did you see the Garde Res.Pion.Rgt. tag that Chris has shown in post #347? Is that the one you told me was a reproduction and that I cancelled my order for? It looks very familiar.

Chip

R.I.P Lemmy. Thanks mate.

Prussian;

My father, not my grand-father! I am an old fart. My grand-father was a Fuss=Artillerie sergeant in the 1880's. 

Once again global warming let's me down...  It's snowing... 

Chris,

Just an additional note for you regarding the P.B.12 straps. While they are nice and desirable, they have turned out to be the most commonly seen M15 Pionier straps. Having a pair is a bonus. I've had chances to purchase pairs from this battalion before, but I already had a single and pairs aren't cheap.

Not to rain on your parade, as I said they are highly desirable, but I would not call them rare at all. P.B.12 and P.B.22 spawned almost all of the rest of the Saxon pionier companies. I consider the company level straps much more scarce and continue to look for them for myself.

Hi there,

I am keen to potentially use that image you have of Felix von Luckner in his older years for a television series I work for... are you able to tell me what the copyright status is for it?

Cheers,

Matt.

Hi Odulf,

Just wondering about your image of Felix von Luckner (attached) as I am keen to use it on a television series I work on... what is the copyright nature of it? Any idea?

Cheers!

Matt.

Still above zero and no snow yet!  If only it could last until spring!

Hello Igor, I saw you were still looking for badges of the jewish brigade group.

I have two of this badges. one shoulder title jewish brigade group, one israelian flag and a metal buffs  palestinian badge.

with regards, Henk

Hi Chris,

Ah, that Monsieur René Mittenaere!

I am not sure if he is still alive. A couple of years back I was kind of interested in that guy and his war record. I tormented myself with French, trying to read his "L'héroïque Épopée" and I did a quick research regarding his gongs, he had indeed plenty of.

From what I found, that amiable legionnaire was a real soldier, serving in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, then in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Still, following some other combatants, some time after the war he decided to "tune up" his chest, by accepting practically any medal he could add to his collection.

Regarding his Polish medals, found out that Mr.Mittenaere  had something to do with general Antoni Zdrojewski. That really brave soldier, an officer of the Polish Armed Forces and organizer of Polish Resistance in France also wished to tune up a bit after the war.  Promoted to Brigadier General by the Government in Exile in 1964, in 1975 he accepted the rank of full General and Army Inspector from the self-styled "President" of Poland, Juliusz Sokolnicki and finally in 1979 he was appointed Marshal of Poland (!) by him. I cannot prove this, but my personal opinion is that Mittenaere obtained both the Virtuti Militari and the Gold Cross of Merit with Swords just from Sokolnicki via Zdrojewski. While it was absolutely possible for any Polish or allied soldier to obtain the Virtuti Militari for gallantry in action, it was more than unlikely for a French NCO to receive a Cross of Merit w. Swords in Gold. It was a very prestigious award, comparable to U.S. DSM and conferred practically only to higher commissioned ranks for outstanding merit in organizing and commanding armed  forces during war. As far as I know, even Zdrojewski himself did not receive it. And although Mittaenere's Virtuti and Cross of Merit are dated 1944, I believe they were awarded to him later and backdated. Anyway, on a well-known photo of his from early 1970s he is not yet wearing either of them. Instead, you can spot there the Cross of Valour, and it is one Polish decoration he was most likely to be entitled to. In his official record he says he received it in 1945 and indeed in that year some CV awards were made retroactively for the Norwegian Campaign in which Polish troops also participated. And although Mittenaere's name is not on the roll, the list is most probably incomplete. Interestingly, on another photo, made in 1980s or 1990s, he is wearing not only the Virtuti Militari, but also the officer cross of Polonia Restituta, probably again from Sokolnicki.

What regards the other two Polish awards, the Medal of Polish Resistance in France (a commemorative decoration recognized by Polish authorities) and the Grand Officer of the Cross of Merit of Polish Resistants in France (a purely organizational award), he probably received both through his contact with Zdrojewski and both can be seen on the photos.

Regards,

Lukasz

Hi, 

I'm interested in Bavarian Christmas tree (General): 19,90 EUR + Shipping

Is it still available, and if so how much is shipping to NL please? 

Thanks, and kind regards,

Sandro

Hi

Can you tell me what the design is of your relatives' 19th Hussars cap badge?  I am trying to date the various types and noted your post from 2011. 

Thanks

Alan