Tony

Yes indeed. Pictures of the plate with solder repair and changes to the lugs which were moved to fit the body. The body has a split, as if done with a knife, don’t know why as the (fiddled about with) badge fits in the original holes. Tony Oops, forgot the pic of the split in the body.

And then the Brits turn up and make some changes.

Wish I knew exactly where it was.

Thanks for the info Jerry. Tony

That all fits in with his entry into theatre. I picked up a pair of medals to a Kiwi who was killed at Bapaume Aug. 1918, see here http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/64455-reichsarchiv-unit-abbreviations-units-in-bapaume-aug-1918/ Andy named the German units fighting there, might be of interest to your mate knowing who was opposite to his grandad at the start of the advance.

Not really, I find it all very complicated. I've just found out that my grandad who drove a tank wouldn't have worn a tank badge but would have sleeves full of other badges, shoulder titles, formation sign 79 Armd Div, formation sign 31 Armd Bde, RAC Arm of Service strip and a regimental flash. Blimey, he wouldn't have been able to bend his arm to sip a beer. Is there any period in particular you're looking for? If it's WWI please let me know if you ever find anything. Edit: just seen Mike's post, I was talking about cloth badges, not cap badges. You should find something on cap badges as Mike suggests.

Take a closer look at the second pic, it says 7/Lincs. Ancestry only brings up 10,351 people named William Walter Skinner, he's lucky it's not a common name. Mind you, that's all variations and other names added just for fun.

Arne, I've been looking for something I can't find (always the way) and came across an old article on battledress, apparently there was a P46 and P47 battledress blouse, both had lapels so your photo could possibly date from as early as 1946. The article also mentioned that the GS cap was worn until stocks were used up but didn't say when the new beret was introduced. Tony

For me too, I've always thought this one was 100% and you're the person I was thinking of showing it to so you'd best brush up on your helmet knowledge

What do you need to know on the medal card?

All I could find were the medal rolls for his WWI medals, the BWM/VM roll shows his rank as L/Sgt. and Cpl. Ancestry has somehow missed his name out on the 14-15 Star roll but I got there in the end using a cunning plan and common sense, If you want a full scan of the pages to print off let me know and I'll send them on. No service record or anything else was available, hold on, even though he was Class Z I'll check the SWB rolls just in case. Nope, just William Skinner 14809 Lincs. I suppose WWII police records will have to be checked for the Special Constabulary medal, don't know how to do that.

Thanks for taking the time to rely Eric, I was starting to think lots of views but no reply means it's obvious to everyone else what it is but not to me. It's been in a cardboard box for years with a tin hat squashed up against it so the sides of the rim are now easy to move but then go up towards the spike and it's quite solid, it has a dent too which isn't what I'd call soft. I don't know what it's made of but wouldn't have said wool. Perhaps I should find a second hand shop with one of those felt hats old grannies wear and do some touchy feely stuff. Tony

That's nice, I find a bashed named cross far more desirable than one that looks like it was afraid to go out on a wet day. Paul, I have two named crosses, they aren't overly difficult to find and I'd guess at fewer than 5% are named but those engraved back in the day are probably harder to find.

I bought a much, much smaller one (3 parts sewn cotton) on a flag pole a year ago in Holland, I don't know how much size counts but it's roughly 1.5m x 1m and cost something like 25 or 30 euros. Tony

Thanks again Andy, with a bit of luck the diary will shed more light on their position, you've been a great help. Tony

Are they wearing battledress with lapels? If so I'd say it's Brit P 49 dating it 1949 onwards, I believe pre 1949 battledress buttoned up to the neck and only had a collar. Tony

Oh no, someone said to me the other day - anything but a KO Hope you got a discount.

The rim was black too but inside the dome was only lime green over dark green. Are all those colours needed for brown or is that the assortment for anything military?

Andy mate you've helped loads. It's the C Coy position which is of interest, they were SW of Bapaume so it'll be troops of the German 183rd ID they were fighting against. I probably have books with trench maps somewhere but still packed in boxes.

Good on ya Andy, I'll start digging online. Someone is going to check the 3 NZRB war diary for me if he gets the chance so hopefully I'll find out exactly which German unit was defending.

Ah right. Take a look at the Brit map for the same area, it shows the 183 Div. and 4 Bavarian Div. either side of the New Zealand Division's advance. Were either of those German divisions in the area as suggested by the map?

Thanks for the replies. Andy, I got the map from vol. 14, this link should take you to the maps http://digi.landesbibliothek.at/viewer/image/AC03617635/42/LOG_0042/ A British map is attached. battle-of-bapaume.pdf

After seeing the thread on the dodgy Bavarian Tschako I thought I should take some pics of my felt pickelhaube and ask for opinions. I’m not particularly bothered about the cockades or chinstrap, but will be slightly annoyed if the badge, although repaired and possibly added later, is a dodgy one. If the body is a known copy then I’ll be very annoyed as the liner, chinstrap posts and detachable spike all look good to me. Break it to me gently and thanks for the advice. Tony

Hello, Can anyone help me out with some unit abbreviations and which German units were fighting the 3rd NZRB in the area of Bapaume, Aug. 1918? I have the medals for a Kiwi killed 26/8/18, probably during the attack on Bapaume and according to the Reichsarchiv map (attached) the NZ Division was, as far as I understand, up against the left flank of the 17th army, XIV reserve division. If this is correct, is there a way of finding out which unit or units were in the area defending the west and south west of Bapaume? RIR 76 perhaps? I’ve also come across another map, a British one, showing XX 4 Bav. (4th Bavarian Div.?) in the Achiet le Grand area and XX 183 (183 Inf. Div.?) at Loupart Wood which I believe was taken by the Kiwis or at least the 3rd NZRB. Any info will be much appreciated Tony

I used a heat gun and finished off by sanding the rusty bits, is that a short cut I shouldn't take? There may have been a unit flash under the dark green, that was under the lime green, that was under the top coat of black (if you know what I mean) as red paint appeared on one side just above the brim. Joy of joys, BMB 1939 very small and lightly stamped so will no doubt disappear again when paint goes back on.