Tony

Is the 'S' on his sleeve for sniper or sharpshooter maybe? Or something else? Cheers Tony

Speaking Brit? It's the only way to go Don David, I'd be interested in hearing that too. I can't see anything wrong with the 1866 Erinnerungskreuz and wouldn't know what to look for on the Bavarian awards. The EA cross looks quite yucky Tony

This is one of the first pieces of German militaria I bought. Tony

Hello Ed, I think the width of the colouring on the first ribbon just doesn?t look right for a BWM so I?m wondering if he was awarded something that would be placed before his campaign pair. Oh if my great Aunt hadn't pawned his medals ........ On another note; I?ve just downloaded his MiD and found out that he also served in the RGA as well as the Labour Corps but his service as a territorial in the Rangers isn?t noted. None of the family had a clue he also served in the artillery during WWI and none of them knows what he did in WWII apart from being at Dunkirk. Tony

Can anyone ID the ribbon/ribbons on this soldier's tunic? The photo was taken in 1941. He was discharged through illness in 1916 before going overseas, joined the Labour Corps in 1918 and went to France. I don't think the ribbon or ribbons are a WWI pair. For some reason he ended up at Dunkirk in 1940 but apart from that, pre WWI weekend/summer camp service and WWI, I don't know of any other service. All his medals were pawned in the 60s for half a crown or a crown. Tony

Darrell, It's M2-033102 Pte. A Williams ASC. A few of my things have been misplaced lately which is very strange. I do hope my children haven't been taking them to school. Tony

The star and Victory pair was bought as a trio, I've been hunting high and low for the missing BWM but haven't found it yet. Tony

You're not the only ones This stuff has all been seen before but I do like looking at them. Tony

Reverse

Paul, The Fahrerabzeichen is below. The criteria for both badges in bronze was to pass the ?A? test. For riders this consists of the: ?A? dressage test ?A? horse jumping test Theoretical test about riding horses, caring for them, tack etc. The Fahrerabzeichen test is much the same as a car driving test and includes theory too. The test categories are: E ? Einf?hrung (introduction) A ? Anf?nger (beginner) badge in bronze L ? leicht (easy) badge in silver M ? mittel (medium) S ? (schwer) difficult Bronze and silver are awarded for passing tests in ?A? and ?L? whereas gold is awarded for outstanding achievement at shows. I can?t say if the criteria was the same during the 3rd Reich but I do know my wife did the same dressage test as in the Heeres Dienstvorschrift for riders during the 1930s and her instructor was a cavalry officer during the war. Don?t know if he spent more time with heavy armour or horses though. Tony

Paul & David, they were awarded to my wife when she was young (19 years old/mid 80s), she also has the Fahrer-Abzeichen. Both are bronze. Tony

Reverse

I do hope no one minds me posting these as they aren't 3rd Reich, I just think they are very similar to the untrained eye. Note how the wrong mini was issued with the badge, I'm the only one who noticed it. Tony

I'm not a tool maker but I do work in the metal industry and I'm just trying to think logically here. To make a stamp 90 odd years ago it may have taken 1 person about 2 weeks to complete and would naturally as already mentioned, have been made by hand. Bearing this in mind, if several stamps were made they would all be slightly different, also previously mentioned. The stamp would have been hardened so any oxidisation would probably have been removed with a fine emery cloth. Saying that, if we let gauge blocks etc. get rusty it usually means we are sloppy or working for a sloppy outfit but, it does happen. Depending on how many Spangen were issued would be a judge of how many stamps were made. I would guess at only 2 stamps for several thousand spangen not forgetting that the appearance would change after wear and tear. How many other Wagner manufactured pieces have the same variations and stamp size? If they are all the same size then they may have had a large number of stamps over time but only 1 or 2 people in the department would stamp the pieces I think. All the characters on a stamp would be bevelled, this is to avoid damage to the tempered surface. Am I correct in assuming that flared is bevelled? A modern stamp is used about 10000 times before being replaced, reworking is only carried out if a digit or letter is changed. A new stamp would only cost about 80 EUR to produce today (I'm talking about a simple stamp with numbers, letters or half moons and crowns etc.), the materials back then wouldn't have been as good as today and as mentioned before, 1 man working for about 2 weeks on 1 stamp could have been rather expensive, if a company was to make a number of stamps it would have to be for a large number of pieces e.g. same stamping variations on most Wagner items. All speculation on my part and just the point of view from a metalworker. Tony

I could be wrong Don but it looks like Herr Oberamtmann Fissel or Fiesel or similar. Tony

Stijn, I don't know anything about gliders but keep the pictures and info coming. Tony

Just found this in a book first published in 1930. My copy is the revised 1965 edition. Mad Minute: A newspaper phrase for British rapid fire during the retreat from Mons e.g. 15 rounds of aimed shots per minute. Tony

When going through one of my books a while back I realised some of the words/expressions still used in the British army stem from the pre 1914 and 14-18 soldier?s corruption of Hindustani, Arabic etc. words. Is anyone here a member of the Aussie or Kiwi forces, or Canadian even? If so, are these words in use with your armed forces? I don?t doubt the Anzacs and Canadians used them during WWI. Here are a few words still in use while I was in: Buckshee, originally Hindustani buchsheesh meaning a gratuity or tip Dhobi bin for washing basket, originally Indian, Dhobi meaning laundryman San fairy ann was originally French, ca ne fait rien meaning it makes no difference. Sweet f a or sweet fanny adams if an officer said it. Pukka is Hindustani, the correct spelling is pakkha Puttee (I had puttees) is Hindustani for bandage One that I like from the book that I?ve not heard before was Hans Wurst being the equivalent of Tommy Atkins. Some German slang for PBI ? Dreckfresser (dirt/mud eater), Fu?latsche (foot shuffler) and Kilometerfresser (kilometre glutton) Tony

A shell case (whizz bang?) with some engravings. Tony

A pencil and letter opener. The opener is German I would think. The pencil has souvenir de guerre engraved on it so, maybe sold by French civilians to troops or battlefield visiters after the war.

A couple of match box holders.

A French M15 (the top comes off) that smells like it was used as an ash tray and a penknife made from a .303 round.

A lamp that still works.

A souvenir from Ypres unfortunately without cap badge.

A nice game of trench football. The steel ball has a bit of rust making it very hard to play the game sometimes.