Tony

Hello Subway, If you type this number 8306784878 into ebay, a book with the King's crown badge on the cover should appear. Tony

Hello Don, I'm not an expert but I also have a few of these and the quality of my awards is much better. Unfortunately I've not got them to hand at the moment otherwise I'd do some scans. I'll dig them out tomorrow if your query isn't answered in the meantime. Tony

Yes of course.

Where are the other 27 knives Dave? Tony

Dave B will know what they go for Darrell, he probably owns a good few. Over here I think about 250 Euros but I'd be interested in hearing what they go for in Australia too. Tony

The maker if it can be seen, Eickhorn I think. Tony

Some of the blade.

Craig, did you pick all of those up in Oz? Here's my only sword which I don't know much about but I like it. Tony

Thanks Christophe. Tony

I've always thought this ribbon bar could have been a modern repro, mainly because the reverse is so clean but now I'm not so sure. What do you think, repro or original? Tony

Hello Chris, No it isn't faded at all, actually it's so clean that I'd tend to say it's more like a modern replacement. Tony

Carrying on from what Matt has said about the T34, someone I knew a while back had a neighbour who had served on the Eastern Front. The neighbour said they (Germans) had problems with spares as these were precision made parts from factories back in Germany. He went on to say that you could hear the Russians at night dragging their damaged or broken down tanks back to their lines for repair. Their tanks weren't "precision" made and could easily be repaired in the field, a great advantage I think. I can't say if the story is absolutely true but I can believe it. Here's a picture of a few Germans utilising some damaged Russian hardware. Tony

Is this a late one? It's magnetic but the way the ring is soldered to the frame looks a bit sloppy and there's no obvious frosting. Tony

He probably did Dave. I have the citation but not the badge. Here's the tag and a page from the book. Tony

Hello John, I started the thread because I've been told by so many people that the picture isn't original and wanted to show that not every soldier dressed according to regs. As you say, kit can be thrown together for an unexpected occasion. This picture is 100% original, was probably taken just after the war ended and someone taking photos must have been an unexpected occasion. He is wearing an officer's tunic (?) with cufftitle loosely attached, the eagle is wrong as is the SS collar patch. His kit is more than likely thrown together from whatever they could get at the time. He did serve in the Wiking division but only for a very short time. Tony

Hello Darrell, Yes I still have the medals with the paperwork received from the Army Medal Office. I received a letter dated 12.3.98 asking me to complete a form proving who I am and that the medals would be issued in 10 - 12 week so, I probably received them about early summer 1998. Tony

Cheers Mike, Unfortunately I don't have it now. I say unfortunately because since I sold it I've had stacks of people telling me what a quality piece it is. Tony

Yes that was my one Dave. Craig, I posted it on 9th May and I don't want to make you panic but I once sent my Aunt some fudge which took 3 months to arrive. Tony

You mean it still hasn't arrived? Blimey, that's taking a while! Tony

Rick, Do you think my Argonne cross has the correct ribbon? The other ribbons seem to be the same colour as the crosses. Tony

Hello Darrell & Laurence, Here's my Grandad's war medal. He didn't receive his medals (he didn't want them) so I had them issued to me a few years after he died. The suspender looks like much less pronounced and note the poorer quality, especially where the ribbon suspender bar is poking out. Tony

Hello G, Yes I have both his book and ID tag. Tony

Hello Craig, That's a very nice 57 EKI you have there! Earlier ones are magnetic and and have a pin going from top to bottom, some were even made from left over WWII stock. Later ones have the short pin, usually non magnetic and there's an indentation at the top of the frame (for soldering the ring) allowing it to be used for the EKII. I don't know how to tell an early EKII but I suppose later ones are non magnetic. If I'm wrong on the above points I'm quite sure someone will correct me. Cheers Tony

Not black sausage, I mean black pudding. You can tell I don't come from up your way. Tony

I saw one of those DC helmets in the panzer museum yesterday, it was on the wall about 3 metres high in the Canadian helmet section. I wondered what DC stood for. Tony