Tony

I’ve just bought a few cards (25 in total) which all seem to have been sent home from the same man, he appears to have served in Inf. Regiment 361 as the number is sewn to his pickelhaube cover. Can anyone help me out with his rank in the pictures below? The man pictured in near enough all 25 photos is Arthur Ramm and he mentions he’s lucky enough to have a photographer in his unit, I don’t know if a peacetime amateur photographer is meant or an official war photographer but Arthur is pictured obviously at the beginning of the war without any awards, with the 2nd class Iron Cross, the 1st class cross and then as a POW in Handforth POW camp near Manchester. Tony

Are you sure they aren't old VoPo jackets? Although now I think about it they may have been greyish/green. Tony

Jock, I had an old box of feldpost from the mother-in-law's uncle who served in a bomber squadron (he wasn't aircrew), I had put everything in order from his first letter in 1939 right through to his capture in Paderborn in 1945 as well as his anti nazi certificate and release papers. Everything in the cellar was earmarked for the bin so I asked her to wait until I could get to Germany to sort through it. Unfortunately I couldn't go on holiday until Christmas and it had all been binned 3 months previous to that. I still can't believe all the history that was chucked but perhaps growing up with it makes it easier to get rid of. Apparently after living several decades with a pickelhaube brought home from the front my nan binned it and the Regency sideboard was put on the fire. Tony

When you get up after your lie down you might want to try sanding the inside of the helmets with a die grinder (the long nose/handle type) using a sanding bit or wire brush bit. If you don't have one maybe you could borrow one before splashing out any hard earned cash. Tony

There's no need to be UK resident, I'm not and it worked for me. Just tick the UK citizen box and fill in the rest. 1584 now.

Yep that's true, Brit officer given iron cross by kind German in trench opposite I'd be very surprised if it did actually happen as reported in the paper though.

Last but one column, starts about nearly halfway down the page http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/6493822?zoomLevel=1 I wonder if it really did happen. Tony

Chris, I don't know if this helps or not, perhaps it's just confirming your 2nd point. The attachments below refer to an order from WWII at unit/field hospital level and I wonder if something similar was carried out during WWI, an order from above allowing a lower ranking officer perhaps at unit level, to award the cross to a badly wounded, dead or dying soldier. I’ve always wondered if a cross and certificate were forwarded to the next of kin at a later date. Tony

Ah yes but apparently I now have an Aussie twang, if it was Kiwi I might know a little more about sheep. Jock, I don't think the Iron Cross can be compared to the award system of any other country but as you say, they're always nice to have even though I haven't bought one in years. Tony

Wow, I thought anything half decent, at a fair price and more than 20 years old had been banned from German flea markets since the introduction of the euro.

The medal roll might show something about him being a POW but if I were you I'd wait a few more months and then check with the Red Cross.

Jock, Z is an unknown maker. Unfortunately for me spotting differences in iron cross cores is like trying to spot differences in sheep, it doesn't matter how hard I try they all look the same. Tony

Ian, I've just been searching for his service record but it doesn't appear to have survived the fire. I think it's the Red Cross who are releasing their POW records online and it's planned for something like August. Hopefully someone else can help you more than I can. Good luck searching. Tony

Ian, the MIC for Pte. Edward Jones says PoW under remarks however, it doesn't state any date. I think the POW records will be available online later in the year but I'm not 100% sure. He has a very common name that doesn't help searching. Tony

Very nice finds, from a flea market or had someone binned them? Tony

Just in case anyone's interested I have a copy of the diary for 56 Battalion MGC for the first couple of weeks in October 1918, it shows the number of rounds they were firing which would possibly be similar for any MG unit no matter which uniform they wore. Tony

Hello, This is a bit of a long shot but here goes, I have the stick and an empty tin can to screw onto the stick but the thread in the tin is a little buggered. I’m hoping that one day I’ll come across a tap to re-cut the thread so, does anyone know the size of the thread? Thanks Tony

It doesn't look as good as the ones he usually sells so I'll guess at 105 euros.

Greg, Thanks for taking the time to reply and at least I know now that apart from the 925 stamp on the 2nd class they both average but at least in better than average condition. Tony

Thanks! Is no one going to stick their neck out and have a stab at the maker(s)?

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Please, please heat it up in the kitchen and dump it in a bucket of old oil, then let us know what your wife said and then did to you. Tony

I have a peace cup too and I'm quite sure I also have a plate. I put a nasty chip in my Ol Bill money box tank Tony

Any ideas who may have made them? The EKI and mini came together in a case, I wouldn’t have thought they both belonged to the same recipient but I like to think they did. They were an impulse buy at a small militaria fair about 10 years ago where hardly anything took my fancy, I had money burning a hole in my pocket and just wanted to buy something before I left to go home. The 2nd class cross is only marked 935 and I don’t remember where or when I bought it, it’s a very good example, not quite as good as the LV crosses in my opinion but still much better looking than many others. If anyone has an idea which manufacturer may have made them please let me know. Tony

Jerry, were silver badges issued to officers or did they have to buy them? Do you know if they were widespread throughout different regiments or were they only worn with certain units? Tony