GregK

Hi Guys,

This medal is supposed to be a Chaplains medal. Unfortunately I believe it to be a repro. It is lacking the details of an original. I can't remember what the ribbon color is supposed to be (I think blue) but I can't check as it's in one of my books that haven't been unpacked yet. When I find it I will update the thread.

Would very much like to see the Cross of Merit you mentioned.

Cheers,

Greg

Hi Brian,

I can only give you some basic information as I am at work and my monitor is horrible!!! I can't really see the fine details or accurate colors because of it.

From what I can see in the photo then it is labeled correctly as a Chaplain's medal. I can't recall if the ribbon is the correct one though (away from references until later). Again due to my poor monitor I can't make out any detail so I can't weigh in as to originality until i get home. Perhaps someone else will be able to answer in the meantime.

Cheers,

Greg

Hi Guys,

WOW!! Thanks for the heaps of information. You guys are all amazing!!! Just a quick question though. I'm not up to speed on Imperial German award abbreviations so if you guys could please decipher I would be very appreciative. Also does anyone know where a photo of this chap could be found (if any)?

Again a big thank you to all who posted!!

Cheers,

Greg

HI Mike,

Thanks for the update. I'll hang out for a bit and hope the other fellows show up. Again a big thanks for the info so far.

Cheers,

Greg

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the info. It's certainly more than I had 24 hours ago. I'd still love to know more about the fellow though. Is there any way to get more service info on him or to find out what awards he was awarded?

In all honesty (even though it's not in my collecting field) for the right price I would be interested in taking this tunic grouping off my friends hands.

Cheers,

Greg

More photos.

6. Cuff insignia detail.

7. Shoulder insignia detail.

8. Award loop detail.

9. Ribbon bar loop detail.

10. Trouser marking detail. It almost appears to read Martini

11. Tunic naming detail. I should mention that this is all that remains of the tag.

Thanks again in advance.

Hi chaps,

I rarely venture into the Germanic side of the hobby and even more rarely the Imperial. A friend has this tunic that he is looking for some info on. He acquired it from some friends in Germany many years ago. I don't have any other info aside from that as to where it came from

To my untrained eye it looks spot on. I don't see any of the usual red flags that I check for on my end of the hobby's spectrum. The story goes that it belonged to a fellow named M?hlenfels but that fact may be incorrect. There appears to be some naming in both the tunic and trousers but I don't know (or better put..can't read) what it says accurately.

About 11 pics to follow. I will try to describe as I go along. I should also mention (and I hate doing so) but he is contemplating selling this tunic also and would like to know a fair market value and the best method of disposal.

Thanks in advance,

Greg

1. Overall shot of the tunic and trousers (and the heavy bullion belt thingy)

2. Better shot of the tunic alone (sort of)

3. The back of the tunic.

4. Inside of the tunic.

5. Collar insignia detail.

Hi Antti,

Thanks for the kind words. I am currently in the process of reorganizing my collection in my new home so hopefully I will have some photos of my "war room" to post soon. Add to that I am working on a deal to pick up something very special and almost unique to add to it. Hopefully I can showcase that in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Greg

Time to get away from the uniforms for a bit (they're all packed for moving and won't see the light of day for a couple of months).

Two of my Polonia Restitvta medals. Both 3rd class. Top one is an early Government in Exile piece made by Spink. Never issued and in pretty nice shape. The second is a pre-war example made by Gontarczyk. Heavily worn. Someone was super proud to have earned this one!!

Overall shot:

Reverse:

Spink front:

Spink reverse:

Gontarczyk front:

Gontarczyk reverse:

Maybe some Crosses of Valour tomm. Please feel free to comment.

Thanks,

Greg

Another tunic from the collection. This is actually a full uniform with trousers etc. (trousers packed away). It is identified as well. All one man's items. Interesting to note is that this uniform is actually an NZ issue. It was very common for Poles to acquire BD's from other countries. Shoulders have been padded and colar tailored as per usual with Polish tunics. The "ribbon bar" isn't actually a ribbon bar at all. It's colored thread wound around a bar in the colors of the ribbons. Collar insignia is of plastic that was "liberated" from a factory in Italy (if you look at some of my initial posts you will see other examples of plastic insignia in the display case). 8th Army shield is of metal and field made as well. Beret is a standard British beret made by Kangol.

Overall front shot:

Left Side:

Right Side:

As promised some detail shots of the Polish Air Force in Exile tunic. I tried to get the detail that I mentioned but it's difficult to get without fantastic lighting. I tried to get the best I could and here's the results.

1. The Warsaw made Pilot's wing. You can sort of see the fading around the bottom part of the wing. I only turned it rather than removed it as the chain is stitched. As I mentioned in my previous post the loop for the chain has broken and the chain was stitched in place.

2. The RAF wing. Again it's tough to make out the "ghosting" around it.

3. The PAF gold colored buttons. Made by Gaunt. Have always been stitched onto it as there in no evidence of any others.

4. POLAND shoulder title. Yet again the "ghosting" is there but hard to capture.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the kind words. With respect to the Polish wings there is a strong outline that they have been there for quite some time. In fact if you remove them from the jacket you can see a slight color change from the decades. True that I can never prove 100% that the Warsaw made wings were always there and not replaced at some other point but a good indicator is that one of the loops that hold the chain to the wings has broken at some point and the owner actually took the time to stitch chain into place. I will try to photo it if I can to illustrate. There is also a faint ghosting around the RAF wings showing the same type of wear and fading as the Polish wing. Again I will try to photo. Likewise with the POLAND shoulder titles.

Cheers,

Greg

Another very new addition. So new, in fact, that's it's barely been 48 hrs. since I've become it's custodian. There was a break in the weather so I thought I'd take a chance and photograph it.

As you can see it's an officer's 4 pocket service dress for a Polish pilot in the Airforce in Exile. Unfortunately NOT identified but I am working on it. The eagle is Polish made which means he was a pilot @ the outbreak of war. He most likely would have escaped to France and eventually England. I can only speculate (only because of the timeline) that he would have taken part in some capacity with the Battle of Britain. Please ignore the cap as it's only for effect until an appropriate example can be located. There actually was originally a cap with this tunic but the merchant that had it thinks it may have been stolen as he can no longer locate it (there is hope as it MAY have just been misplaced) . Oh well....I've prattled on long enough. Please enjoy and comment if you wish.

Thanks,

Greg

The Left Side:

The Right Side:

Thanks Des. Can't wait to get it all setup and have you over for a stay. We'll go hunting in my neck of the woods next time you're out.

Another recent addition. A Polish 2nd Corps Officer's greatcoat. Badged to a Captain. It is identified but the name escapes me at the moment. The Rogatywka is not original but is period. It was a gift from a friend at Warner Bros. Studios and was used in a film called "Desperate Journey" in the 40's. It'll do until I can locate a proper one. I have some other more exciting recent additions that I will post in the upcoming days. Let me know what you guys think.

Cheers,

Greg

Right Side:

Detail:

Left Side:

Detail:

One more addition for today. More to follow tomm.

Lt. in the 1st Hussars. Really nice BD overall. Can't really say a heck of a lot for this one so I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

Left side.

Right side.

Lovely patches to one of the sleeves.

As I said...more to follow tomm. Thanks for looking. Please feel free to comment.

Been busy packing of late for the move so little time to post. It's a beautiful daty out here today so I thought I'd take the night off and snap a few photos to add. Please let me know what you guys think.

Firstly a Cpl. BD to a gent from the West Nova Scotia Reg't. Fought in Italy and @ Cassino. This reg't also travelled to Italy on a Polish boat called the Stefan Batory. That's the exact same boat that my parents emigrated to Canada on in 1972!!! Unfortunately the moths got to this one so I "dressed" him up with full P37 web and it only really shows on the sleeve. Comments please.

His left side showing a moth hole. The MKII helmet is kind of cockeyed as it was a tad out of balance on this particular mannequin.

Right side showing some more moth bites. Nothing too serious though.

The least exciting side showing his back. I would have posed him with an Enfield but was afraid the neighbours might get upset.

Hi,

I don't normally have an interest in Bulgarian militaria but for some reason this post attracted me and I'm glad it did. What a wonderful tunic!!!! Far more stylish and rare than anything else of the period in my opinion. Thanks for sharing.

Congratulations!!!

Regards,

Greg

Hi Leigh,

Nice helmet. Not too often you find these with the eagle stencilled on the front. I find it interesting to note that these were primarily used by the 1st Armoured in the UK. I have still to see one of these being worn by any member of the 2nd Corps while in the Middle East. Any info on the original owner?

Very nice.

Cheers,

Greg

Hi Leigh,

Nice eagle. I remember seeing you post it on another forum some time ago. It's especially nice as it's ID'd and has the parachute brigade connection. These economy eagles are scarcer than the regular metal types but can still be found with some regularity. These were made by A Stanley & Sons Walsall

Cap eagles themselves have many different makers and styles spanning the entire continent from Gaunt in England to Lorioli in Italy. Add to that all the unofficially field made types and you have the subject of a lengthy reference book on your hands.

Perhaps we should start a thread featuring the different variations of cap eagles (cloth and metal). Could be an idea.

Cheers,

Greg

PS. I'd really like to see scnas of the inside of the document if possible.

Hi Alex,

Nice score. Tony knows his stuff so I would stand behind his evaluation 100%. With regards to further research you could contact the Sikorski Institute in London. They could help you find out what other awards he was entitled to. Their address is as follows:

Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum Archives Department

20 Princes Gate

London

SW7 1PT

England

Tel: 020 7589 9249

Hope that was of some help.

Cheers,

Greg

PS. He almost certainly was at Tobruk given his rank and the relatively low number of the award itself. I will check my books and papers (as well as those of the local Polish Combatants' Assoc.) to see if there is any mention of him for you

Hi Chris,

I no longer personally collect TR but all I can say is that these hats are GORGEOUS!!!!! I have always had a soft spot for the Chaplains visors and that crusher that you posted is magnificent (as are the others as well). Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

Greg

In honor of the anniversary of the Canadian victory on Vimy ridge I thought I would take a minute to post these items from my collection. They were picked up by myself on a trip to Vimy Ridge a couple of years ago. I must clarify that I didn't actually dig these out of the ground myself (that's illegal). They were digging a new trench for a new bathroom at the visitors centre and these items were among the dirt that came out. These were gathered about 1/2 km from the ridge itself and would have been at the Canadian position looking up at the ridge. They consist of an artillery fuse (presumably German), an unfired British .303 round (heavily corroded and quite safe), and a couple of rocks gathered at the crest of the ridge itself.

Thanks for looking.

Todays addition. This piece is kind of enigma in my collection. As I mainly collect Polish 2nd Corps, Canadian Armoured Corps, and Canadians in the Italian campaign this one fits nowhere. It's a nearly complete uniform grouping to a man who served with the RCEME with 21st Army Goup in NW Europe. It consists of his BD, trousers, beret, helmet and ID tags. Unfortunately it's a tad too small for any of my mannequins at the moment (hence the photo of it on the floor) but that problem will be rectified soon.

Here's the most interesting part of this grouping. Not only did he serve with the 21st Army Group in Europe but he was also shipped off to the Pacific and served a short period there as well. A true soldier.

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the kind words. As far as the presentation is concerned I'm still not totally happy with it (probably never will be) but I have big plans for my room once we get into our new home. As far as being able to get two rooms.....not a chance. The wife to be tolerates my collecting only to a certain level and she's already got plans for the other two bedrooms I'm afraid.

Just one addition for tonight. It will follow shortly.

Thanks,

Greg

Hi Laurence,

Thanks for the kind words. It's taken years of hard work and much study to accumulate this collection. That and lots of networking!! Much of my collection is directly from veterans or their families. Being Polish myself and having a granddad that was a Cassino vet helps too though. My granddad passed many years ago but the contacts and relationships that have been made through the family have endured. In fact the house that I currently reside in was built and owned by a Polish 2nd Corps vet who moved to Canada pre-war but answered the call. As you may or may not know Winnipeg had a huge influx of Poles that moved here post-war rather than return to Communist Poland. Mainly to fulfill a 2 year contract with farmers who were losing their German POW labour (my grandad being one of them).

I am not a current serving member of the FGH unfortunately. By the time I came to my senses it was far too late for me to dedicate the kind of time required. I am, however, a member of the regimental association and have many friends that are current serving members. I also volunteer at the regimental museum and get a "hands on" of all the regimental goodies.

Will post more as time allows. Have many more documented Polish medal/badge/paper groupings and some uniforms to boot. Look forward to hearing some more comments.

Thanks,

Greg