Chris Boonzaier

1st model definitely more attractive... I wonder if they were made in SA?

That is technically not correct. If he was in the military and serving inside Germany, he would not have received a white ribbon cross... He would also have gotten the black ribbon Iron Cross for "Heimatkriegsverdienst" on a black ribbon. And the Ehrenkreuz wothout swords. All the best Chris

Can you please stop spamming the forum with "no responses to date"... if there is no response it means noone knows, or if they do, they choose not to say.

Damn.... maybe tomorrow ... ?

I think it is 1.K. for 1st Company... I think for many the scratched name was so it could find its way home if and when it fell off....

This may help.... http://www.karkeeweb.com/patterns/braithwaite/braith_intro.html http://www.karkeeweb.com/patterns/braithwaite/braith_components.html

Ahhhh... but Buddha was not at the mercy of DP! I am of the firm belief if you mention something before it arrives, the DP will lose it!

I am guessing here, but I assume they wore "last years fashion" ... In South Africa there was a strict division between the men who volunteered to serve overseas, and those who were willing to serve in South Africa. Those serving in North Africa, Italy would have had the better more modern stuff... I assume the prewar UDF stuff?

Where did you get the Info from? It is not a SA unit that would have served overseas, at best a local defense unit. As such I think only an Africa Defense medal for the members? I assume policing details with South Africans sent to SWA as much of the local population would have had German Sympathies? Here you go! Die Proclamation No 234 of 1939 der Südafrikanischen Union stellte Südwestafrika unter die Bestimmungen des Defence Act of 1912. Auf Grundlage der Verordnung entstand im November 1939 das SWA Command (deutsch etwa: „Kommando Südwestafrika“) aus Teilen der Bürgerwehr (Citizen Force, Reservisten) und weiteren Militäreinheiten. Am 1. Dezember 1939 wurde das 1 SWA Infantry Battalion (kurz: 1 SWA Inf Bn) mit Hauptquartier in Windhoek errichtet, das zur Union Citizen Force gehörte So a citizen force unit based in Windhoek! Formed at the outbreak of the war to keep the more sentimental members of the population from doing silly things!

... they may arrive this week..... Damned Postoffice.... Just waiting around... looking out the window....

It looks like you are the guy who bought one Lottery ticket in life and hit the jackpot... I may be missing out on other variants... but now the originality is cleared... I think this may be one of the top 2 or 3 Iron Cross variations out there?

I was just scanning a pile of docs for ebay... and saw I have a Brunswicker in with them... But in a Garde Regiment... he served through the whole war, it was the Militärpass entries back then that made me buy it....

Many units had things like these... as the Iron Cross 2nd class had to be approved at Divisional level, and after a soldier had that there was a biiiiiiiiiiiig gap until the Iron Cross 1st class, units made awards of things a regimental commander approved... certificates, engraved watches, plaques... a nice piece indeed!

Usually if they were imperial period like the rittmeister implies they would have mentioned on it that they were a supplier to the Kings court... so I think it safe to exclude the WW1 period... also does not look WW1 style, the München 15 does not help because the Stadtbezirke were used for a long period from before WW1 to after WW2...

Lets not forget... for many of these firms, military awards and badges were made for a short period over decades or even centuries of existence... for every wound badge he made, he probably made 2 table tennis association badges, for every iron Cross he made he made 10 football association badges.... and even today they are making Carnival medals and golf trophies... the chances that a bag are civilian are very large indeed unless there is some definiae evidence...

Hi, it is a Bavarian 3rd Infantry bord... but from 1916 on... most of the plates and examples show the boards as they were in 1914 and not the changes... If you are looking that way the first money you should spend is the Kelso book in shoulder boards/starps "Under arms for the Kaiser"

Very nice indeed! With the EK the award documents were originally planned for after the war as well... although many units issued preliminary documents on their own inititive, the official order only came in early 1916 to issue prelim dicuments... I guess Braunschweig had planned the same thing.

It may be greyer... but at least there seems to be a model number?

I have just seen a drawing in "Uniformkunde das Deutsche Heer" by Spemann... a Litewka like yours, with a top pocket (not a deal breaker) for the marine Infantry and called "Litewka vom schnitt 95"

Reminds me of the one on the left here.... without the chest pocket....

If it had been badgeless I would say that is almost a twin of the Blue bavarian Officers Litewka....

I meant 300 because 3 companies in the bavarian army had it... was issued in 1913 and could be worn for a year... so i assume by the end of 1914 that was the end of the road and they had to be taken off...

I had a group to a railway clerk... he had 3 very crappy typewritten preliminary documents for the EK2... one from each unit he was posted to... I think every time he claimed not to have one in the hope of getting a sexy printed one... and always got an ugly one... he seems to have given up... either that or the previous owner had split the nice one from the group...

I have an Iron Cross group where the guy has 2 iron Cross 2nd class documents, issued by 2 different units to document the same award, which was made by a previous 3rd unit.

There are plenty of examples of dates on certificates not matching when it comes to German... and in this case the 1915 may have nothing to do with the award date... "1915/" may refer to the line below "1915/K.u.K. Infanterieregiment..." for instance.... It may be his Stamm Abteilung before he was by the flieger.... Paper trails are sometimes confusing....