Chris Boonzaier

I just picked up this document... A nice document signed by von Below.... In this case the Generalleutnant DID recieve a preprinted one... but only in April 1916, and the 1916 doc is nowhere near as nice, also not signed by anyone near as high... unfortunately I missed out on the 2nd doc.... but until the 1916 decree, this was his document...

Hi, the same can be said for the MGSSA badge, have seen many, many, many photos, but can count the greatcoat photos on a couple of fingers.... yet the MGSSA book does stipulate it is for the waffenrock and Greatcoat... There is a gauntlet, this gauntlet exists basically everywhere in life... and everyone runs it when they advance a theory. Some people choose to throw their teddy in a corner when their opinions are questioned, some stay in place and take part in the discussion without taking it personally. I am happy to see you posting, but like anyone else you have to be ready to defend opinions.

Hi, OK, so there we have a Qualification/Tätigkeits Abzeichen,

Hi, it may not even have been neccessary to have been in combat, but no units accept new recruits as "full members" without them having been around a bit... first thing they hear is "I know what they said back at basic training... but now on to serious things...."

Its the same with things like the KSK in Calw, for every trained operational soldier there are a number of Support guys in the unit who are not badged as KSK. I have a SB group with a Zeugniss for the paymaster, in it the SB commander specifically mentions the administrative problems caused when groups of men are rotated to other units because the Battalion staff is still responsible for them, for logging their pay, for tracking their movements, for keeping their paperwork up to date etc. My guess, which is as good as any I think, is that maybe after training at the ersatz battalion the guys were polished up and gained a bit of experiance at the Feldrekruten section of the regiment and were then badged, maybe even after having taken part in a combat action? It is just a feeling based on experiance, but I think in most units the older guys insist that the younger guys in some way have to earn the right to wear the badge, even if it is only a bit more training at the unit? To see raw recruits wearing it when veterans were probably proud of it probably was not "on" ? "Newbies" in a unit are seldom accepted from day one...

Hi, It had a Regimental Depot and staff, including Regimental staff, Staff for each of the battalions, administration, Maintenence, Paymaster, Gefechts Baggage, recruit section etc, etc... so men who had functions other than being FW operators. TomW mentions photos with men without the badge mixed in with men with them Best Chris

Every man in the unit would include men who were not FW operators, which would devaluate the badge as it would include cooks, clerks and mechanics ? Also, does an "elite" unit give its badge to recruits just arrived out of basic training or do they have to go the extra mile to be accepted? Most units at the front did not get recruits directly from the Ersatz Battalion but had Feldrekrutendepots where they were retrained or "geschliffen" behind the front by veterans with more recent combat experiance.... I doubt that the FW would have guys right out of training right into combat without having training behind the front? If the badge was as "Tätigkeits" badge, i.e. only for men who were actually trained FW operaters, it could explain why some men wore it and some did not?

MGSS men were issued with more than one badge. It was also meant for the Tunic and Greatcoat, but you seldom or ever see it on the greatcoat. Maybe simply because men seldom bothered to sew it on the greatcoat?

Klar, but with what Criteria? a) Bewährungs Abzeichen - Did every FW operater posted to the unit get one? i.e. day one in the regiment "and here is your badge!" or was it a Bewährungs Abzeichen, and given to guys who had "made their bones" ... i.e. had participated in an attack or something b) Tätigkeits Abzeichen - Was it only worn by men in the regiment who were FW Operators .... or..... c) Unit Badge - was it a unit badge for all men in the regiment? That is 3 very different things indeed....

I am starting a new thread to keep any ideas together here... I am still unclear as to who wore the Skull badge? What kind of badge was it? i.e. WHO wore it, WHY did they get it, at what stage in their career as a flamethrower guy did a soldier get it? Is it a a) Bewährungs Abzeichen b) Tätigkeits Abzeichen c) Unit badge? Any ideas or theories? Best Chris

A nice little group indeed!! Would he have recieved a silver star or Bronze star as well?

Show us the evidence he was not? What is more likely, he was issued 2 Badges, or these things are so comman that it is more likely there just happened to be these 3 items together in a drawer somewhere. It is sometimes easier to develop an opinion or theory based on what we find, instead of dismissing what we find because it does not fit an opinion. Is there any serious thoughts as to who actually wore the badge? When did a guy recieve one?

thanks, I had "Assumed" that a second unit would be on it as is so often found on WW1 tags ;-)

You are assuming Meyer was not a flamethrower Pionier based on what?

What are the chances of 2 badges and a tag being found in the same house and NOT being connected? And how on earth do you know he only made it to the replacement battalion? Maybe you should read up a bit on dogtags... as I said before, many groups have the ersatz unit tag with 1 or 2 added units...

Which in no way shape or form does not mean he was not popsted to the regiment after instruction... on top of that, many german soldiers kept their original tag and further postings were added. I dont think anyone who followed this group from the beginning doubts they belong together.

If I remember correctly the house clearer sold them as "Totenkopfschwimmer" badges

Chip and Robins came from the same man, it is not up to me to reveal the name. The Germans were not stingy with awards, with things like arm shields in WW2 Officers recieved 3 (for insatnce) It is indeed possible that initially each soldier got just one, and clever ones managed to organise more... but I think it could probably be classified as a working theory as opposed to a fact? Best Chris

Hi, how do we know each man only got one? The group we know (now with Robin and Chip) had two examples in it? Best Chris

The pin on the pilot looks very similar to a few German makers... does anyone have an idea where they were made?

I have the diaries, basically just an unpolished version of the book.

Here you go.....

cant be private purchase, it has an abnahme stamp on the spine. I think it was Haenkels or something like that the other stamp? Think I have a bayonet of theirs somewhere...

I just picked up another little gem, I suppose this one was used on the stable door... comes from Markt Einersheim close to Kitzingen in Bavaria...

From the SA Legion page... The Naval signal BZ "Bravo Zulu" is highly appropriate here - meaning "congratulations in the highest order" in signal terminology. "BZ" to these South African Heroes. CPO N C Smith, left; CPO Ivor du Plessis, centre and WO J van Nieuwholtz, 3 South African Navy Divers who were awarded the SANDF's bravery decoration - the Bronze Leopard for Bravery - The Nkwe ya Boronse. The third higest bravery award in the country. The three divers recieved this decoration for thier role in clearing unexploded live ordiance on Operation Bapisa from 26 March to 27 April 2007. Operation Bapisa was South Africa (and the Defence Force)'s contribution to the aftermath of the massive ammunition depot explosion at Malhazine outside Maputo, Mozambique on 22 March 2007. It involved the process of the recovery and sweeping operation to clear the communities around the depot where rockets, artillery shells and other projectiles which had rained down as a result of the massive detonations over several hours. 53 SANDF and 6 SAPS members participated in the operation from 26 March to 15 July 2007. Many Mozambicans, and one SANDF member was killed in June of that year during the operation. Altogether 1213 tonnes of ordnance was made safe. The Nkwe ya Boronse can be awarded to all ranks of the South African National Defence Force and of any Auxiliary Service of the SANDF, and of any Armed Forces attached to or serving with or rendering any service to the SANDF who have distinguished themselves by performing acts of bravery on a single occasion or over a period of time during military operations, or for exceptional combat leadership Story for the South African Legion by Peter Dickens with thanks to Jacques de Vries for the caption content and research.