Chris Boonzaier

The pin and hook on the shield look very German, the wreath has a Finnish stamp. Could the two parts be "Married"?

Hi, no, just Alfons :-( I DO know his brothers were named Oskar and Alois ;-) Is signed "My brothers Oskar, Alois, from your brother Alfons" And that is all :-(

Is this the silver bravery medal in "Your brother Alfons's" button hole? Thanks Chris

and getting older all the time ;-)

Well, I was always horrified at how cheap and ugly the medals were... look at post 69 here... http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=24709&st=60 I got the diploma today at long last... what a disappointment.... I guess it has to do with the computer age.... they are not printed by a professional then filled out... but the whole thing is done on an A4 sheet, printed on a computer then signed and stamped.... basically a computer print out... :-(

Actually, I misread... it seems to be close to the Kaplager.....

Hi, Pionier Kompagnie 102 was part of the 1. Bay. Pionier Battalion. Best Chris

15th Reserve Division then....

Here is an interesting pic. I think it is in the chaumont area but dont know for sure....

No return from the front... the cemetery at chaumont, Verdun

close up...

General K. v. D. commanding the Alpenkorps.... Some nice thingies there in this original pic...

Bavarian infantry Leib Regiment moving to the rear after being relieved at the front at Verdun...

these are obviously Austrians, but the card is stamped from Verdun. Also, the guy on the very left seems German. Maybe paul can have a go at this?

A big bgger

Here are some ebay finds from last week... Some German guns on height 344

I wonder if it is not unusual for the 26 year old Lt to serve in a landsturm Batln? Maybe he was badly wounded before and was not 100% up to regular service standard?

Thats a really, really, really, really cool pic with the wagons with the MGs. Can I use it for the kaisers cross site? Thanks Chris

Hi, I may be misreading Eds post but I think he means the medal is OK but the ribbon and bar are copies?

Hi, it is from a photo album. There are about 100 photos from a photographer who seems to have been with the Alpenkorps. There are 100 original photos in an album and people could order the pictures using the numbers next to them. Some are pretty boring, some are interesting. Some are quite well kown. Best Chris

I assume there are a few guys who may get them... http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/2....taj/index.html I wonder if they will be public?

That is a really cool collection of Kepis!!!! Must have taken some time to get them together. I really like the Generals ones!

Ah... Ok, I thought Ed was implying the Turks are not European.

Under the microscope it looks to be a crown. I suppose they must be ILR men afterall. They had just been trained by Rohr and I think this was just before they went to Fleury. Best Chris

Ed, Racism is not usually your thing :-(