Chris Boonzaier

They are 2 or three times heavier than I thought they would be !!!

Little bits of red thread on the back...

Well, I paid my money and took my chances... All in all I am happy with what arrived today. From what I can see, all fits, it seems to be a kosher set of boards that are just missing the backings. The devices all match as far as condition go...

A subtle change... the EK section is slowly going to appear... http://www.kaiserscross.com/ please keep this in view, it will take a form that will surprise you....

Oh PULeeeeeeese!!! For most of us we work at a job we may not like, and militaria is the way we brighten up our lives.... Joe has the dream job and militaria is just the stuff he plays with to pass the hours until he can get back to work Joe has a soft spot in my heart reserved for him because he gave me first shot at his award docs when he culled the collection. A big E-Kiss for him

A silly question... what was the exact dividing line between who got it with crown, and who got it without?

Indeed... and the variation is much bigger... with WW2 EKs you sometimes need to magnify the teeth to find a difference, and with Imperial they are very, very different.

In memory of your friend Thomas Magnum... Although the last two words may be wrong...

Did you think it was something dirty...?...

It is such a wide, wide, wide field.... but just how wide are we spread out on it? I collect mainly Iron Cross award docs, but I have some crosses... and iron cross postcards... and a few period bookmarks with EKs, and a wallet with an EK design... and a plate... how do YOU approach the EK collecting hobby? "If it don't have silver rims... I don't touch it"?.. "Only the postcards" ? If you limit yourself... why? (other than cost factor which we can all understand) I always think of the EK as a theme where you need to do a bit of everything to win the big prize when you die.... wont make it to heaven if you only have the crosses kinda deal.... How do you guys see it? For the guys who stay away from ephemera... is it because of the lack of literature to give rough guidelines?

What a waste... all that stuff in a draughty old hall down under.... Would be sooooo much better off chez moi !! Thanks Bob!!

A Sturmtrupp at Verdun.. http://www.trenchfighter.com/40029/home.html

Anyones have any ideas to the soldbuch interpretation? Best Chris

Groooooaaaannn.... I should have left it sealed... maybe it would have been worth something someday...

Some more for you guys to enjoy :-) http://www.trenchfighter.com/40240.html

What a pity they do not have the date of the wound ...

Not much help in why it was awarded, but it must date from 1955-1960. Best Chris

A nice piece of history indeed!! Are these cast or hollow stamped? I assume the lightning bolts mean he was a radio man ;-)

Military Medals. Does anyone have any ideas as to how many French soldiers in WW1 received the Military Medal? Thanks Chris

Nice bar, from the condition very typical, as is the mounting.

An award group to a gas attack victim with his description of the event... http://www.trenchfighter.com/40312/41177.html

Maybe its the booze... but I think this has a danger of swaying over into modern politics...... hic.... burp.... zzzzzzzz.... did anyone know, that in Germany you can buy South African Vodka, made of grape rests by the KWV (Respected South African wine cartel)... and it came over ebay from a guy in northern Germany... and is stamped NAAFI HM Forces on the bottle? That bottle will be a casualty as some friends and I are gonna kill it this evening... I wonder how the German got it and if it was nicked from the NAAFI? He seems to have sold 4-5 bottles.....

Hi, nice shots! All the best Chris

An old GMIC thread gets a new breath of life... http://www.trenchfighter.com/40047/41106.html

Hi guys, thanks for all the answers! All the best Chris