Chris Boonzaier

Hmmm... then my theory shot to hell.... They were mostly all still captive in South Africa/South west Africa at this time, the war still had a ways to go.... The award was made in Germany. How on earth did they get that together?? The Schutztruppen were captured en masse....

I have never seen this kind of doc before, most of the EK2s are on the decorative version like von hadelns EK1. Here is a hint to the above question....... Von Hadeln may well have been the first Schutztruppe EK2 awarded.... or at least the earliest by many months !!!!

Here is a point that may make the first doc unique.... I had not noticed it before (DUH !!!!!) It is signed and awarded in Berlin in May 1918................... why is that soooooooooooo unusual...... any ideas ?????????????????????????????????????

Hi, indeed, but does WW1 service count towards it? he seems never to have a civil service position. I think the bar was added to the docs in an "Ebay marriage"

Hi Glenn, thanks, that adds to the dokument in post 3. best Chris

Without gloating, the whole group cost about EUR550. I am very, very, very, very pleased with it.

Hi, A vague google search shows a Von hadeln as hitlers adjutant, probably a son of one of them. In the group of extra papers I got with this group is the last will of Heinrich, the PLM winner, written and signed a few months before his death in 1940.

And to close off.... his wound badge. I am still having trouble seeing why he was "Conditionally released" during the war when the rest of the germans were kept in POW camps... maybe because of this wound?

Before the war he worked as a type arranger at a printing firm, ditto after the war. His Hindenburg cross doc from 1935 has him as "Owner of a printing firm" but the medal bar that came with it had a 25 year faithful service cross (3rd reich) I assume this cannot fit with the group?

His EK2 doc.....

His description of the event... and the award document for his wound badge 22.05.16 Company service from 10am-1pm under constant artilleryfire on our positions. it was terrible, but god was with us. At 10pm David Haustei was killed by French artillery just 2m's from me, without me noticing it. It was an strange occurance and unfortunately it must be said he was largely responsible for his own death. Inspite of numerous warnings he had spent the day outside the bunker, under direct observation of the french artillery balloons. He spent the afternoon of the 22nd in his undershirt, sitting in the trench, delousing himself. he had taken his jacket off. A salvo of artillery brought him into the bunker where I berated him. after the barrage he went to recuperate his jacket which it turned out, had dissapeared, either buried or destroyed by the artillery. At 10pm he went out to dig for it when a salvo landed. I jumped into the bunker, but Haustei was killed by a large splinter in the chest. We did not notice as we thought he had entered the dugout from the other side and we all lay down to sleep. Only when I called for the work detail did we find him, 1.5m from the entrance. The work details could not work in the barrage and the collased walls gave the enemy a great view of our positions. 23.05.16 My unlucky day! At 6 am we were getting our mail. I had just recieved a package from Emilie when a shell exploded, then another, coming to about 30m-50m from the dugout entrance. At the cry of "Gas!!" the men poured down the stairs to get their masks. I had mine with me and put it on. In the dugout I took a cloth and waved it to create an upward draught as i saw the gas sink down the stairs. The dugout filled up and in the crash my mask was knocked off.. there I stood... what to do? I took a deep breath and holding my mouth and nose pushed my way out and made my way 60-100m down the trench, through the gas, collapsing when I arrived in our Sappe. After I came about I made my way to the doctor who send me back to the battalion aid station with 2 medics. Here I was immediately given oxygen which was a huge relief to my system. The relief was only temporaray and by evening I was having coughing fits. I was not evacuated that night and had to suffer till the next morning when two medics took me to the rear, my last sip of cognac doing wonders for me. The oxygen given to me the night before had helped, but the injections I recieved that morning caused vomitting and pain. At the field hospital at Lac Feur I was used as a test case and they injected me with 3 double doses of Glyzerin (?) which caused immense pain. There was no medication to counter the effects of the French gas so the doctors tried all possible injections, which made the stay at Lac Feur very unpleasant... that and the stray shells that landed there.

The entry into his military pass

The paybook that was in his pocket when he was gassed....

I bought a group on Ebay, in it was his hard to read diary, his Militaerpass an award docs....

I always think of the Gas war as the most terrible part of WW1. In fact, one of the Iron Cross award documents I treasure most (from a historical point of view) is one to a soldier from one of the specialised gas units. But we are not there to read about him today... rather about R. Wahl, a landwehr man who survived about a month and a half at the front before being gassed at Verdun.....

as a landwehrmann he seems to have been everywhere other than a landwehr unit

and ending the war in a regular infantry regiment again...

Having years before been regular infantry?

Okay... Wirtschafts komp. Starkstromabt. Res. Inf. Regt. How about some cavalry?

I often have the feeling that folks are quick to match initials with names or potential names without having black on white evidence. This seems conclusive. best Chris

Hi, The signals guys used a lighter and thinner wire. In frontline areas it was usually strung from tree to tree or above ground on bits of wood. Sometimes buried as well. The starkstrom guys were for electrical current, usually at Army level as they did electrical plants, electric fences, mostly behind the lines stuff. I guess his friends called him "Flash"

What is also interesting is the stamp. The unit was probably too small to justify a "real" stamp and seems to be named after the officer commanding it. Obviously such a lowly officer could not award the EK and this is just the standard confirmation doc concerning an award approved the week before by a higher command.

If I read correctly, he was in a Wirtschaftskomp. and at the same time in a Starkstromabt. and a Res. inf. Regt... I guess they must have lost track of all his different skills .-)

and this...

Here is hi EK doc..... a very unusual one indeed....