Chris Boonzaier

I remember selling off my 4 Kriegsmarine Ehrentafelspange about 22-23 years ago... I would probably get less for them today... however... back then noone was paying EUR1000 for a rare 1939 EK2 !!!

What could have been... while some makers are getting their badges made in China.... AIXIA, a "boutique" or artisanal makes enjoyed a short run in the early 90s.... They made the El Moungar" and the X-Mas 1991 version of the badge, made the 3rd Company commemorative for operation Baumier... and a bunch of different badges for the Cavalry regiment for Cambodia... and then faded away. The product was expensive, mostly cast out of silver and hand finished, everyone a little different.... here is a numbered Officers one for presentation Noel 1991, as well as an El Moungar one numbered 001! and a 150 birthday of the regiment table medal, and the 3rd Company ones for Op Baumier... and a couple of test strikes for the Noel 1991 badge... unfortunately the company did not last long... and Balme and other companies with ugly, cheap badges, some made in China! cornered the badge market...

Die hards allways go on about how prices are going up... I see WW2 tunics stagnating, at prices that I got in a shot when I sold off my ww2 stuff 10-15 years ago

Hi, I assume only the recipient would know...

So whats going on with Arthus-Bertrand? One of the most traditional makers... who bought DRAGO, and were then swallowed by Pichard-Balme... you can see from the catch that these are pretty modern... the first one has flat flames and good detail, the one in the middle is a strange bird... produced for Editions Atlas, a dick move to make badges for a company who sells collectibles, so basically a "fake" although somewhere there a few guys wearing them as they are the same as the previous ones from the front... and the last one... the horseshoe and grenade has jumped from a DRAGO rip off to a Balme clone.... Bertrand has made badges for decades and made the regiments badges before WW2 already... I don't remember seeing any of their badges in this 2 REI model until these very new ones came out... The world would not be a poorer place if they had not joined in... although my collection would be 3 badges lighter...

OK, I really like this maker... Andor, from Le Cannet... In the pic you see a really old school DRAGO badge (the one with the Golden Tint) ... veeeeery similar to Andor, although Andor goes an extra step and even the surface of the Mule shoe looks as if it has been hammered... the flames are flat and not so 3 dimensional as the later badges are... compare it to the old Drago which also has flat flames.... Drago and Andor were very close in design... the firm apparently existed from 1964-2007... Andor has regular pinbacks, and also real silver... with split pins... on the one you see the silver stamp in the middle, on the other you can see it below the loop

Veeeerrry nice... does it have a name to it? Hi, nice! do you know how he got that combination?

Hi, any and all at the moment.

Does anyone have any bars with mixed states (Bavaria, Saxony etc) to other ranks or junior company grade officers to show? Some really good ones are needed for a project Thanks Chris

The downfall of French Medal/Badge making..... Traditions firm DRAGO was bought by the Arthus Bertrand Group... The AB Group has factories in the far east... Pichard, who made the worst 2 REI badge joined with Balme... to form Pichard - Balme .... Then Pichard-Balme bought the Arthus Bertrand Group (including DRAGO.... so the superior Bertrand and Drago makers were swallowed up by a firm of lesser Quality makers... All can be seen on the bag holding these regt badge Cufflinks.....

Two more not so nice ones... on the left Destree, on the right Pichard, which may just be the most "I can not be bolloxed" production you will ever find.... No wonder Pichard and Balme (above) joined companies .....

The Pocket badges are nicknamed a "Pucelle", which is French for Virgin. noone agrees why they were given that name. Usually they are worn on a leather Fob. There are hundreds and hundreds of different fobs. Each badge has its own shape. Legion ones are green with red stitching.

After the Indochina war the 2 REI was sent to North Africa. The previous Regimental badge had a Dragon on it, obviously more related to Indochiona and not having a lot to do with the Mounted Infantry role of the regt in the Sahara. The 2 REI badge does not have a Horse Shoe, it is a Mule shoe. New arrivals are informed of this difference when getting a brief history of the regiment... It is a badge with SEVEN holes. The new badge was created in 1957 by Colonel Goujon, regimental commander. This is the badge by "LR" a company founded in 1959 by an ex officer named Jean Lemaire. Apparently LR are the initials of his mothers maiden name. LR badges are relatively new, the detail is superb. The pebbling on the badge can even be seen at the bottoms of the Mule shoe! I am a bit on the fence with this, such fantastic detail... but obviously using technology that the Older badges did not.. Very 3 dimensional flames on the grenade... As a traditionalist who loves things created by an artisan, the LR may just be "too perfect"... J. Balme Saumur was the standard badge for sale at the regiment in the early 90s, a pity because it is not a nice badge at all.. the detail is bad, compare the detail to the LR above... At some stage there was a really strange variation, no pebbling and 6 holes! According to some sellers this "error" is highly sought after by collectors... but there seem to be more than enough to go around. I am guessing none of those made it to the regiment and were probably dumped directly into the surplus stores and militaria dealers. to try and get rid of them. Balmes can be found with needles or the loops for the split pin. The 6 hole ones have loops

Here are a selection of DRAGO made Regimental badges... does anyone have any other variations? Will post other makers soon...

Over the years i have on occasion picked up a badge or two from my old regiment, simply because of the variety and the variations... the Obverse less so, but the reverse is a collecting field all on its own... Most prolific are the Drago pieces, but even there there are many variations... Still a small collection... but I add to it bit by bit when i see them going cheap....

I love the quality of these... I think this regiment had way above average quality boards as far as quality of work went... I know, it is not Bavarian, but they will help me get Bavarian ?

and a bucket of worms....

Probably the best Studio photo for a Colonial soldier I have ever seen.. taken in Tsingtao....

Going through my documents I found these again... the First one to Oslkar Rösch, which is OK in itself... the one to Johann Resch is way more interesting, badly wounded in the fighting, he ended up in captivity in Australia, as opposed to Japan.... He was part of the original OMD (Although not during the Boxer rebellion.. "16.) Johann Breth aus Kettenheim war Seesoldat in der 1. Kompanie des Ostasiatischen Marine-Detachements und wurde bei Kampfhandlungen schwer verwundet. Er kam in englische Gefangenschaft. Lageraufenthalte in Hongkong und in Australien. Entlassung bereits im März 1919." Some German machine gunners in China....

Managed to add this today....

Hi, we would need to see a pic best Chris

Congrats!!! A rarity indeed....

That is funny, my wife's Grandfather was also a country doctor after WW2, up into the 50s he was also often paid with eggs and vegetables!

Very interesting! I have a side collection of documents, Photos, awards to the 12th bavarian Inf regt.... have never seen the 100 Year medal mounted on a bar!

I have had this WW1 Bottle for some time... I think I once was told it was probably Canadian... The ones I see online seem to have a leather strap... on the 10-15 years I have had it I have not seen another one... can anyone help here? What do i have?