Chris Boonzaier

Just playing around with the computer and figured I would do some Photo Montage with attributed pieces... The EK1 belonging to Willy Richter of the 36th Füsilier Regiment... he is 2nd from the Right on the Photo. Cross is WS

Hi, it is engraved in Arabic, Somewhere I have the details... it was to an infantryman...

Hi, If i had bought it on ebay and it was 10 years of tarnish caused by the local coal fired power station in XXX I would probably go ahead and do it... but this one is a bit special for me.... It is in my "Holiday medals" frame... each with its own story... this was pulled out of a drawer in a Souk, I went back 2-3 times to bargain, and carried it back to th hotel knowing this had 100 years of Patina on it... if it were clean it would be "just a medal"...

Polishing this medal from an Egyptian Market would be like killing a puppy in a microwave.....

Going through my pics... I really think this may be the moustrap KMST ?

At some stage I want to have all his awards mounted on a bar, but for now, the Wifes Great Grandfathers Albrecht Cross is sitting pretty :-)

Possibly, I just thought that as they made then for a longer period, maybe there may have been differences.

THAT is fantastic!! Does it have a name to go with it?

I like the old Ausweis system where there is no photo, but a signature as proof that you can compare it to if you have him sign another piece of paper...

Nice small group... the 1st and 2nd Pic are actually humorous fake orders/reports... nice Unit specific EK2 doc.

Hi, This looks like a KMST latch ? Or does anyone have any other ideas?

Just one owner ago, this group had a name to go with it... :-( .... now it is "just some medals"... even if the one IS a "G" thang....

Hi, lets not overlook the fact that the man may not have been entitled to the KSA? If I am not mistaken, you had to be a woman to get the KSA without a bar.... So either this person got QSA and KSA... but put whatever miniatures he could find on the bar, irrespective of the bars, or he had a QSA with the bars, and added a KSA on his own.... makes identification more difficult....

No... I am not going to actually do it... but sometimes I get frustrated... I have 7 attributed crosses... I do my best to research as much as I can.... but I simply know that somewhere dowm the line the cross and the man will be seperated... Either by accident, or because someone does not care. Not gonna do it... but sometimes i wish i could....

Here is an example... the one on the left i think is the most comman french awarded medal... the one on the right is a company who prefered using asterix Comics to get a facial design.... I dont like either of them... no high five for modern French Medal making... but I am really not a fan of the one on the right.... smooth brass, "Antiqued".... But it is sold to soldiers, and worn....

I agree, in fact, my own bar is made up of what I consider to be the nicest variations as opposed to the issue ones... but it depends on the maker...

Seems the JB13 was in a different division by 1918... but it is possible that he may have been transfered within the 32nd division.

Hi, Of 17 Saxon Divisions the most likely is the 32nd Division, it was the only one at Verdun for a reasonable period in 1918... it was the Div I guessed he may be in... coincidently the JB13 is in the Division.....

Hi Dave, All that I have on top of the above that he was Saxon through and through... http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/61827-guess-the-maker/#entry582926 I am not sure if the pics are any help... he has no ribbons. At first I thought he was cutting it a bit fine... born 1900, Lt in 1918... but as he was actually born in 1896... that gives him a bit more time to have served. By "Rolls" I mean all the esoteric different records the Gnomes use... Do you think he may be the RFAR23 guy? Or is he too young? Maybe the Flakzug 403 has something to do with the MG badge.

OK, some extra info, He was not from Köln, rather he was born, grew up and lived in Leipzig. Parts of the Family moved to Köln after the war. He was born in 1896 and was (it seems) a Lt or Lt d. Res. in 1918. Does anyone have the Saxon Rolls?

The question would be, is there an official maker? I know with some of the more recent French awards there are 3 or 4 makers, the product ranging from awful to bloody awful.... and I think units and tailors can order from all or any of them. Yours may be found on as many medal bars as the other one... just as you bought one online... there is probably a soldier getting one cheaper on ebay than at the tailor... and when the tailor runs out of old ones... he may order these... its a very tough call... I imagine it is "older version" and "ugly newer one".... as long as the company is legally making them... The finish looks very much like some of the versions of te French "medaille Commemorative" or whatever it is called...

Hi, if I am not mistaken, there is a Dutch or Belgian company that makes copies of current European medals, not for the collectors market, but for sale to soldiers... I am not sure of the details, but they did make exampels of current French medals a few years ago... a bit cheaper and uglier than the "real" ones... but I think the average soldier does not care, as long as the price is right...

According to the Grandson, the EK1 was all that he kept. Due to a major wound in the shoulder he did not serve in WW2 in any active role.

Ironically I was looking at a Godet at a dealer last week, wondering if i should get it, then this one more or less fell in my lap...

Belonged to Richard W. badly wounded in the Verdun area 1918.