Chris Boonzaier

You did really, very, very well on this. Send me the number and maybe you can double your fantastic luck by getting some history on your gun ;-)

What did I miss????? :-)) I have been up to my ears in everything to do with the hobby of late so I missed it :-((

Both men were in the 3 Ers MGK I. b.A.K. Wildt then went to the 1. M.G.K. 2. b.I.R. Nr 13 Brandmeier seems to have an error on his tag... it says "1. M.G.K. 2. I.R. No. 35"

These cannot compete with Bolle's latest posts, just a couple picked up in France last week

These cannot compete with Bolle's latest posts, just a couple picked up in France last week

Here you go.... http://www.amazon.com/Vanguard-Nazism-Movement-Postwar-1918-1923/dp/0393001814

A very good, cheap and cheerful, overview is the book "Vanguard of Nazism: The Free Corps movement in Postwar Germany 1918-1923" by Robert G. L. Waite I cannot recoment it too highly

Well then Bruce,..... We will just call you "Sheila" then..... :-)

Hi Dave, Thanks a million !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for delay in answering, am in Verdun at the momnt :-))

Apparently there were a few handfulls of foreign awards handed out for East Africa in WW1, I am wondering if the Belgian one was not from there.... I think there were Russian and French awards...

Hi, its the hindenburg cross ribbon that has faded, that is a nice little group.... lets see his battle page!! Best Chris

Hi Bolle! Very nice indeed! Do you have the name of the man who wore it? Thanks Chris

Hi Bolle! Some really nice units there!!! Best Chris

Was his stuff recently up for sale? I ended up with a bunch of extremely good prewar photos of the 7th Jäger, bought over ebay. Best Chris

p.s. if anyone tries to take you to the famous hill to watch sunset in Ankor... avaoid it... tourist monkey crap. but get up really really early and hit the temples before the tour groups do... especialy the maintemples... you can get a tuk tuk driver that will take you around all day and it does not cost much....

There is an old Market in Siem Riep where I found a few odds and ends, beware of fake silver coins !! and any other silver medals (many are fake). (If you are doing 2-3 days Ankor Watt, get yourself the week pass and a Tuk Tuk driver to pick you up really early and get there really early... some of the temples away from the regular tourist route are great, and sometimes you have them to yourself). Phnom Peng also had a couple of tourist markets with meager pickings. Somewhere at the foot of Wat Phnom there is a cultural center with crafts, there was a medal shop military tailor there... I think it was on the back side of the hill (This was 5 years ago) Best Chris

Hi, I dont think that is the only copy of the photo... I have seen it before. Best Chris

No Problemo, Forums are here to chew things over... I have finally had some time to check these out... Each is made of 5-7 pieces of field grey wool. The buckles would be at the top once rolled onto the leg. It seems, most have cloth strip strings instead of buckles, but have found variations in pics with cloth strips and buckles. Best Chris

I am busy doing the write up on this.... From another page on Kaisers cross, you can see pretty much how this can happen to a Jacket... "At 10pm David Haustei was killed by French artillery just 2m's from me, without me noticing it. It was an strange occurrence and unfortunately it must be said he was largely responsible for his own death. In spite 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 under shirt, 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 disappeared, 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 collapsed walls gave the enemy a great view of our positions." This was in a position hit by a French Trench Mortar.... the man himself was killed in an attack 2 months later, after having sent this home....

Even most of the WW1 Front line photos are posed.... but with this one I wonder if it is not a "real one" Having "snapped" photos in crisis areas before, this one has all the after the fact elements... "Damn... I should have concentrated on the compostition, and the focus is wrong, and the depth of field is wrong, and that idiot moved when i took it....." I really believe it was a heat of the moment shot.... what do you guys think?

On occasion you find groups where there are 2 award docd for the same award.... but this guy was actually awarded the EK2 twice. An administrative cockup....

a succesful day and nice find :-)

Hi, I am very happy with them :-)) I think given the fact that they are wool, they would in a very short time stretch from the original 2m once worn a few times and after being wet. The trim stops them fron strecthing and would not be seen once they are rolled around the leg. (The double sided trim is only on the botton where it would go around the boot). I imagine once they are on, the buckle and trim could not be seen, just the wool. They are also made from 2 or 3 pieces of cloth, I think without the trim they could pull apart. I wonder if these were ever factory made, or were all shopped out to cottage industry tailors with wool scraps? It would not seem logical to tie up a real factory in wartime to make these, and I would also find it strange if they were to use rolls of virgin wool when offcuts would do just as well. Best cHRIS

Hmmmmmm.... that guy bottom left should see a urologist pretty chop - chop.... that thing dont look healthy.... ;-)

Thanks TAC! That really helps ! Best Chris