Chris Boonzaier

Tim Nails it in this post.... The first medal comes from the age of artisans... the second from the age of Industry. Comparing the French Overseas/Colinial medal as made 30 years ago, compared to now... what a difference! It may be that some current designs are not really that bad, but the finished product is terrible... Maybe even the ultimate industrial age clunker , the Saudi Arabian gulf war medal, looked good on paper, and would have been fantastic if made by Deschler in 1934.... fact is, they were mad by a company that stamps out keyrings most of the time....

Mine is first pattern, unfortunately missing the box for the bottom of the barrel. I think it is 1913 dated. Best C hris

Well, here you go... picked up in Hermanus a few weeks ago, unfortunately not a unique name medal, but a nice holiday medal to bring back...

oooofff... I dont collect Bulgarian, but this is the kind of news that dampens the party spirit of any collector....

One of my guys seems to have been awarded the Swedish order of the Sword... Does anyone know how this could happen? Could neutral countries give out medals to armies fighting a war? Thanks Chris

Hi Arthur, thanks for the info. Do you think my guy may have been Navy? I got it down in kalk bay, and his Campaign medal has him as a navy Radio Op in the RN, maybe he was based in simonstown? Best Chris

I think 5) would cover it. I could think of many good reasons to keep the "good stuff" safe at home. Beginning with but not limited to ... avoiding loss, theft, damage, wear and tear would be one. Especially if it was one of those awards that had to be returned after the death of the wearer. best Chris

I like these for the obvious Alpenkorps connection, but have not been able to figure out just exactly who got them. I think maybe it was given to their Austrian comrades. An unofficial keepsake. Best Chris

Hi, is it correct to think that only officers in the SADF wore miniatures? Thanks Chris

Maybe the fact that it is just 17-18 will allow quite a large amount of possible units to fall away as possibilities? Off the top of my head, I think most SA troops were back home by then...

This is the full bar... On his British bar he is "J. 939136 R.W. Broom. R.O.I. R.N."

On his regular uniform he had this.... why did he not have the British award on his miniature bar?

Maybe someone can help me in interpreting this... It seems the guy had 20 years service Before 1994 as he had the 20 year service medal before the Unitas medal was awarded? he then probably left the service as he did not bother to mount the Unitas...

Hi, just got back this morning... I checked the medal, i dont think it is a "1" as there is a "1" to compare it to in his service number. best Chris

Hi, A medal named to J. 939136 R.W. Broom R.O.I. R.N. Does anyone have an idea what ROI could be?? Thanks Chris

Thanks guys, that helps me along. All the best Chrius

Hi, am a world away from my roll... can anyone tell me how many Burg. W.J. Viljoen there are? Any Cape Rebels? Thanks Chris

An early X-Mas Special for you lazy bjggers who don't bother to sign the guest book. First off, some variations on the Granatenwerfer 16, with photos comparing the Prussian made and rare Bavarian made Werfer Harry has outdone himself, giving us one of the obscure and exotic Colonial/Indigenous units in "Cole's Scouts" and giving covering a lightning campaign in "Togoland 1914", over before the Germans even knew it was happening. Harry's Togoland article ties in nicely with our Fake EK deoc section, showing why the pictured Togoland Document must be a fake. A few more Fake EK docs are shown as well Some small changes to the article about the 10th RD on the Aisne with some historically fantastic EK docs check out the "whats new" section...

Nice pic! Do you think he is Ski Troop or regular Alpenkorps? Best Chris

Another Ski guy....

Although not an EK doc I thought this Leib Regiment Wound Badge doc would go well here....

Anyone have any idea how he could have gotten a Swedish medal? Or am I simply reading wrong?

A really important new page up, see the August Weber page in the whats new section...

Hi, It was a Kaiser decree sometime in early 1918 that all Vorläufiges-Besitzzeugnis should from that moment on be considered the final document, so you see wartime docs issued after that date with the Vorläufiges crossed out, and still issued during the war. I consider WW1 to be the wild west epoch of EK docs, units seemed to have done whatever the hell they wanted. The navy seems to have been the most consistent. best Chris

SMS Seydlitz