Chris Boonzaier

Just to show how small the world is... A good friend of mine is a Forester about 10km away from where I live.... the officer here was a head forester just 2-3 km from where HE lives. And it turns out the officer was the Grandfather of His class teacher when he was at school (Apparently a strict old teacher of the old school). I found it on Ebay, from a seller who lives a million miles away. By 1918 there was little or nothing left of Somme Py, I am guessing that the cemetary may have been destroyed during the war, unless he was one of the soldiers whose bodies were repatriated to Germany during the war...

YEAH!!!! I like! Thanks!

Hi Chip, if you could email me good scans of both it would be magic, thanks! Hi Ostie, At the moment I am just nailing down the Bavarians... others may follow! Thanks Chris

Jup indeed, I acrually rememember this one! I also got one from the lot.

Thanks, I am getting a page ready with Leib Regiment variations... so far just the shoulder boards.... If anyone has any Original Boards I can use.... http://www.kaiserscross.com/286801/590801.html

Hi, Nope, I dont think it is the maker.... here you go....

Hi, My initial thought was that he could be a Liason officer, or to accompany an Infanterie Geschutz Batterie, but I think he would then have been attached to a Batl. staff? As it was, he was directly attached to a company.

May be possible that at the end of the war he just had the SB, and the WP was with the unit and then finally came together many years later? Starnger things have happend... I got the wifes grandfathers WP in the late 90s, he had not seen it since the late 30s!

Does anyone know why there was a change in Cuffs?

Hi, does anyone know what the meaning of a Broadarrow stamp on a pair of Binos with an H under it? Simply that... Broadarroww above H below. Thanks Chris

Fantastic site indeed! Well done!

Does anyone have a Photo of Mrs Blimp?

Hi, just a guess, but I would think that on occasion someone who is close to being "cashiered" or dishonorably discharged may as a lesser punishment be "permitted to resign" ? Especially if the resignation means the affair is quietly swept under the table? i.e. if Captain Jarofwasps is banging the wife of Colonel Blimp.... he could be cashiered for conduct unbecoming.... or quietly be offered the choice of resigning ?

Hi, I find most of the wartime marked bladed things to be kind of sloppy and done at Unit level.. My guess is Reserve Jäger Bataillon Nr. 8 , 4. Komp. I still like it, but it is an opinion that others may differ on :-)

Hi, I think the WW2 ones had a round shaped hadle, WW1 has the "U" like this one... But when they changed I do not know....

I must check... I think there are a couple more things but none of what you list, All the best Chris

Hi, When it was introduced it was officially meant for the Waffenrock and Greatcoat. Maybe the fact that greatcoats were rolled up and tightly wrapped meant the badges would get broken and threads get torn so guys just did not bother? Hi Don! Nice badge!! I assume as it is pointing left to right that it was worn on the right sleeve? Best Chris

Did people in the states get a little badge saying "I donated-january 1903" ... Otherwise I see a guy going into the barber shop, having to drop a $20... then going for a beer.... "Have you donated?" ... "Yes!" ..."Don't believe you... put a 20 in the jar or we kneecap you!"... and going home having left 5 times $20 in a day....

Up for sale again.... http://www.ebay.de/itm/Oldenburg-Fr-Aug-Kreuz-1-Klasse-im-Etui-Sonderausfuhrung-4-teilig-gepunzt-/182195531238?hash=item2a6bb32de6:g:NOQAAOSw71BXPf8H

All of the above are very good tips, but I would like to add a couple more... 1) - Reference books are very important, and in some cases very expensive, especially so if you buy them and find out they are in a collecting field in which you have no interest. 2) - In a mid term - long term time span, you will end up needing the books, but at entry level while you are dabbling, finding your feet.... a forum should suffice 3) - Imperial is a very wide field indeed, are you going to start collecting medals but also land up with uniforms? Are you going to start collecting documents and land up with a Minenwerfer in the basement? All been seem and done. 4) - My guess is that the average collector shuffles into Imperial for a look. Starts dabbling.... as he dabbles his intrests begin to crystallize.... maybe he decides to collect medals for all the german states that were awarded at Company level and avoid the really high stuff, maybe he decides to collect Saxon and Bavarian Medals. maybe he decides to collect saxon awards AND documents, maybe he decides to collect only complete groups to Hessen...... there are many ways of approaching it. 5) - My suggestion would be, swim in the shallow end for a while... do not yet spend BIG money on items or books that may end up having nothing to do with what you end up collecting. Get some cheaper general books and dabble in the more comman items until the lightning bolt strikes and shows you the way you want to go.... it may be collecting the highest orders of all the states, and you will need the most expensive medals and all the books.... or maybe you decide to collect small groups to the Hanseatic states and it will be cheaper and you can avoid the huge money books. 6) - for a dabbler in the shallow end trying to decide his way, I think the forums and collectors groups are the best way to go. There are a number of good forums out there, most people gravitate to the one that suites their needs best, Hopefully you will choose ours, if not, at least come back and visit and show where the road led you. All thebest Chris

And another.... http://www.ebay.de/itm/Original-EK-Eisernes-Kreuz-1-WK-im-Original-Etui-RAR-/262510016269?hash=item3d1ed0f70d:g:58wAAOSweWVXeeVq

Hi, looks OK to me as well, can we see the outside of the case?

!00 years ago today.... a view of the othr side of the hill.... http://kaiserscross.com/41902/588901.html

Hi, These were indeed popular in WW1, but the origin is the "Vendetta Corse"... which ACTUALLY is (according to the article) not really corisan but from southern Italy or Malta. (Sorry, for some reason I had duelling in my head, it should be Vendetta) http://www.couteau-corse.com/couteaux.htm

I think those are "Corsican duelling knives " or some funny name like that?