Avitas

Here is the Radio Operator's card I was talking about, which glows under the blacklight, unlike the Luftwaffe postcard. Also made by Kodak, does anybody know more about these Kodak postcards? It would appear the LW one is wartime and this Radio Op one postwar (or possibly late-war?). Also, any more comments on the Knights cross winners postcard are welcome. Cheers, Pat

WOW Indeed a lucky man, your collection must be something to behold in person Don! As for the more common ones that need a new home, my house is a very warm and caring place for them, as I am wanting to get into stickpins Seriously, please PM me when you get everything organized. There are so many to look at, these group pictures are always so much more awe inspiring, and to pick them up as one collection is very lucky. It appears Christmas has come early to the Scowen house. Cheers, Pat

Thanks for the help Joe and Kevin I also checked out Joe's site and it answered my other questions as well, very informative site! I will definitely keep checking back to your site for reference I didn't realize German Air Defense was a boom business for profit either. These masks sure have a lot of markings, I guess there was a strict testing procedure. The dealer I got them from (the chap in Vernon) didn't want to break the Moller brothers set up and sell them individually (he works in the museum as well, a very commendable fellow who respects his history), so it was clear to both of us that I needed both of them. I guess my view that they were boys aged 7-12 is probably pretty accurate then. Can anybody figure out what the second Moller boy's name is? Thanks again and all comments are very welcome, Pat

And my only other WHW item (besides a sketchy document I have always suspected to be a fake, but haven't scanned or posted yet) is this interesting WHW Mutter und Kind 1934 cloth pin. It is similar to the ribbon Jamie showed in construction method and materials. It has very crisp details with the gold and is in near mint condition. It's about time someone started a thread on the Winterhilfswerk organization! This organization isn't talked about as much as it's military and police counterparts (probably because of the lack of "danger" associated with it), but it is an interesting study nonetheless. A picture that sticks out in my mind from one of my books is an early pic of a Stahlhelm group with it's small armoured car (with totenkopf painted on the side) carrying donation pails for the WHW to "combat hunger and cold." Pat

Such a wide variety of items for the WHW, very nice pieces made out of many different types of materials! It really shows how they appealed to all types for donations and were definitely a "civilian" type of organization, or at least that's the face of it. I have a couple pieces to donate to the thread, first up is a Winterhilfe 44/45 Snowflake pendant? that was apparently available for the supporters and Germans in France and Italy as well judging by the inscription on the reverse in three languages. Here are some pics of it. Cheers, Pat

And lastly for this set of 2 Luftschutz Gas Masks from Willi and "RRJSemor?" Moller, we have a few markings on the 2nd gas mask to figure out. On the side of the front is a fairly prominent orange Wehrmacht eagle with the letters "WaA533" written beneath it (shown in pic below) and on the opposite side a large orange "G". I believe this is the official army stamp and what depot it is from, but any clarification is great. Also, in the very blurry pic, is the best shot I could get of the tiny black Nazi eagle and the numbers and letters "1007Z0" "W" and "M21R" all close to the eagle. There are a few more faded numbers around but hopefully those ones can shed some light. Well thanks for having a look at these neat masks and if you can help out with any of the questions or maker marks it would be greatly appreciated as I would like to find out all I can on them, and the two brothers who owned them. I know I have typed quite a few cryptic codes here, but I am confident somone knows what they all mean. Again, I think they are Luftschutz, but please correct me if I am wrong and any extra info on these Gas masks is a great help as well. Cheers Pat

...respirator..

Next up we have a close-up of the front markings on the box, under the "VM", and "M". It is almost identical to what Willi's says, but a different first number. Here is the transcrpition the best I can: RL1-39/87 (also maker mark?) Vertrieb gemas & 8 (contains german symbols that I do not have on my keyboard, again) Lufstschutzgesetz genehmigt The writing is much clearer on this pic, so it should be easier to see what German symbols I am talking about and hopefully translate the text. Also here we have the respirator of the second Moller brother, "RJ", with all of its plainly visible markings and Eagle stamp. Please lend your expertise if you can put some meaning to all of the numbers, I am at a loss Thanks for looking and for any help! Pat

View of front of gas mask and with the respirator attached. The maker of this mask is RL1-39/87, which is slightly different than his brother's earlier depicted mask, perhaps do to the size difference? Pat

...another pic of the inside of the goggles with the above-mentioned 1941 markings.

Here is a shot of the complete set, in its box of "RJ"?, "RO", (we'll just call him RJ until someone can decipher the name) Moller's. As you can see, it is slightly larger than the first gas mask shown. The pic of the inside is also for further reference, and the goggles are marked "byd1941 nennseite(?) Gussn.7/166 01" on the inside of the lens. Again, if any expert out there can let me know what all of these markings mean, it would be a great help. Cheers and thanks for any help, Pat

Alright, so here we go with the pics of the second ww2 Luftschutz Gas Masks, this one to "?RJ Semor" or something close to that. Here is a pic of the hand-scribbled name on the respirator of this mask to see if anyone else can figure out exactly what the second Moller brother name was. Here is a pic of the box as well. Pat

Next up we have the instructions printed on the top inside of the box, and the markings on the cloth of the gas mask saying "Large D.R./C 7-42". I think D.R./C is the company that made it and the date of July 1942 matches the respirator. If anyone has any further info or comments on this ww2 Canadian gas mask please leave them! Cheers, Pat

Thanks Larry, here they are This 1942 Canadian Gas Mask in original box is unused and in almost mint shape, except the lid on the box is ripped off, but present. It is a size large and is marked quite well. I think this is the one that goes with the respirator pouch previously talked about. The respirator is marked "6 7 42" which I assume is the date of manufacture and has the "C" with the arrow through it designating it as a Canadian issue. Here are some pics. Cheers, Pat

Next we have a pic of the respirator, with many visible markings. The goggles are marked 1941 on the glass so I assume that is when this was made, but maybe some of these markings can tell us exactly if anyone knows how to decipher them. Also we have a pic of Willi Moller's signature along the edge of the respirator, adds some stark reality to the item and I wonder if this gentleman and his yet unnamed brother can be researched? Their is a faint signature of "Wilhelm Moller" on the top left corner of the top of the box as well. Cheers and thanks for any help on any of the above posts with deciphering the stamps and markings or any other info that you can add. I will return in a few minutes to post the rest of the set with the other gas mask. Pat

Next is a pic of the the front of the mask, and a pic with the respirator attached. Notice the matching RL1 39/86 marking on the front of the gas mask.

Here is a shot of the set of Willi Mollers gas mask. I would assume these brothers were in the Luftschutz, but possibly HJ as their signatures look a little juvenile (as you will see later). Any help on this question would be great. This one is in a slightly used condition with some of the markings rubbed almost completely off, but many remain. The second pic shows one of the stamps which has the Nazi eagle and "W?/A 750" or something like that written beside it. It is located on the inside along the edge. There are also markings of "A-W-D 14" and "15" in the inside and another Nazi eagle on the front side in an orange colour with the letters "WaA104" beside the eagle. If anyone can decipher or explain these markings please do. Cheers, Pat

I will start in detail on the first mask, the one marked "K" and belonging to Willi Moller, the smaller and more used of the two. Here are the markings, kind of hard to see so I will transcribe it here: RL1-39/86 (which I believe is the maker mark) Vertrieb gemas & 8 (contains german symbols that I do not have on my keyboard) Lufstschutzgesetz genehmigt Any translation of these markings and any explanation on their meaning is very helpful. Pat

Hello everyone, I just finished taking some pics of my recently acquired pair of Luftschutz gas masks that belonged to a pair of brothers. One was named Wilhelm (Willi) Moller and his brother's is really hard to read, but maybe we can decipher it later on when I show the pic of his signature. On the front of the boxes they are both marked with large "VM" and then Willi's is marked for size "K" which I assume stands for kleine, or small, and the other is marked "M" I assume for medium, as it is larger than the one marked "K". I guess it will be easier to explain the details as I show the pics, so here it goes. First up is a pic of the complete set in their boxes. Cheers, Pat

You're not alone Cam, I too collect the old Canadian Legion items as well. I have a few BESL 1920's pins posted on my thread on Commonwealth militari in this forum as well as a VetCraft cardboard poppy and a few other Legion items (a ww2 era cap badge is also displayed in my Canadian cap badge thread). My grandfather is still very active with the Legion here in BC so it is only natural that I enjoy the old Legion stuff! I really enjoyed looking at your sets, nice to see them kept together to tell the whole story. I don't have any of the Class pins yet but I will be on he lookout for sure. Cheers and thanks for showing your great Canadian militaria Pat

Thanks for the comments gents It is indeed hard to date, I have been trying to since I got it with no luck so far! Oh well, maybe sombody will recognize the maker mark or the design and be able to date it someday, I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed It is a beautiful piece of woodwork regardless so I am happy either way. Cheers and thanks for looking, Pat

Thank you Stephen for that great information I was wondering what uniform these would have been worn on in the DAF, if anyone can help out please do. Also, are these fairly common or hard to find? I don't imagine they would be very valuable (I paid like 7 bucks each for them, probably too much, but I like to support my local antique store) but they are a neat little item to have in the collection. Cheers and thanks again, Pat

Hello again gentlemen, Does anyone else have one of these magazines to show? Any and all background info on this is great as I don't usually collect Imperial items but I had to get this magazine as it was very interesting to me. Thanks for any comments! Cheers, Pat

Can anyone help out with the ID on these cap badges? I am still not sure on if they are Canadian or another part of the Commonwealth (or perhaps another country?). Please post your examples if you have a match also. Cheers and many thanks in advance, Pat

Great information Dan, that explains its use very well I love this type of gadgetry and it can't be all that common with such a low serial number and considering how many RCAF planes were in the sky in ww2. If anyone has any further info it would be a great help and very interesting to hear more about this device. Cheers, Pat