Avitas

The next bringback from Germany of my Grandpa's is a beat-up late war NSDAP member pin. I guess it is just the paint that is in bad condition, whosever it was they joined the party late-war. Cheers, Pat

...reverse of the Verwundabziechen im Schwartz.

Here we have a Wound Badge in Black, of brass make up I believe. Cheers, Pat

Here is the reverse of the hollow-back early GAB.

Next in the group of items my Grandpa Thompson passed on to me are a few general awards (some of them are the LW Officer's, but not sure which ones) including this early stamped tombak General Assault Badge in great shape.

more close-ups...

Some close-ups of the ribbon bar devices...

Here are a few ribbon bar devices, most of which were the Luftwaffe officer's (the LW service awards, 40 year service award, ek2 spange) and the Wehrmacht service awards and the Polizei service award were from other people. The devices are still on the original paper that Grandpa used to hold them on and I dare not try to take them off of it!) Cheers, Pat

Hello fellow gentlemen, I was just on a trip to my cousin's wedding up in Northern British Columbia, Canada and finally had a chance to have another good chat with my grandpa William (Bill) Thompson about his time in the RCAF in Germany during the latter stages of the war. He showed me his souvenirs again for the first time in about 15 years (he finally found the box!) and it was great to see them all again, and he let me have a few pieces to keep in a very special collection. Before I get to the items in the collection here is a brief history of my grandfather's service in the war. Bill Thompson arrived in England in the summer of 1944 and soon moved out to the front in Germany as part of the Royal Canadian Air Force's 412 Squadron, in the 127 Wing. http://www.rcaf.com/squadrons/400series/412squadron.php He was a Leading Aircraftman and a mechanic on the Spitfires and transport trucks in this squadron and the above link gives a detailed summary of the squadron's late war efforts in the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes) in the winter of 44-45 and the push into the Rhine and Germany in 1945. My grandpa was involved in the Ardennes campaign and the push into Germany and up until March/April of 1946 was stationed in Germany. Although he was a mechanic he still saw some combat action as varied units of die-hard Nazi's were still attacking the 412th Squadron's airbases located in Germany up until the end of the war, and he himself claimed at least three men. This is where he collected his souvenirs (as grim as that sounds, but it was a way to keep your head in it I guess) and a particular Luftwaffe Officer met his fate in a fight with Bill. Grandpa Thompson said he was keeping his Luftwaffe Officer's dress dagger for a while more, but he would pass it down to me in a little while, but he gave me a few of his other items. William (Bill) Thompson, a farmboy from Choiceland Saskatchewan, was awarded the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and the British 1939-45 War Medal and is still actively involved in the Royal Canadian Legion as the local Chapter President. He doesn't remember a lot of the details of his service, but a few pieces of history he kept help paint a picture (and if Michael Johnson or anyone can help me research his career more in depth, please PM me). Alright, now to see some of the souvenirs my gramps brought home (and I think all of them, or 90% was off of the soldiers he personally fought). First up, the Luftwaffe Officer's items, including the cap wreath. Cheers, Pat

Hey guys, On the pouch, it does have the snap closure pouch on the bottom of the inside and it has a separate pocket inside as well. It is similar to the one Michael Johnson linked to but the outside snap is different as it says "lift the dot" on it. The full markings say"I.H. and CO, 1943, Light II (the first "I" is not for sure, but it is probably right.) It is about 8'6" tall and about 4'4" deep and wide. Probably British Light Respirator case as mentioned by the sounds of it and I do have a Canadian DR/C large respirator to go with it that I still have to take pics of and post here. On the BESL Legion pins and poppy, I guess they are ww1 items as they would have been given to vets of WW2 but I thought since they were "between wars" they could fit on this thread. Maybe I will have to start a ww1 thread! Really nice little pins with great enamelwork and quality craftmanship and it is nice to have an original BESL Vetcraft poppy in such nice shape. Cheers, Pat

reverse of this repro, a neat design and nice for kicks! Pat

My example made by SBW...again not bad material but cast for sure. Cheers, Pat

reverse of my eboat repro (sigh, I was so young and naiive when I bought this and thought it was real, how was I to know a real one would cost over $1000?) Cheers, Pat

Here is my thick and clunky 1st pattern E-boat repro, paid under $50 for this one, but probably $35 too much. It is made of a fairly good quality copper alloy I believe, and it is very heavy. Pat

reverse with FO marking...

Wow is that an ugly back Dan! Here is mine, one that I thought was a good one but was determined to be a repro here on the forum (like many others I will put in this database), with the F.O. marking and it is dipped in the center. Unfortunately I did pay money for this, but under $100 luckily, still a kick in the teeth though. Cheers, Pat

Hello, After some serious searching I am able to positively ID it as the patch for the Turkistan volunteers of the Waffen-SS, and it matches other period examples in the colour and make. I think there must have been some surplus left over as I have seen a few in the same shape as mine. Any background on this unit is helpful and if anyone has an example please show and any comments on mine are great. Cheers, Pat

Sounds like a great plan Dan and Larry! I will have to show you some of my haunts to find some good stuff over this side of the Rocky Mountains. Little old grandmas at the flea market have been just as helpful of a source as the militaria and antique dealers here (like the RCAF bomber navigation piece I found, weighs a ton so you don't see them on the net, but this nice old lady sold me it as well as my 2 Commonwealth helmets amongst other items) and it sometimes pays to be a regular at the flea markets as some people only show up once with good stuff. Of course I will have to show you the "gentleman" who sold me all my fake badges table, the only bad apple I have come across locally so far. Within this valley there are about 15-20 good antique shops (at least 5 in Vernon area alone for militaria) and a pretty good selection of Canadian Cap Badges and medals and German stuff, but I am quickly snatching it up (well as much as I can afford anyways!) but there always seems to be more coming up around here (lots of veterans from all countries retire here.) Back to the dies, great metal stamper you have there Ralph, and yes I am a fan of the "unique" items (just check my signature) and I think the more obscure the better. That piece you have there Ralph must weigh a ton! I just love how these pieces give you an inside view of how many of the insignias etc we collect were made. I have seen a couple more in this foamy style available at Snyder's, but that is about the only place I have seen one. Must not come up often. If anyone else has an original die please show it as well. Cheers, Pat

the back of this fake 1941 DKiG. Pat

Check out my clunky one-piece casting of the DKiG, complete with markings. Not meant to fool anyone this one, but neat for a place-holder and it was very cheap. Cheers, Pat

I can see how it would fool you, it is hard to tell sometimes. I guess no originals with this pin set-up exist then? Thanks for showing and this is a very helpful new forum! Cheers, Pat

Hello again, Here is what I think is a Canadian ammunition pouch stamped 1943. It could be American also, but their stuff is usually a darker green colour. If anyone can decipher the other markings for me that would be great. A nice little piece of militaria I picked up at the flea market for $5. Sometimes it pays to go to the flea market when you could have been sleeping in! Cheers, Pat

Here is a humble little ribbon bar, but an oldie! It is the Defense Medal, CVSM with maple leaf, and 39-45 War Medal ribbon bar that is pretty common, but this is a period example with sturdy construction and pin-back. THanks for looking at this little assortment of odds and ends in my Commonwealth collection. Cheers, Pat

Very nice patches Larry Thanks for showing and keep them coming. Pardon my ignorance, but what does NVA stand for? Was this the pre-Nazi era Navy or the post Nazi era navy? As I said before also, the white stitching on the back does not even come close to glowing under the blacklight and it appears to be quite old, but in good shape. If it is pre-TR then this would make sense, but if it was post-war it would have to be late-40's because I believe white thread glows starting around this time. Any further help on this is very welcome as it was sold as TR and I would like to know for sure. Cheers and thanks again Larry for showing your examples, especially the clerical pair with the original envelope. Pat

No problem, the more background information the better It is nice to see the full set, I am only missing two now and that "Air Crew Europe" clasp on the Atlantic Star. Then gentleman who had these two medals before I bought them from him also has the Burma Star with the "Pacific" clasp on it, which I will probably be acquiring at the end of October at the next show. I hope to have some more soon to show. Cheers, Pat