LarryT

Hi Paul, The DRB ranking system was kind of complicated and was based on pay scales. His collar insignia shows he is a senior official. See rank chart below. His insignia is third from left, bottom row. Cheers, Larry

Hi Paul, Yes the WB is the black version. Hi Bernhard, His ribbon is for the Kriegsverdienstkreuz (KVK or War Merit Cross.) This was awarded to military and civilians for bravery not directly connected to front line actions. This is the kind of award that would have been issued to DR members who fought off partisan attacks, and other types of attacks behind front lines. At least some DR men received rudimentary weapons training. Here is a photo showing DR men with rifles at a shooting range. Weapons are not often seen in DR portraits. Cheers, Larry

Thank you to all who have replied. Bernhard's explanation makes sense. He must have been indispensable to the DR to have been employed by them after serving at the front. I have a small DR photo collection and I thought I might share more photos with you all to enjoy and discuss. Here is a Deutsche Reichsbahn man wearing a rare Ostbahn cuff band. Cheers, Larry

Hi Bernhard, Thanks for your reply. His hand under magnification looks to be real. I agree, the loss of a limb qualified you to be awarded at least a silver wound badge. I thought his left leg looked a bit strange and with him leaning on the table a leg wound may have been the reason he transferred to DR. However, a closer look shows that he stands on the outside of both feet and a leg wound would have prevented him from performing his duty properly. Most DR men tended to be a lot older than the young chap in the photo. Cheers, Larry

Here is a rare photo of a young Deutsche Reichsbahn (RBT Hamburg) member with combat medals and awards. He must have been in a Heer fighting unit and would have seen front line combat. How he ended up in the DR is a mystery. Possibly an injury prevented him from front line duty, however, he only wears a black wound badge. Cheers, Larry

Here is the pin version of the badge which is on Weitze's site. Cheers, Larry

Obertruppmeister with nice medal bar. Cheers, Larry

Great photo Morten. Cheers, Larry

Hi Larry, I have tried but no luck yet. Here is a portrait I picked up on Ebay a while ago. It was misidentified as a pilot portrait and no-one bid on it. I picked it up for $5.00. Cheers, Larry

Same man.

I would dearly love to find out the rank, branch of service and who this gentleman is. I have been told he may hold the rank of Oberfeldpolizeidirektor - GFP but haven't been able to prove it. Looks like he is wearing a Romanian Order of the Crown medal around his neck which would narrow the search a little bit. Stiil I can't ID him. Cheers, Larry

Hi Morten, I also have a copy of this photo, along with another. Cheers, Larry

Hi Morten, Very nice photos, thanks for showing them. Cheers, Larry

Great photos guys. I especially like photos showing "schmiss" (duelling scars) which were worn with pride. Cheers, Larry

2.

I though I would share a couple of photos in this great thread. Portraits from this organisation are hard to find. Larry

Hi Paul, That is a very nice tab and award document, thanks for sharing them with us. Would you agree that the gothic letters on the tab in my photo are "SC?" Interestingly a WS Dienstellausweiss posted over at WA forum shows a WS man with the exact same letters on his tabs. The Feldpost number typed on the document denotes Fliegerhorstkommandantur A 201/XII which according to Lexicon der Wehrmacht was an airfield established in October 1942 in South-Villecoublay, France. So my WS man was a civilian guard of some sort at an airfield in France? What would he be guarding? Any ideas? Cheers, Larry

Very nice photos. Here is one from a Flak Rgt. 11 album. Cheers, Larry

Hi Paul, It is a complete photo. DLV wedding portrait. Cheers, Larry

Thanks Paul. Here is another portrait. Cheers, Larry

DLV Oberleutnant portrait. Cheers, Larry

Details of Werkschutz cap and badge.

Hi, Here is a Werkschutz portrait. I have seen documentation at another forum with a photo of a person with the same letters on his collar. If I remember correctly he was based in Paris. Cheers, Larry

Hi Paul, You start some really nice threads and I often find myself looking through my collection for something to contribute. How about something similar like Werkschutz (factory/plant protection police). I have a nice portrait that I can contribute. Cheers, Larry

As above.