Gordon Craig

jon m Good to see your post. Very interesting label you posted. Regards, Gordon

Here is an example of the rectangular inspection stamp used from 1950 onwards. This stamp is on an enlisted man's leather belt. It is marked for 1952. Regards, Gordon

Paul, Thanks for adding to the thread. I should have mentioned that fact. Regards, Gordon

Dan, Sorry but I must agree with Uwe. Do you have a copy of Bartel's book? A necessary tool to collect DDR medals. Another way to tell your medal does not match an early Urtkunde is to look at the pin. Yours has the simplified pin catch and not the early barrel pin catch as posted by Uwe. Not really a problem though. All you need to do is get a medal to match the Urkunde. Cheers, Gordon

Coinguy, Thanks for sending the markings in your tunic. They stand for; MdI- Ministry of the Interior which is the Ministry responsible for the prison guards; k48- is the size markings-k for klein (small) and 48 would be a size 38 in North America; 1850- is the code for the maker-a list identifying manufacturers names with their numerical code has not been found yet; 1/L- stands for the first quarter of either 1973 or 1987. L was the only alphabetical letter used twice to indicate a year of manufacture. From the pictures of your uniform on this thread I would say 1987 is a more likely date for manufacture than 1973. I would say that the hat is definitely from an earlier period than the uniform but that is not a bad thing. Just something to note. Regards, Gordon

And another type of Polizei Helpers armband from the same period.

Before the DDR came into being and the Polizei Helper arm bands were printed there were other types of armbands used to identify Polizei Helpers in the SMAD. Here are some pictures of two of these arm bands from an auction that just finished in Germany on the 14th of April, 07. Regards, Gordon

coinguy89, Nice uniform. It is not unusual to find the cap lining loose at the front. It is difficult to repair so as has already been suggested I would just leave it alone. Most of the time when the lining is loose like this it indicates someone has removed and replaced the cap badge. It is virtually imposible to remove and replace the cap badge without cutting thread holding the lining in pace at the front. Too bad the sweat shield is missing. Be nice ti have it threr to se what is prined on it. The cap appears to be of an earlier vintage than the uniform. What is the date code inside the tunic? Regards, Gordon

One more picture showing what I gather is the capes size. There is a large number "3" stamped on the flap at the top. I do not know hoa many different sizes there were.

The other side of the manufacturers tag showing the name of the maker.

The manufacturers tag giving all the details of the cape.

Another shot of the cape interior with the flap folded up out of the way showing the waterproofing of the interior plus the shoulders. It also gives a good view of the shoulder straps.

The interior of the cape showing the flap for rolling it up.

The back of the cape.

A closeup of the arm slits in the front.

The front of the cape with the hood down.

Previously, I started a thread on the grey dress uniform of the Munkasor. While I have little information on who wore these uniforms it would seem reasonable to say that they would have been worn by the full time component of this organization. The common uniform was the dark blue work dress and the cape featured in this thread would be for the grey uniform of the full time cadre. Until I saw this cape in the store I did not know they had one. It is not shown in the pictures of the dress regulations that I have. It is unissued and still has the manufacturers tag attached. It was made in 1978 and has been in storage somewhere ever since. It is still in perfect condition and looks as if it were made yesterday. It has a hood that buttons on underneath the collar. The neck is closed by a single plastic button. The front and the slits for both arms are closed by short sections of velcro. The inside is lined with plastic and has additional waterproofing for the shoulders. There are two straps which fit over the shoulders to hold the cape in place on the wearer. There is also a large flap that hangs down inside which I believe would have been used to role up the cape. This flap has two straps on the bottom, fitted with velcro sections. to hold the rolled up cape in place. Regards, Gordon

The reverse of the MAL?V pin.

The next pin is very large for these type of pins. It measures 43mm (1 3/4") by 43mmThe quality is also superior to most pins I have seen. Perhaps it is of better quality because it is for MAL?V, the state airline, and would have been prominently displayed on one of the crew's uniforms. Unfortunately, there was no documentation with this pin and I really would like to have seen that.

The next pages showing the date of 1960 plus the signatures of the appropriate people.

The interior of the front cover with the pins showing.

Ulsterman, Haven't had time to sort through my pins yet. Too much new stuff to buy! Here are some a additional T?RZSG?RDA items that I picked up in the last couple of days. First up is a T?RZSG?RDA book from a company with the initials BHG on the cover which stands for BELOIANNISZ HIRAD?STECHNIKAI GY?R. I haven't done any research on this firm yet and bought the book and badges because the book has several pages in it that refer to these types of pins and it might contain some useful information once I have time to look at it. There are two pins inside the book pinned through the plastic cover. One is gold and the other black. There is nothing on them to indicate how many years they were awarded for which is unusual. Perhaps that will come to light when I translate the book but nothing jumps out at me from the pages I have looked at so far. Here are the pictures of the book.

Zsolt, I was sure I had replied to your post earlier today buit I don't see it in this thread. It will be next week before I will know if we have a trade or not. I'll know by next Tuesday. Regards, Gordon

The other side of the stick pin.

Once more, right time, right place and knowing what to look for. Here is a stick pin for the first type breast badge which I picked up today. Regards, Gordon