Martin W

Envelope reverse.

Envelope.

Hi Gents,

i hope i am posting this letter in the right forum.

This is a first for me.

I have just obtained a "huge" folder of documents,Photo's,etc that was put together by an officer and crewmen of the German Hilfskreuzer "Thor".

In amongst the dozens of items in the folder was this letter from a captured merchant seaman.

It was written in a POW camp in Tokyo.Now this does make sense in way because on her second cruise the HK "Thor" operated in Far-Eastern waters and was destroyed by fire in Yokohama.

I can only presume that Alan Morris served on one of the British Freighters that was captured or sunk by the Thor,was captured himself by the raider and handed over to Japanese authorities when the Thor reached Yokohama?

I am still puzzled as to how this letter ended up as part of this Thor grouping.

Perhaps Alan Morris befriended some of his captors on the Thor and they met postwar?

Regards,Martin.

I think it a fake also.

Regards,Martin.

Hi Michel,

a tombak Wachtler & Lange,perhaps?

Regards,Martin.

Great photo's Joe.

Not too many guys in the Kormoran photo.I wonder if any of the crewmen stayed in Australia after their release?

Regards,Martin.

Superb Joe.

I would imagine that most of the crews from the different ships had "Kameradschaft" groups?

Regards,Martin.

That is a great document Joe.

Thanks for showing.

I thought i would post this "Thor" related document also.

You mentioned in the past that the crewmembers of the Thor,from both cruises,started their crew comerade group while the war was still in progress.

This is one of a few documents i have from their "Kameradschaft" meeting on 3 November 1943.

Regards,Martin.

Hi Morten,

i have to agree with Gordon.

The HSF,S-Boat and HK are definate fakes,IMO.

If they came from the same source,i am sure the rest are fakes too.

Regards,Martin.

Great looking badge and i would say it is a Juncker piece.

Regards,Martin.

The obverse design and the hinge suggest to me that this badge is the "Petz & Lorenz" type,although i do not recall seeing an example with that type of pin and retaining catch before?

Regards,Martin.

EK document.

Well,i guess i am hooked.

I just picked this small group of two "preliminary" award doc's awarded to a crewman from the 2nd cruise of the Thor and both signed by the Commander Gunther Gumprich in Yokohama,Japan.

Regards,Martin.

Nice example ! Strange that they would change to an entirely different design when moving from Tombak to Zinc.

And an ugly design at that Gordon,especially after looking at the tombak design?

Cheers,Martin.

Checking through my files I discovered images I had of an Auxiliary Cruiser badge with this same mark.

Hi Gordon,

for interests sake,and for my own personal curiosity, could you post images of the AC badge?

Much appreciated,Martin.

Some really nice additions to your collection Erik.

Great stuff!

Regards,Martin.

An interesting badge indeed Jan Arne.

This is the first marked Juncker KM award i have seen with this reverse set-up.

The barrel hinge and wide catchplate can be seen on Juncker Heer Flak badges and Erdkampf badges but they have needle pins.I have never seen this style of pin before on any Juncker award.

Great find.

Regards,Martin.

Hi Morten,

I agree with Gordon that it is a Mayer badge.

I would not exactly say that the Mayer badge is rare,but it is one of the nicest looking U-Boat awards IMO.

Regards,Martin.

Thanks Joe,

i knew i could rely on you for some detailed information.

This photo arrived today.Field grey uniforms,one with the Destroyer badge and one with the HSF badge.

Regards,Martin.

Fabulous photo Martin ! Great combination of badges and I'd imagine pretty rare if not unique for someone to have served on Blockade Breakers, HSKs and Heavy Surface Units.

Thanks Gordon,

after a little searching i found some more info on this officer.

His name is Ludolf Petersen and he was the First Officer on the Stier.Prior to this he served as a prize officer on the Heavy Cruisers "Lutzow" and "Admiral Scheer".

He also served on the Hilfskreuzer "Pinguin" under Ernst-Felix Kruder,for whom he had taken part of the captured flotilla of Norwegian Whalers from the Antarctic Ocean back to Bordeaux.

He was also a first officer of the Hamburg-Amerika Line freighter "Kiel",which he sucessfully brought through the British blockade in 1939.

Regards,Martin.

Justin,

all of the Stier material came in one large grouping.I have not gone through it all thoroughly yet.

I just found this photo today.

Regards,Martin.

Last month i picked up a large grouping from the HK Stier,photo's,documents, negatives,etc.

I was just going through some of the paperwork and this photo fell out of an envelope.I could not beleive my luck,beautiful photo and pin sharp.

His name is Petersen,an officer on the Stier.

Regards,Martin.

This is absolutely one of my favorite studio photos. A crewman from Atlantis, who I have corresponded with for years.

What an absolutly wonderful array of badges!

Great photo Joe,

besides the Kurland Cuff Title,he is wearing the Marinefrontspange.A very rare photo indeed.

Regards,Martin.

Nice find Erik.

Congratulations,Martin.

Hi Paul,

looks like a good one to me also.

Regards,Martin.