David Gregory

Grant,

Congratulations on a fascinating personal profile of the original owner, which certainly makes an otherwise anonymous item something special.

David

Christian,

If there are no devices, might one of the first three have been for the Milit?r-Ehrenzeichen or Kriegerverdienstmedaille (but would this also require a colonial award?)?

The fourth ribbon may also have been for the Albrechtskreuz, in which case it might be an NCO bar after all.

David

Freitag, the chap from the Soltau area who always has the huge selection of modern ribbons at most militaria shows in Germany, also has quite an extensive stock of original ribbon, including the Sachsen-Meiningen non-com as shown above. He is the only source of that ribbon that I am aware of.

Interesting bar! If a faker had access to that extremely rare Sachsen-Meiningen ribbon, I would be tempted to think that he would do something a bit more creative to maximise his chances with it rather than produce one like this. But who knows what goes on inside a fakers head.

The combination is certainly unusual, but not entirely impossible, as Rick points out.

Ralph,

That Altenburg medal is in nice condition, but the ribbon seems to be for a Saxon service award. The Altenburg ribbon had equally spaced stripes.

Good luck in your hunt for an early bronze version of the medal, which tends to be expensive, but they do sometimes turn up on German eBay for a song.

David

Can anyone provide any information on what type of unit is a FAA or RFAR?

Paul,

FAA is the abbreviation for Flieger-Abteilung (flying unit) and RFAR is the standard abbreviation for Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment.

David

As sobering as the battlefield and its relics may be, we did find some time to relax in the evenings.

From the left: Chris, Tony, myself and Jens appreciating a few cans of "Old Speckled Hen" before getting cleaned up to go into town for some well-earned food.

Verdun is huge and there is a great deal to see. It would be great if we could entice some other members to join us on a future visit to a place that really has to be seen first hand. I am certainly looking forward to our next trip.

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Chris was literally the first in and the last out of the dugout. Here he is seen returning from his second foray into the "Selters-Stollen" with a knapsack of bottled mineral water, still intact and sealed after 90 years.

He emerges into the light of day after retrieving an intact bottle of mineral water from a depth of some 10 metres underground.

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Although he can hardly be seen in this picture, Tony is just emerging from the entrance to a former German dugout.

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This is the memorial to Infanterie-Regiment 24 at the Bois de Herbebois.

Jens, who literally has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Verdun, was part of the team that recently restored this monument to the men of Brandenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment 24 who attacked and helped to capture Fort Douaumont 90 years before.

After leaving the ravine we walked through the modern French army firing range (not in use that day, I hasten to add) towards the ruined village of Douaumont.

This track marks the route once taken by a soldier involved in the bitter fighting for the Fort whose iron cross document is now in Chris' collection.

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Further up the same ravine we came across a grave apparently built a few years ago by a German battlefield researcher. He had found human remains on the spot and later created this unofficial memorial as a private gesture towards the anonymous remains left on the battlefield.

The grave seems to be a natural place for walkers to leave relic items and any bones they find in the immediate vicinity. The grave is well cared for and candles are lit regularly.

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This is the fuse of the shell that Chris literally fell off while trying to look down the slope into the ravine. It was completely obscured beneath the leaf mould until he disturbed it.

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Yet another mess tin found closer towards Fort Douaumont.

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A fragment of studded boot sole and bone (human or animal?) bear silent witness to the violent loss of life 90 years ago.

The perforated and crushed item leaning against the moss-covered log was once carried on the back of a German machine-gunner to hold the water used to cool the gun's water jacket.

The perforations clearly indicated that it had been hit by shell splinters and rifle rounds. Ouch.

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Another mess tin:

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This group of stick grenade heads looks fairly harmless, but the contents can still explode or burn fiercely when dry.

The can on the lower right of the picture has almost completely rotted away, leaving the carboard liner holding the explosive charge left exposed to the elements.

This group of German mess tins and grenade heads and a, presumably French, bowl formed a bizarre still life.

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Items such as this tin of German iron rations could be heard collapsing hidden under the leaf mould as we walked over them. This one was almost legible, the stamped lid featured a maker's name and "M?nchen".

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Another water bottle still lying were it was left some 90 years ago.

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The area was littered with the detritus of war. This German water bottle is still recognizable.

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This gas mask filter and the head of a stick grenade were found in the leaf mould not far from the barbed wire shown above.

They almost fell apart at the first touch.

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This is a reel of barbed wire still coiled ready to be deployed in front of a position near Fort Douaumont. Together with the relic can originally used for cooling a German machine gun, it was lying at the bottom of the ravine after being thrown out of bunkers near the top of the slope behind it.

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You got it. I guess there is a lot of bowing involved, too.

... which would have been an almost natural consequence considering the weight of those orders on his chest.