Bison

I found a worker mark "d" on my Red-Banner. Do you know the meaning of it ? Control ? Workshop mark ? regards Bison

You are welcome, Alex. So, I can help you into this website, if you have an identification or a question... Yours Bison

Hello I come back to you to give you the incredible results of my research about this little badge. First, I got contact with the German U-Boot Museum. I had a kind answer confirming that Zesch was actually Funkmaat on the U-96, but unfortunately with no certitude about his christian name... Second, I received a kind answer from a former officer of the U-96 I succeed to find ! I quote : "no doubt that the owner of it was the radiooperator Hermann Zesch" I asked him the question of the double mention "U-96 and 9.FL" He replied : "None of our former members of the crew U-96 found any answer to the question. [...] As Hermann Zesch died a couple of years ago our problem must stay unsolved". I will continue to write to him, and hope he will share his memory... As a conclusion, this badge is authenticated and identified to belong to Funkmaat Zesch, radio in the U-96. You cannot imagine how I am happy with that ! Yours Bison

Hi Miguel and Eddie It is not completely true. In 1914, the 8th and 9th Zouave regiment were assembled and joined the other four regiments. At the end of the war, all those regiment were awarded with the L?gion d'honneur, except the 1st Regiment. They were considered as an elite, with special traditions and uniforms... and deserved much respect considering their bravoure. The last Zouave Regiment desapeared last year. It was the 9th, which was a commando center in Givet in Northern France. Yours Bison

Hi Alex For French badges, insignias and awards, you can also go there : http://zitocland.forumpro.fr/index.htm It is a french website but with an international area. Some members are the best experts of this issue. Feel free to ask. Cheers Bison

Just for additional information in this huge topic, here are the 13 official current bars for the overseas medal : and some non-official ones : A never ended subject for collectors... Regards Bison

Hello Josef It is really a L?gion d'honneur, half size I mean, of the 1816 - 1830 period. Here is one from my collec to compare and see what is missing on yours: Observe: "Henri IV Roi de France et de Navarre" (Henri the IVth, King of France and Navarre) Reverse: "Honneur et Patrie" Yours Bison

Superb model Charles You are partially right. There were no differences between Grand officier and Grand Cross insignia (one was worn with the officer's cross, the other with the "?charpe" of Grand Cross. The grand officer was made in silver gilt in 1962 under the 5th Republic which started in 1958, with the renewal of the L?gion d'honneur regulations and not after a change of republic. As far as I know, it is the only example of variation in the insignia not due to a political change. Regards Bison

Yes Charles A very nice one , not much current. This is a particular making. Thank you for sharing Cheers Bison

On the back it written "the St Helena medal to Mr Girardot senior and the Duke of Orleans medal to Mr Girardot junior". That is to say that the father was a veteran of the French Imperial Army, and his son obtained this so-called "Duke of Orleans" medal. I assume that this last medal is only a commemorative and unofficial one, amoung many araised during the period of "Restauration" between 1815 and 1848. Louis-Philippe 1er, King of France and Duke of Orleans ruled the country from 1830 to 1848.

Monfort 1 is absolutely right. The St Helene ribbon is different of the WWI croix de guerre one. Many have been replaced, but after 1915, date of creation of the croix de guerre. I seriously doubt that many veterans wore the St Helene medal at this time and replaced their old ribbon. My contribution to this great topic: The original box in which this medal was sent to the veterans in 1857 and after:

Hi Stephan No, yours is coming from "Arthus Bertrand", like the coffin is marked. It is not a current one. The most current are from "La Monnaie de Paris". But from 1870 to 1946, there are several thousand L?gion d'honneur which have been awarded, therefore this model is not very rare. Hello Christophe ! Nice to meet you here ! Regards Bison

Hello Here is an officer, in mint gold, IIIrd Republic : You can also find it in different sizes : Here in regular size and half size (for woman). Regards Bison

Thank you Hardy I fully agree with you. Regards Bison

Thank you all for your answers. I suspect, too, it could be a fake... it is so easy to copy such a badge. However, I have a doubt. And Michel you are right, there is too much litterature on it, this is not usual ... but exists in some case. I have wrote a letter to the U-Boat archive museum in Germany to ask their advice... In this book : "Les hommes des U-Boote", from Jean DELIZE ISBN : 978-2-35250-045-2 (I think it has been published in English), one can see two similar models. For "Herman.Z" I found three possibilities : - Hermann Zander, who was the commander of U-1205, without knowing its previous appointments ; - Hermann Zobel, who served on U-605, belonging to 9th U-Fl in 1942 - ??????? Zesch of U-96. I found the footprint of a "Herman Zesch", with a sigle N, in TEXAS, USA, in 1945, married with Evelyn Kirchhoff.... but the probability that he was the same man is near to zero, I mean. Fake or true, this badge allows me to get into this incredible world of the German U-Boot crews. Thanks again, and I continue my search.... Bison

I found by chance this badge last week in a "brocante" in Northern France and I would like to know your advice on it. My assumption is that it could be a true one, which belonged to a submariner named "Herman.Z", appointed to the famous U-96 in 1940 (?) and after in the 9th Flotilla in Brest. Subject to your expertise.... I don't know many things about German submarines. It is around 73mm long, 40mm high and 0.5mm thick, made from solid brass probably coming from ammunitions. Regards