Danny70

Closer view of Swastika and date on obverse:

And the reverse:

Thanks guys for the thumbs up! Igor - I can see slight similarities with Deschler EK's in the cross-hatching on the beading at the inner corners (although, it does not seem to be on every corner - I have attached closer pics). However, I was under the impression that all Deschler EKII crosses had a 'hump' where the jumpring was attached. Is this not correct? Regards - Danny

Hi All... I'm looking for opinions on this recently acquired unmarked EKII. Good or bad?? It looks good to me except for the dates.. they are very low relief and the paint seems to have almost obliterated them (especially the 1813). It does not seem to ever have a repaint. The core on the reverse has some minor rust causing the paint to crack to a 'mosaic' type flaking, while the obverse is ok. The frame itself is in good condition with quite a lot of frosting still remaining. Anyone got any ideas on a maker?? Thanks! Regards - Danny

Hi Micha, That's a beautiful example of a 44! Congrats!! Martin - Here's my '44', It's a slightly salty example. The jumpring does not immediately strike me as being any narrower than any of my other crosses. It is positioned just a fraction off-centre, but I only noticed that when my attention was drawn to it. The core on this one does not rattle but it has a small bit of rust on the left arm, and maybe this has stopped any movement. Can I see your examples to get a better idea of the characteristics you refer to? One unusual feature on mine is that I think the obverse frame was assembled upside down. Note the raised semi-circular mark on the lower arm. It looks like a position marker for soldering of the jump ring. Can you see any trace of a position marker under the solder on either of your examples? I cannot really tell from Micha's pictures if his has one. Has anyone seen a mark like this on any EKII??? Regards - Danny

Hi Rob, As Roeland stated, closer pictures are needed, but I agree, there seems to be major variations in the width of the outer flange. Regards - Danny

And the reverse:

The obverse:

Hi All... I thought I would show you all one of my most recent purchases... A rather salty 1939 EKII - maker marked '27' denoting the firm of Anton Schenkls Nachfolger, Wien (Anton Schenkl's Successor of Vienna). While suffering from some paint loss/wear, I think it is still a beautiful cross, with very crisp detail to both the core and frame. Nice wide beading with no obvious die flaws. Gordon Williamson has mentioned in his book 'The Iron Cross of 1939' that this may be the same firm known as 'Maria Schenkle, Wien'. Does anyone know if there has there been any more information found out about this connection? (since my copy - first edition 2002). Hope you all like it as much as I do... All comments are welcomed! Regards - Danny

Thanks very much for this information Ceallach, you have saved me a wasted trip to Dublin!. Unfortunately, I don't even know which battalion or brigade he was with, but this should not be hard to find out. I will work on it... I see your location is listed as Canada, and this has me wondering.. is the master list of Military Bureau Witness Statements available on-line? or have you got a contact here? I would love to be able to browse through the witness statements, especially if I could do it at my own leisure!! Thanks again for the information. Regards - Danny

And a view of the cross itself, It has the rounded corners similar to Ricks example. Regards - Danny

Hi All... Quite an interesting discussion going on here, so I have decided to throw in a 'cat among the pigeons'!... As previously discussed with Bill elsewhere, I purchased a very salty EKII recently (advertised as a '123'). It has a stamped maker mark as shown below, while it does look like 123, It is not incused relief, and does not match '125' or '128' stamps either. Can anyone shed any light on this one... it has been annoying me since I received it! Regards - Danny

Obverse and reverse: (apologies for the grainy/blurry photos)

Hi everyone and thanks for all of your comments. Well, here's the cap badge. One of the lugs on the reverse is missing. I don't know enough about these badges to claim it is definately an Irish Volunteers one as opposed to a post-1922 army cap badge. It seems to be made of either brass or bronze. All I know that is definite, is that this badge was kept in the case with the medal since Anthony's death. (The medal, badge and document passed into my grandmothers possesion when he died and were put away for years - hence the great condition). I hope some of you will be able to give me some more information about these badges. Is there any way of finding out if it is pre-1922 or not? Paul - I have not ever managed to get there yet so I don't have any idea if he did or not. I'm hoping to get there eventually but finding the time to get to Dublin is proving extremely difficult of late! Regards - Danny

Thanks Doc, Your kind comment really means a lot to me. I only wish I had more information about Anthony and his activities during the war. I find it very sad that this man died only 65 years ago and all that remains of his life are a medal, memorial, cap badge and newspaper cutting of his obituary. He played his part in a period of history which radically reshaped Irelands future and yet, his family now know so little about him. Then again, I am glad to have these items as they do tell me something about him, whereas, what do I know of some other relations who were his contemporaries.... nothing at all..... We will all be forgotten eventually. (I'm not usually this depressing!!) Regards - Danny

And finally for now, here's the military pension document: (unfortunately, I had to severely compress the image to upload it as this is quite a large document.) Regards - Danny

Glad you like it Doc!! Here's a close up of the memorial showing the detail involved.

The embroidered memorial: (sorry about the flash, I have it mounted in a frame behind glass and this makes it very difficult to photograph).

The reverse:

Closer view:

Another View:

Hi All... I have shown these elsewhere previously, but I thought I would share them with you all. Even though I have concentrated on 1939 EKII's, these are still, for obvious reasons, the most important and treasured part of my collection. It is a family grouping consisting of a cased War of Independance medal - this is the 'combat' version with the comrac bar. Also with it are a military pension document dated 1938, and a hand embroidered memorial made by comrades who were interned at the time of the recipients death. The medal and pension document belonged to my fathers uncle, Anthony Francis Duignan, who saw active service with the Irish Volunteers who in 1919 became ?glaigh na h?ireann (Irish Republican Army). As can be seen on the pension document he served through the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921). I have a newspaper cutting of his obituary from 1942 in which it states "In the fight for Irish freedom the deceased took a leading part, and the hardships he underwent in that memorable struggle impaired his health and brought a promising career to a premature close." When he died in 1942, his family were presented with an embroidered memorial (handmade on a piece of a linen sheet or pillowcase) by some of his former comrades who were at the time interned as the government of the time took a very hard line on IRA members during the second world war as the IRA had launched an armed campaign in Northern Ireland and had hoped for support (arms / ammunition / explosives / money etc.) from Germany to strike against the British. I am still in the process of researching more information about him and his activities but unfortunately my father passed away last year and there is no one else around who can remember any details. I intend to search through military records in the National Military Archives in Dublin when I get a chance. Also in case whan I received it was, what I think to be, an Irish Volunteers cap badge (not pictured yet). Until recently I presumed that this was just an FCA badge as it is the same design except that this one is made of what looks like bronze. I have seen a website which showed pictures of the Irish Volunteer cap badge and mine looked exactly the same. I will post pictures of it in the near future... hopefully some of you can help me positively identify it. Thanks for looking and I hope you all like what you see! Regards - Danny

Hi Paddy, Would the maker of '123' EK's, (Beck, Hassinger & Co. - another Strassburg firm), not qualify aswell? Regards - Danny

And finally, the die flaws:

Maker Mark: