TomP73

@SillyOldGrandad Hi Pete That is great advice, I will look into that forum. Thanks very much Tom

Hi Pete @SillyOldGrandad. Thanks for your reply. That is more specific and niche than I expected! Explains why I couldn't find much online with a quick search, thanks for assisting with your excellent knowledge. I am attending the Stockport Militaria fair this weekend so might see if anybody fancies it there since it doesn't fall in the scope of what I currently collect. Do you know whether this holds much value? Regular WW1 Manc Regt cap badges fetch between £5-£10 but I imagine this would be a more valuable example due to age and presumed rarity? If this isn't allowed then no worries and feel free to ignore! Cheers Tom

Hi Sorry for the slow reply. No rectangular stamp on the back. All the best Tom

Hi all I have come across this cap badge in my box of cap badges and was wondering if anybody can help me in identifying which era it is from or give any further info? I have a Manchester Regt cap badge from WW1 to accompany a group of Medals to a Manchester Soldier, and I have one of the later WW2 fleur de lis style ones as well, so I was wondering whether this was potentially earlier and Victorian? I might look to move this on anyway as my only Victorian medals I currently have are to a Fusilier and a Royal Engineer so would probably be more welcome in somebody else's collection! But until I know what I actually have I can't say for sure. Thanks in advance for any help! Tom

@Ferdinand Thank you for confirming, I will record those details as a likely match!

Thanks @Ferdinand for your help. Especially the clarity around the rifle division. I suppose there is no way of being 100% the recipient of this booklet & medal is the man on Podvig Naroda? I presume its not a comprehensive list of all named servicemen and women during the war and a name could be duplicated for different service people? Cheers!

Thank you for your reply. Does the booklet specify his rank at all? I don't suppose it includes a photo? (long shot I know!). Also from looking online I am struggling to locate the Rifle Division you mention, at least not one that includes the Order of Lenin Title. I can see one formed in 1940 which seems to have been wiped out, and the later one which was formed from the 10th Rifle Division NKVD. Is this anything you can help me decipher? Cheers!

Hi Guys Everybody has been so helpful with other posts, I really appreciate all of your assistance. This is actually one of the first Soviet medals I ever bought and at the time it came with the associated award document. Even though I've had it for years I still have no idea who it was awarded to. I would love to find out the recipient. The booklet is very worn and delicate but hopefully clear enough to make out the relevant details. Could anybody please assist? Thanks in advance for any help Tom

Very helpful, thank you!

@Egorka @Ferdinand Thank you both for your replies. Very interesting. So as far as we can tell, the card is to a female police Lieutenant who served with the NKVD during the war and we can be sure (as sure as we can with conjectural evidence) of this? But regarding the photo, it is certainly possible but not guaranteed as there are concerns about possible time needed for her promotion, but also its likely she would have been pictured with her other medals ORS, Combat Merit & Berlin etc? Thanks again Tom

Thanks @Egorka. I did find this recipient when searching the pamyat-naroda.ru website (that @Marcel B. made me aware of, thanks for this!). It lists: Air force 4th Air Force Main Battery Rap 98th Guards Artillery Regiment of the 48th Guards Rifle Division 10th Artillery Regiment 10th Regiment of the Leningrad Military District , 4 Apr GC , 98th Guards. OAP Long. Razv. RGK Main Command Reserve 98 gv. OAP Daln. Rev. RGK 2 VA Leningrad Military District 10 SBAP LVO Source: Yemets Maksim Parfenovich :: Memory of the People (pamyat-naroda.ru) I wasn't sure if it was the same recipient as none of the Military Units mentioned under his entry included the 331st Fighter Aviation Division, can we be sure it is the same man? I note the man in the photo is down as receiving the Liberation of Prague medal. Cheers Tom

@Egorka Thank you very much, this is amazing to have! Am I right in thinking this is just south of present day 'Jaunpils'? Just want to double check as I can't zoom in too much to your image without ruining the quality! I don't suppose it would be possible to email in higher quality? Cheers!

Hi Thanks for the clarification. If this was signed by a Colonel in the MVD, does this mean that her wartime service (given that this is a Victory in the GPW medal) would likely have been with the NKVD? Cheers Tom

Thanks very much!

Hi both Thanks very much for your help! All the best Tom

Amazing Marcel, thank you so much! I am always thrilled to be able to put a face to a name, it is such a privilege. Appreciate all of your help Tom

Hi all Would anybody be able to assist me in translating/decoding any of the information on the attached medal document? I am interested to find out who this medal was awarded to, including rank and/or unit if possible. Thanks in advance for any help! All the best Tom

Hi all Would anybody be able to assist me in translating/decoding any of the information on the attached medal document? I am interested to find out who this medal was awarded to, including rank and/or unit if possible. Thanks in advance for any help! All the best Tom

Hi Marcel Thanks for your reply. That is slightly re-assuring then RE the photo I have, even though its not conclusive obviously. Your help it greatly appreciated. I am about to post 2 further docs I have for the Liberation of Prague and Capture of Koenigsberg if you could possibly assist with those as well! No worries if not. All the best Tom

Thank you Marcel I really appreciate it. Is it possible to distinguish at all which unit she was part of or is that not clear enough? Also based on the rank would this make the photo plausible? Looks like 2 stars on the shoulder boards from her right shoulder. I believe it was 2 for Lieutenant and 1 for Junior Lieutenant so either they’ve been jumbled together or she was possible promoted post-war. I suppose it’s a bit of a guessing game anyway since I can’t research her based on the medal as there is no serial number.

Hi all Could anybody assist me in translating the attached award document and confirming whether the recipient is in fact female? And also is there any mention of their rank and unit potentially? I picked them up some time ago along with a photo supposedly of the recipient (the medal and document were a good price so didn't authenticate the linked photo at the time) but even if this was just put together to assist the sale I would like to know whether the medal was for a female soldier or not. Thanks in advance for any help! Tom

Hi all This is my first post here, I have been a viewer of the forum for some time so looking forward to getting more involved. I thought I would make my introduction to the forum by showing one of my medals which was recently researched by Auke - amazing work on his part as always. The order was awarded for actions on the night of 23rd-24th March 1945, crossing the Abava River in Latvia. The star was awarded on April 7 1945. Junior Lieutenant Sergei Kuzmich Verpeko was the commander of a sapper platoon in the 489th Independent Sapper Battalion, 360th Rifle Division, Leningrad Front. This Red Star was his only award, aside from the Victory over Germany medal. Citation for Action: The Night of 23rd-24th March 1945 – ‘Verpeko's platoon was ordered to build a bridge across the Abava River, near the Pilsaty farmstead in Latvia. Verpeko showed patriotism, initiative, and skill in supervising his platoon. In spite of heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire, which interrupted the work several times, the job was completed in four hours, instead of the usual ten hours. His platoon then built a road out of brushwood on the opposite bank.’ I happen to visit Latvia myself at least a couple of times a year so will have to see if i can justify any kind of trip somewhere along part of the Abava River. That said I wouldn't be sure where this Pilsaty Farmstead would be and the river runs over 130km... All the best Tom