PKeating

Not everyone in the Divisi?n Azul was a fascist. It is true that Franco encouraged some of the more rabid falangist types to join the Blue Division to continue the fight against Bolshevism but many of the volunteers were perfectly ordinary fellows who joined up to fight an evil system, just like the young men from all over Europe who joined the German Army to fight Stalinism. I remember senior Spanish officers in the 1970s who wore their German medals with great pride. PK

A Monte Cassino EK2 awarded to a Fallschirmj?ger-Rgt 1 NCO by Heidrich's HQ. This example bears the ink stamp signature but Heidrich's office is now using the 1. Fallschirmj?ger-Division stamp instead of their old 7. Flieger-Division stamp, used on documents for some time after the change in divisional nomenclature. Note that they liked their blue ink pads. I cannot recall seeing any stamps from Heidrich's office in any colour other than blue...although I suppose someone might now pop up and show me the exception to the rule. The stamp on the GAB 50 document looks nothing like anything I recall on documents issued in 1944 and 1945 by 1. FJD HQ. PK

I presume that this document is for sale on eBay, if the blocked-out swastika is any indication. I must say that I am struck by the uniformity of the colours: the printed text, the signature (although barely visible) and the divisional stamp all seem to be the same colour. The signature is clearly the manuscript type as opposed to the stamp Richard Heidrich or, rather, his aides tended to use on award documents but Heidrich certainly signed documents by hand, as the attached example shows. Signatures can vary over quite a short period of time, of course. A Monday signature can look very different to a Friday signature. However, the divisional stamp is another matter. Unit stamps were carefully guarded for obvious reasons and Heidrich's personal office would normally have had just one stamp. Note the differences between the stamp on the EK2 document to Viktor Wollner and that on the document to Franz Richter. I've never seen such a document, although that means very little in itself, given the very wide variety of award documents. However, Heidrich's office would have requested a blank document or two from the OKH or OKW through official channels and would have received one of the more common types with which we are all familiar, without the illustration of the badge. I would also expect such a document to be in A5 rather than A4 format. That said, I have not heard of any Fallschirmj?ger receiving a numbered Sturmabzeichen. That said, the SA was certainly awarded to Fallschirmj?ger before the institution of the LW-EKA in 1942, mainly to members of specialists like artillerymen, medics and so on. The Luftwaffe had no equivalent of the numbered GAB, despite the attempts by various con artists to convince collectors otherwise. The numbered LW Ground Assault Badges instituted by G?ring late in 1944 did not appear before the end of the war. Perhaps holders of the GAB serving in the Luftwaffe were entitled to upgrades upon completion of the required tally of combat days. Richter wears a GAB although the cloth Parachutist Badge might indicate that he became a paratrooper after receiving the GAB elsewhere, in one of the LW Field Divisions or even the Heer. Who knows? The cloth badges began as unofficial accessories but were 'officialised' in 1942, along with special award documents, by the OKL so that newly qualified parachutists had something to show for their seven training jumps because their award badges and accompanying documents sometimes took months to catch up with them and more than a few men were killed in action in the interim. On the other hand, he could just be wearing it on his fliegerbluse as a matter of personal preference. I would want to examine this GAB 50 document personally and carefully before coming to any definitive conclusions but it does not inspire much confidence on the basis of what I see here. Even the name "Franz Richter" strikes me just a bit too "Hollywood German". If it is a wartime print, the photo is certainly interesting as photographs of Fallschirmj?ger wearing the GAB are quite rare. Whether his name is or was Franz Richter is another matter. In summary, exercise extreme caution. PK

This photograph was miscaptioned and I contributed to the erratum in the early stages of my research into the unit. However, it shows Seigfried Milius congratulating tank-killers of 3./SS-FJ-Btl 600, accompanied by 3. Kompanie commander Joachim Marcus, in the early jump smock with the special W-SS rank patch for camouflage smocks. If such a garment were found in a house in the Schwedt area today, it would be assumed by many to be a postwar 'marriage'. Note also the reversible winter suits. Visible in the line up is Walter Hummel, who features extensively in the photo-reportage from Drvar. Karl F u c k e r looked quite different. PK

Thanks for the heads up. Good work. Someone seems to have reacted quite quickly as Vigan12 doesn't appear to have anything for sale now. Hopefully, the grouping ended up remaining together. PK

Wonderful portraits! Thank you both very much for posting these. The man sitting on the left - as we look at the photo - appears to be using a Wehrmacht field medic's qualification badge to denote his evident status as a field medic. PK

The images aren't clear enough for a detailed comparison but the overall shape and the '1813' remind me very much of Rudolf Souval. So does the riband clip. If it is a 1957 pattern Souval, that would at least make it 'more real' than Souval's 1939 pattern fantasy pieces, an early cased example of which I recently sold for around ?200.00. Mind you, the frame seems to be very new. It could just be an out and out fake. I would agree that the price was high but, then again, as it was quickly placed on hold, some fool and his money were ready to be parted. Maybe we should all put very high prices on the good stuff offered through the classifieds here instead of trying to price our stuff fairly for our fellow collectors. LOL! I wonder when we shall see 'rounder' '57s... PK

Close-up of the Bar.

Shame to see it split up. The father's medal bar certainly seems to be the one in the photograph, which would make it the only documented example of the 1914 Bar to the 1870 EK2 I recall seeing. Assuming the Bar itself is original. It probably is. But if not, it wouldn't be the first time valuable accessories had been removed from groupings and replaced by fakes. If the medal bar has been assembled more recently, it has been very well done by someone who took the time to reproduce the angles at which accessories were fixed and their positions relative to the ribands. It strikes me that the vendor doesn't know what he is selling or, at least, didn't know when he put this family grouping up for sale. Look at the careless manner in which the father's medals have been shoved in the case. I would say that it is OK and might go for it myself if I hadn't sunk this quarter's 'recreational' budget into my latest old motorbike. PK

The vast majority of Waffen-SS members were not party members. Coming back to the strange IAB, it wasn't denazified. It was an integral striking. The eagle really was like the old Weimar eagle or a rounder version of the BDR eagle, which is based on it. It wasn't the angular Third Reich eagle. I still kick myself for that one, more than thirty years later. PK

Regarding the Bandenkampfabzeichen, Dan, some Wehrmacht recipients were proud of it, as this photo of a KM sailor wearing the BKA shows. Slightly deviating from the topic, I know, but I thought you'd be interested. Thanks for the clearer pics of your 1957 example. Never seen that before. I once saw an Infantry Assault Badge with a Weimar-cum-BDR-style eagle instead of the Nazi era bird. I was fifteen so it was in the mid-1970s. The badge was in the kind of kriegsmetall used for many wartime badges. I wish I had bought it. Never seen one like it since. PK

Link? Reference number? Tried several searches and came up with nothing. PK

The state gave my wife her Ordre des Arts et Lettres. The quality is better than I expected. PK

The KM Diamonds badges were in the gift of D?nitz and, as such, not official state awards whereas the Diamonds to the Knight's Cross were state awards, hence their inclusion in the post-1957 catalogues. Interesting to see the Anti-Partisan Warfare Badge. I always thought this was on the list of proscribed badges when the BRD started producing de-nazified Third Reich awards. It was seen as a "Nazi" award because of its association with the Waffen-SS but, of course, Wehrmacht and Police personnel received it as well. PK

http://www.navy.lk/index.php?id=32 Spotted Chavasse's uniforms hanging in a very posh antiques shop in my father's street in Dublin. The DSC and Bar ribbon drew my attention. 39-45 Star, Africa with Rosette (Presumably the 'date' Bar), Atlantic Star, Burma Star, War Medal + MID and, on the jacket with Queen's Crown buttons, the 1953 Coronation Medal. Mess Dress, two jackets, a great coat, belt and the accompanying trousers, stated by the shop owner to have been bought in Cork. All by Gieves of Saville Row. No medals - Oh yes...I asked! - but still, quite a find in a relatively militaria-free zone like Dublin! If anyone is interested, or has his medals, drop me a line and I'll give you the shop's details. Not cheap but I think they're trying it on a bit with the price and, anyway, cash is king at the moment. PK

Not a l?gionnaire. Not French. Even if the name sounds a bit French. RK for Tobruk. Who was he? :D

I recall this group from around five years ago, when Chris showed it on another forum. This group was recently offered for sale again by Niemann but with all sorts of accessories that do not seem to have been part of it when Chris had it. including the cap, dagger, NKS and at least a dozen other items. It also looks as if the genuine photo of the man has been removed to allow a load of other photos to be added. What a shame! The group has not been enhanced but irretrievably damaged, unless the photo of the recipient can be found and restored to its rightful place. But who is going to admit to being the venal swine who did this in the mistaken belief that it would make it more interesting or valuable? There really are some abject cretins in and around Third Reich collecting. A group like this needed no 'improvement'! PK

It's outside my collecting parameters but came in a shoebox with a load of other stuff: an unofficial wartime commemorative medallion for Gebirgsj?ger who served on the Eismeer Front during the winter of 1942/43, defending the area against Soviet incursions. These medallions or decorative fobs came with the length of leather bootlace. PK

Hallo James, There's not much source material but a couple of references, including a Nigerian booklet, for want of a better description, from the 1970s gave Maigumeri's rank in 1928 as RSM. It is interesting that London Gazette refers to him as a BSM. The assumption is that this stands for Battalion Sergeant-Major but infantry units have not, as far as I know, used Battalion Sergeant-Major. BSM generally stands for Battery Sergeant-Major and is, obviously, an artillery appointment. If you consider that he was a decorated sergeant in the German Armed Forces when the British got their hands on him and his comrades in 1917, and you factor in his father's lengthy service to the British Crown, it is not at all inconceivable that Maigumeri was a Regimental Sergeant-Major by 1928. But it certainly bears more research and I shall be looking into it for an article and, also, because I find the man himself absolutely fascinating! The question of warrant officer ranks is interesting. The ranks of Warrant Officer Class 1 and Class 2 were introduced in 1915 but originated in the new practice in 1881 of confirming the most senior calavry NCOs by royal warrant. Up to just before The Great War, the most senior NCO in an infantry battalion was the Sergeant-Major. Once each infantry company was given its own Company Sergeant-Major, these being WO2s, the Army adopted the cavalry's Regimental Sergeant-Major rank for the senior NCO in the battalion. From 1915, CSM was the usual job title of an infantry WO2 and RSM that of the infantry WO1. The British Army also had WO3s as Troop and Platoon Sergeant-Majors but the appointment seems not to have been used after 1939. It was a special appointment aimed at introducing Senior NCOs to the command and administrative responsibilities of WO2s and WO1s. There is a lack of logic in that Battalion Sergeant-Major would be the more appropriate designation. As a side note, I used to wonder why I and the two or three other Regimental Signals Instructors in our battalion were not Battalion Signals Instructors. Some pundits suggest that the infantry eschewed BSM in favour of RSM because infantry SNCOs might have felt slighted as Battalion Sergeant-Majors next to the the more important-sounding Regimental Sergeant-Majors of cavalry units. Others contend that the abbreviated form might have been confused with the artillery's Battery Sergeant-Major. There was also a Band Sergeant-Major appointment but I don't think Chari Maigumeri ran the regimental band somehow. I wonder if the LG's use of "Battalion Sergeant-Major" was just an error on the editor's or journalist's part or some sort of affectation by an editor who might have been a cavalryman at some point. Perhaps the journalist or editor had a problem with a black man as an RSM. I certainly can see no reason why Maigumeri would have been cited by the LG as BSM rather than RSM. The units in which he served were organised along normal British infantry lines. But I will happily stand corrected if anyone knows better. PK

Wonderful! Just as a point of interest, here's the same type of document. There are so many variations that it is actually quite rare to see two documents from the same printing plates together! PK

Link won't load.

Period caption: 21st May 1953: Royal Sergeant Major Chari Maigumeri, a member of the Nigerian Regiment, with Lieutenant Colonel M M Davie, at Woolwich Barracks, London. The regiment is part of the colonial contingent which will take part in a parade during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images) Chari "Charley" Maigumeri enlisted in a colonial unit of the Imperial German Army at the age of sixteen during The Great War and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class for bravery in the field against the British in Northern Cameroon. The Germans promoted him to the rank of sergeant. When the British occupied part of that territory, Maigumeri was inducted into the West African Frontier Force in 1917. He served in 5th Bn The Nigerian Regiment, in which his father had served for twenty-six years, and has been described as distinguishing himself, which would have pleased his father, presuming the latter were still alive. One wonders what Chari Maigumeri's father would have thought of his son's enlistment in the German army. In the photo (posted below because of dynamic page link problems), RSM Maigumeri is wearing the ribands of the MM, BEM, BWM, VM, 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Burma Star, Defence Medal, War Medal with MID Oakleaf, 1937 Coronation Medal and, I think, the Army LSGC Medal. He clearly qualified for The Defence Medal during his time in India and in Abyssinia. I wonder if he still had his German documents and his 1914 EKII or if these were confiscated from him in 1917. I suppose he would have had every right to wear the 1914 EK2 in civvies after he retired. He would also have been eligible for the 1934 "Hindenburg Cross". I wonder if any former Askari applied to the Nazi government for their 1914-1918 Ehrenkreuze. By 1928, Maigumeri was RSM of 3rd Bn The Nigerian Regiment. During WW2, RSM Maigumeri won the MM in the 1940-1941 Abyssinian Campaign. The regiment was later transferred to India with 81st West African Division, fighting in the Naga Hills and in Burma with 14th Army, where RSM Maigumeri MM picked up an MID. He also received the BEM in 1944 for his long and excellent service. Returning to Nigeria after the war, RSM Maigumeri MM BEM MiD was involved in training duties and was promoted to Captain on retirement from the service in 1953. His name remains revered in Nigeria amongst those Nigerians with a sense of pride in their nation and its history but there are no military establishments named after him, perhaps because his achievements pre-dated independence, his part in the shaping of a new generation of Nigerian soldiers aside. What an impressive-looking soldier Maigumeri was! PK

The serifs on the M of M?nchen are an immediate giveaway in the case of Souval BO. Side by side with genuine examples, the strike details are more than "slightly off". However, these Souval copies caught a lot of people out, like a lot of other postwar Souval stuff. I have one from a box of largely genuine medals and badges I bought about twenty years ago with a number in the 7000's. Quite a few people have tried to buy it from me for what it is, indicating that they are indeed collectables in their own right. PK

When we eventually send a task force to restore order and obedience to HM Queen in Australia, will any member of the rebel Armed Forces of the Republic of Australia awarded a VC for heroism during the conflict be allowed to wear it after the surrender? Tricky question... PK

Fakes. Hope you didn't bid on them. PK