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    Johnny

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    Everything posted by Johnny

    1. Jim, Thanks very much for this information it's really useful! Sorry for the late reply but I've been away for a few days. Kind Regards Johnny
    2. Thanks a lot for your reply it's really helpful. A couple of questions arise from it; You think the unknown medal might be his LS&GC but what I didn't show on the scan was a seperate entry just below this one which says LS&GC but it's dated 2 months later (14/10/53)so I'm guessing it has to be something different? Also do you know what the criteria for the coronation medal would be? He'd been in the Navy since 1936 so I assumed he'd be entitled. I received the golden jubilee medal for combined Army and Police service in 2003 so assumed he'd have been entitled after 17yrs Navy service but I suppose assumptions are dangerous things!
    3. These are the other 2 pics which were too large to attach to the original post. The first pic is the unknown medal dated August 1953 and the second is one of him in unform showing some of his medal ribbons.
    4. Hi, Help wanted please! I've just been sent my grandfathers RN service records and there are many things I don't understand or just can't read. Firstly there are his postings. He seems to have the name of land based postings (Eaglet, Cormorant & St Angelo) but next to them in brackets are the names of ships (Pentstemon, Wilton etc) and I don't know what this signifies. Was he on the ship or detached from it on a land base? I've attached a snapshot of his service card to illustrate my point. I'd assumed he was land based however he has an MiD in the London Gazette under the blanket heading of 'bravery and skill in the hazardous operations in which the allied forces were landed in North Africa'. When that was awarded his service card shows him as HMS Eaglet with Pentstemon in brackets next to it. Eaglet was in Liverpool but HMS Pentstemon was in North Africa at the time and directly involved in the landings. Also his medal entitlement card has a handwritten HMS Pentstemon 8/41 - 10/43 on it. Can anyone decipher the significance of this for me? Secondly what medals was he entitled to? On the photograph attached it seems to show his Africa Star with a rosette on it but I don't know what that means. Also his MiD oakleaf isn't on his Africa Star but that's where it was awarded? On his medal card (scan attached) several medals are ticked but some have an 'R' either as well or instead. What does that mean? I'm surprised he didn't qualify for the Defence medal and I was wondering if it's possible to find out if he was entitled to any bars to these medals? There is also another medal referred to on the remarks section of his card issued on 19/8/53 (scan attached) but I can't make out the writing it could possibly say ‘navy medal’?. Perhaps someone out there knows what it might be-a Coronation medal perhaps?
    5. Jim, Thanks ever so much for your help with that, it's really appreciated! Just one quick point to clarify as i know nothing about the Navy; What do POREL and LREM stand for?? Thanks again Johnny
    6. I couldn't fit the battle pic in so That's attached now! Johnny
    7. Thanks for your help! I've attached scans of the badges (I assume one is just a smarter version of the other?) I've also attached a pic of him which shows part of his medal ribbons and a stripe on his arm. Do you think you could identify any of them? I've also scanned in an old photo of some sort of action but i have no other information. Do you know anyone who would know enough to hazard a guess at what it might be? Thanks for your help again Johnny
    8. Hi, I hope someone out there can help. My Grandfather died last week and he had served for many years in the Royal Navy (i believe right through WWII and for many years afterwards). I've been given his trade badge but don't know what it represents. I've searched high and low on the net and have been able to establish that he was a Petty Officer at the time he wore this badge but I've no idea what trade it is. It's the letter 'R' placed centrally on the badge with four sparks shooting off, one to each corner and it has a 6 pointed star underneath it all. I assumed it was radar but have found pics of other radar trade badges that don't look like this. For all my searching i haven't seen another example like this anywhere. Can anyone enlighten me? Also does anyone know where i can source good replica RN trade and rank badges? Thanks John
    9. Graham and Leigh, Thanks to both of you for the interest you've shown in this topic! His name was Walter Charles Vockins b, 1895 in Ramsbury, Wilts. He was a Gunner 74087 and his unit details were as listed. He is buried at Vadencourt British Cemetery, Maissemy, France (ref 1. A. 23). I'm also interested in two other soldiers who appear to be buried with him; Gunner 217558 John Clunie Stobie Sgt 54895 Charles John Blackmore They appear to be buried in a distinct group of 3, offset from the other burials in the same row. They were also 108th Battery and were killed on the same day, my assumption being that they were perhaps members of the same gun crew killed by a shell or similar. (I have a photograph of the burials which i shall try to find and upload to illustrate my point). I would love to know where his unit was located when he was killed but don't know whether information with that kind of detail is available all these years later. Are there likely to be maps still in existence which show locations of batterys etc? I have been considering a visit to Kew to see if i can locate a unit diary. I have never done anything like that before so don't really know what information one might hold, but i'm hoping that an incident like that resulting in at least 3 deaths might warrant a mention. You might be able to advise me whether that would be a wild goose chase or not? Any help or advice you can offer that would assist me in discovering more about my Great Uncle would be really appreciated. Thanks again Johnny
    10. Help needed! My Great uncle served in WWI from August 1914 until his death in action on 2nd October 1918. He started his service in 42nd Bde, Royal Field Artillery (part of 3rd Division of the BEF). The CWGC shows that he was killed in action whilst in 108th Battery, 23rd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. At the start of the war 23rd Brigade was also part of 3rd Division BEF but my research shows that they left the 3rd Division in Jan 1917 and became an 'Army Field Artillery Brigade'. Clearly he moved Brigades (but within the same division) at some point during the conflict. Try as I might I cannot seem to find any reference to 23rd Brigade after Jan 1917 (either as a Royal Field Artillery or Army Field Artillery unit). Does anybody know anything about 23rd Brigade (Field Artillery) or what formation it belonged to after Jan 1917? Also, does anybody know anything about 'Army Field Artillery' units and what made them different to Royal Field Artillery units? Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope it makes sense! Johnny
    11. David, Thanks for all your help and advice. I know exactly what you mean about the 's;lippery slope'! My wife heaves a huge sigh every time an envelope arrives marked 'air mail'. I'll keep scouring ebay. Thanks again Johnny
    12. David, I have restricted my collections of photos to the semi mundane at the moment, the occasional grave scene, or a battle damaged town etc. I'm new to photo collecting and I'm very grateful to you for your advice. I must say it did seem too good to be true to have an original pic of a Totenkopf RK winner on ebay, thats why i asked the question on here. Thanks again for your help, needless to say i shall stay well away from this one and anything similar. Just out of interest where would u suggest would be a good place to pick original photos up, apart from places like ebay? I'm keen to expand the collection and some pointers would be very gratefully received. Regards Johnny
    13. Thanks David, You're right I've seen the pic for sale on ebay as an original and this pic is what they've posted. Is it easy to fake a repro photo to make it look like an original. I've got quite a few original period pics from Germany and they're generally quite small with crimped edges. The pic from the site looks like that. Do you think it could be original? Johnny If you think it could be dodgy i wont go anywhere near it
    14. Anybody able to ID this officer or know how i could go about it?
    15. After all that I should really say that i think it's a lovely portrait. Would anybody be able to find out what happened to this guy? Johnny
    16. Further to my previous post i thought I'd address the question of the SS runes on the helmet. There is a depiction in the book of an Italian Waffen Scharfuhrer wearing SS decals on his Italian helmet, albeit on the left side as opposed to the right as featured on German helmets (as in the pic). The helmet looks to me to be an M1942 with the second pattern SS decals on it. The second pattern decals were abolished in November 43, just after this unit was formed in September 43. As with anything it's quite likely that stocks of the old design would have taken a while to whittle away and these decals were certainly seen in use long after they were abolished. Date wise it would seem very likely that this man in this unit could be wearing that helmet at that time, i guess the next question is whether he, as a non Germanic soldier would be wearing the runes. There is ample photographic evidence to show that soldiers from foreign legions would in fact wear SS runes either as collar tabs or on the helmets despite the fact that they were not authorised to do so. The French 33 Waffen Grenadier Div, The Walloon 28 SS Freiwilligen Grenadier Div, 25 & 26 Hungarian Waffen grenadier Divs and 15 & 19 Latvian Waffen Grenadier Divs were all known to wear the runes. There is the possibility of course that this helmet was used purely for photographic purposes (when i joined the British Army in the late 80's many soldiers would beg borrow or steal kit that was superior in design or finish to their own just for a picture) or it was privately acquired by the officer concerned as it was so symbolic of the Nazi/SS organisation. After all this waffling my own feeling is that it was probably issued out of existing stocks, he may have got issued one over other men due to his rank or social status. Hope this helps a bit more. Johnny
    17. Hi Guys, A quick flick through Men At Arms 420 by Gordon Williamson would appear to reveal all! That collar patch features on page 19 relating to the 29 Waffen Grenadier Division Der SS (Italienische Nr.1) The usual collar patch worn by the division was the Fasces (Axe in a bundle of sticks) however the author states that the patch shown in the picture was used by either or both the Debica and Vendetta Battalions from within that unit. The abridged version of what the book says is that in Sept 43 Himmler ordered the raising of an Italian SS legion. About 15000 came forward, some volunteers and some pressed men and the officers were sent to officer training school at Ferrara. One of the newly formed battalions was trained at Debica in Poland hence the name. It would appear that when it was combat ready it initially took the title 1st Assault Brigade, Italian Armed Militia, incorporating its two Battalions Debica and Vendetta. The book goes on to say that these two Battalions would later become I & II Battalions Waffen Grenadier Regt Der Waffen SS 81, which ties very nicely with the info in the previous post. These units were engaged in heavy fighting around Anzio in early 44 and as a result of their performnce were officially integrated into the Waffen SS. Close to the end of the war they received their final designation of 29 Waffen Grenadier Division Der SS and the men of Debica were lucky enough to surrender to US forces. Apparently the remainder of the Italian SS were not so lucky and fell into the hands of the partisans. It would appear that many if not most were executed out of hand. Cant help wondering what happened to the guy in the picture? It seems he might have come from Vendetta and met a sticky end. Hope that helps Johnny
    18. Mark, Thanks for yours and everyone elses comments. I have to say from what I'd seen of the Kursk books on the net they did look good to me. I think the enthusiasm of your reply has swung it for me and I'll be investing in them very soon. If anybody else has any other suggestions for reference works in addition to these I'd love to hear them. (I'm particularly interested in The 4th SS 'Polizei' Panzergrenadier Division.) Cheers Johnny
    19. Hi guys, Finally I have the answer from German war graves. I must tip my hat to Stephen who initially said I M was In memorium. They have confirmed that that is the case. They said in there reply that these were the remains of air crew and no complete body had been found. Due to their inseperable condition they were buried together near the crash site at Hurn farm, Thorney, Peterborough and moved to Cannock Chase in 1979. Their unit is given as 4/N.J.G.2. I don't know much about the luftwaffe so if anybody can elaborate on the unit details I'd be very interested. Cheers Johnny
    20. Guys, I still haven't received any reply from the German war graves people so it doesn't look like I'm going to. My final hope is an email to a work colleague who is a fluent German speaker and is married to a German. He's ex military himself with an interest in similar matters so I'm hoping he may be able to help. Hope to have something constructive to add soon. Johnny
    21. Thanks for that David. I'll carry on my enquiries in an attempt to locate volume 2 in English! Many thanks for the spelling correction, it certainly aids with the Google searches!! Regards Johnny
    22. Hi guys, I've just come into a few pounds by virtue of my 35th birthday and I'm just deciding what to spend it on. I'm after building up my reference books on the Waffen SS and was considering the Kursk Vol 1-6 series by Remy Spezzano. Has anybody seen these books and if so would they recommend them? Failing that can anybody suggest any other 'must have' books on the Waffen SS? (I prefer fact based reference works to simple memoirs) Also, I recently purchased 'In good faith' The history of the 4th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Division volume 1 by Frederich Husemann. However, search as I might I have not been able to find a copy of volume 2. I have not even been able to find a name for it or even confirm that it was ever written. Has anybody ever heard of such a book or suggest where i might start looking? Any help would be appreciated. Regards Johnny
    23. I still haven't heard from the German war graves. I have sent another email and this time I took the liberty of attaching the original picture to assist with making the point. (My German isn't the best even with the aid of a translation website.) I hope you don't mind Dave!! Having said all that 'In Memoriam' would appear to be hot favourite after seeing Stephens post. I shall update the thread as soon as I get the definitive answer from the 'horses mouth'. Johnny
    24. Hi Hardy, Thanks for that information i really appreciate it. Heres the scary bit- 03/04 is my birthday too-(happy 35th birthday to me today!!) 02/08 is my wifes birthday! regards Johnny
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