J Temple-West

While cleaning out some boxes in the loft, in preparation for some maintenance, I came across one containing some bits and pieces picked up over the years and almost forgotten…. Armbands.. Of the many armbands produced in Germany during the TR period for political/civilian organizations, armed forces and foreign allies….here are a few examples found in the box. If any member has armbands in their collection and can post them, perhaps we could end up with a database of the full range. 1st up... SS Member's Armband.

very nice...

I couldn't agree more.... Personally, I like it. Typical period embroidery, black paper backing and tarnishing to the bullion thread gives a natural appearance of aged wear...all good pointers. I would certainly have taken a 'punt' if I had seen it for sale.

Very nice.... I only wish I could afford one from this set! Will have to start saving.

Morning, Tom... The catch and solder looks to be consistent with factory work... perhaps it's the way it's suffered an impact giving a different shape which has given rise to the theory of a possible replacement. For peace of mind, I've used a set of digital callipers to measure the width of catches on both my "Osang" para and LGAB, both have come out at 1.85mm. If you can, do a comparison and see what you come up with. And speaking of "Wiedmann" flaks... If you don't already have one, your next search should be the heavy nickel plated version.

he was most likely to have been a member of the Latvian Police Battalion later attached to the 2.SS Infantry Brigade. If correct, the breast cross will have been awarded when he was a member of the "Aizsargi" (National Guard) a pre-war paramilitary organization. The link below may be of interest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_Police_Battalions

Morning, Tom. Now that's what I call a shopping spree! I only wish we had shows like the "The Max" over here. The "Osang" para is a bit of a strange one...The metals used are not what I would expect, but perhaps just down to being cleaned at some point.... everything else looks okay. Managing to find the "Wiedmann" wide-pin was certainly the catch of the day...very nice.

The link will take you to a list of addresses to do with German military archives. http://www.cimilitaria.com/Reference%20addresses.htm For the veterans association...there are a few, but this should be a good starting place. http://www.fschjgbund.de

Indeed... It's a pity that the group is missing his 'Soldbuch'.... Have you thought of contacting the Bundesarchiv for a copy of his military records? You never know, they may well come up with a lot more info. You may also want to consider contacting the Fallschirmjäger veterans association (Bund deutscher Fallschirmjäger) who may be able to help.

Morning, Stan what a superb group...Where on earth did you find it? I take it that there are no documents? If not, thank goodness for the practice, by some, of personalizing their badges. A great piece of history!

JMME (tombak).

G.H Osang (zinc).

Gebruder Wegerhoff Ludenscheid (zinc wreath/tombak eagle).

Friedrich Linden Ludenscheid (tombak).

W.Deumer Ludenscheid (tombak).

Berg & Nolte Ludenscheid (zinc wreath/tombak eagle).

C.E Juncker 3rd pattern wreath/2nd pattern eagle (tombak).

C.E Juncker 1st pattern (tombak)

F.W Assmann 3rd pattern wreath/1st pattern eagle (zinc).

F.W Assmann 3rd pattern wreath/1st pattern eagle (tombak).

Nice shots of your Para collection, Tom. Always good to have close-ups of badges for reference purposes, and to that end....some of mine. F.W Assmann 1st pattern wreath/eagle (tombak).

Good morning, Joe... Very nice to see your sets...you certainly have an eye for quality. I only have one cased example, being the Juncker 3rd pattern wreath/2nd pattern eagle... I only wish I had cases for the rest.... but at today's prices! Your "Juncker J2 in case tombac with a pilot badge wreath" has to be one of my favourites, something I've been looking for years. Looking forward to seeing more of your collection.

A very nice early album , Jock. Thank goodness for the outer case which has kept it in mint condition. It should be quite easy to track down the 17th's (Regiment Braunschweig) history.... A good starting place http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanterieregimenter/IR17.htm