Kev in Deva

Hallo Pat, just a quick note, the last variation has to be the 1957 version issued upon application without swastika, will try to locate a picture and post it Kevin in Deva.

More shots, I hope this helps to id the insignia as a real or fake Kevin in Deva

Pictures of the Hinge, Catch, etc, try as I might I cant get better definition with my small digital camera Kevin in Deva.

hopefully size reduction will still allow a good comparason and identification. Around the maker name is the residue of gum from the price tag. Kevin in Deva.

Sure A "Blue Mac's & Osterkamp Burger", now on special offer at McWonalds, Womania, for 99. euro chents, applicants must be over 99 years old to avail of this special offer and acompanied by at least one parent or a note from a Grandparent in ancient Dachian script. To avoid the rush, please get in line the night before, thank you fwum Wonald M. Kevin in Deva,

Hallo Ricky I take of my hat to you. . . (er. . . its not from the time of the napolionic wars either but a rather sallty blue U.N. peaker ) it's like myself a little faded, a little worn and a little torn, The Landsturm guys in the picture you posted disquised as nuns look quite convincing, no wonder the British Propaganda Company was scared in the early days of the Belgium campaign With speed of this reply I am sure you will soon hit the 8,000 posting so I must hunt for more unknown tid-bits of info, I will rumage through my sock-drawer (clean-ones) for some more obscure bits of paper. . . . I have a nice piece connected to the Austro-Hungarian Forces Dispositions pre WW1ish for you to drooooool over, if your a good boy and dust the bat-cave storage facility before dinner and take out the trash I might just give you a peek. . . . later on. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Gentlemen I have had this in my possesion for a number of years, it came along with some unrelated stuff I got at a "Flea-market" in Bavaria. My Questions are: Any Idea of which Unit or Regiment? The men have a Cross emblem in the hats but do not sport Red Cross Brassards indicating Sanitater Korps personel. They are not in possesion of any weapons, rifles or bayonets, although the guy in the cart might have a leather pouch under the left arm. Its obviously connected with WW1 I believe the banner reads "In rememberance of the Fighters in World War 1914/1915. second picture is a penciled notation to the rear. Many thanks for any forth-coming information. Kevin in Deva.

Thanks for the response Gentlemen I will attempt to get close up photos of the rivets, catch and maker mark tomorrow, (Sunday) using natural daylight as the camera flash affects the shots I tried to take, as soon as I get the shots I will post them. Kevin in Deva,

Hi Guys, I see nobody made any comments about my badge, Post 204 & 205 ...er...hopefully ..... the silence doesnt mean its an out and out fake?? Kevin in Deva in anticipation of a reply good or bad or indifferent

AND THE AWARD "FOR KEEPING THE UNWARY UN-INFORMED MILITARIA COLLECTORS FROM PARTING WITH THEIR HARD EARNED DOSH ON DODGIE ITEMS ON THE INTERNET" goes to: "THE GENTLEMENS MILITARY INTEREST CLUB" Thanks for the comments guys When I went back to the auction page it had been removed either by Ebay or the seller maybe he was getting scared about the intrest being shown and questions asked. It didnt go as a buy now as it would remain for a few days to be viewed, must watch to see does it pop up again. Kevin in Deva,

For the Gentlemens pleasure starting at only 699 Euro http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...N_BIN_Stores_IT Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Dan, many thanks for your and the other members for the sensible comments with regards the "French" Ebay 1870 EK, It seems some poor geezer decided it was good, and forked our 221 Euro for it, poor sod wonder how he will feel if and when he discovers its a fake. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Pat This I believe falls into the Catagory of unofficial patriotic medals, such medals were produced in the thousands, differing in shape, designation etc... but all connected patrioticaly, it would not have been worn by a soldier, the wire hanger is fixed into the slot where a piece of red,white,and blue ribbon would go. And seeing as the Lion and British symbol is centre and larger, than the French symbol or the Russian, tends me to believe this was made in England. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Avitas, try fixing the badges to a piece of card, or cloth when you scan, I used to leave the top of the scanner up and cover the objects with a towl or some similar neutral cloth for a background, its all about trial and error, and belive me there is more error than trial With regard black on black, I was reffering only to the badges being black, to black background, if you are into black "Jimmie Jams" then thats up to you, my prefered colour combo is green and brown with a sutle touch of sand and black thrown in, or as the wife reffers to it "Bloody Camo" Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Avitas Nice Canadian Badges however it might be easier to see the pictures if the background was a grey or lighter colour, Black on Black might be very nice in different circumstances but here the definition of the badges gets lost, also can you remove the "homemade clip" it looks real "goofey" no insult intended to you, and hides the detail of the badges Kevin in Deva.

HERE WE GO AGAIN: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...mMakeTrack=true I spotted this one with only two hours to go, seller has only managed a low price, 227 GBP, probably because he had it listed before and then pulled the auction with the lame excuse of he would be on holiday when the auction finished, (probably was hoping to get a bigger price greedy bugger) Kevin in Deva

Hallo Gentlemen Well it also has be said, that thankfully all the other Allied P.O.W didn't feel like betraying their country just to have a cushy number and apart from John Brown who provided information for MI9: and Tom Freeman who disrupted the BFC at a crucial moment in its formation and escaped to continue the fight against the Nazi regime. As it states in the book byAdrian Weale on page 191: "Investigation of the renegades continued throughout the summer of 1945 under the capable direction of Burt, Spooner and Scardon, and revealed, if it wasn't obvious what pathetic characters the majority were. The excuses that they gave for their actions were depressingly repetative*, most claimed to have changed sides to spy on the other traitors; or to sabotage the German propaganda effort and the British Free Corps. Only a few were prepared, (as Joyce was, Lord Haw-Haw) to face up to the consenquences of their actions. * They had enough time together to practise group alibi's espcially as the war drew to an end. The word "TRAITOR" fits the others, down to the ground, and as far as I am concerned as an ex-member of the army no excuse can be submitted for their actions, once you don the uniform of your country and take the pledge of alligance, wether to Queen or President, then you are in, through thick and thin. What would be interesting to know, was there any evidence that they tried to raise an American unit along similar lines?? Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Gordon, a very good read is "RENEGADES, HITLER'S ENGLISHMEN" by Adrian Weale. ISBN O-297-81488-5 published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 230 pages. A very small unit, strength about Jan. 1943 was 22 and only became a designated military unit in November 1943 and apparently they saw very little combat, as they were not very trusted by the Germans in fact I believe Adolf gave orders they were not to be allowed to cary arms if he was in the vicinity. (Just in case the was an accidental discharge in der richtung das Fuhrer ) They were designated for the dirty task of helping to remove the bodies after the fire-storm on Dresden. Pictures attached; Group shot of: Alfred Minchin second right. former merchant seaman. Kenneth Barry second left. got a nine month sentence. note the Union Jack flash and armband. SINGLE PICTURES: BFC 1. John Leister recruited to the BFC from the Marlag Prison Camp. (Framed) BFC 2a Thomas Cooper Waffen-SS and British Free Corps. (kray-twin lookalike) life imprisonment realesed from prison January 1953 believed to have gone to live in Japan! BFC 2c Eric Pleasants British Free Corps in German uniform. (Big Ears) 7 years in a Russian Arctic Camp at Vorkuta BFC 2d Francis MacLardy formerly a sergeant of the RAMC who joined the British Free Corps. (ID CARD) sentenced to life commuted to 15 years. There were trials after the war but only Prison sentences were handed down, many thought they all should have faced the rope Kevin in Deva

Thanks gregM just strapping on the running shoes as I type with my nose Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Gentlemen just spotted this on French ebay http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...mMakeTrack=true while not being 100% familiar with all the EK variations (loaded question: Who is??, Answers on a 100 Euro note to Kevin in Deva etc... ) I am wary of the DECHLER Stamp on the rear, any thoughts would be welcome. Kevin in Deva.

Another variation of the mini F.C.A & S. M. Service medal this one cast in a darker material, Kevin in Deva.

Continuing along with the DEFENCE FORCE OF IRELAND MEDALS: We come to the RESERVE FORCE SERVICE MEDAL / An Bonn Seirbhise F.C.A. - S.M. The Reserve Forces of the Army and Air-Corps, made up of ex-regulars completing a contract and volunteers from civilian life (mainly students) are known as "AN FORSA COSANTA AITUIL" or F.C.A (or to us "Auld Sweats" as the "Free Clothing Association" ) and the Naval Reserve is "AN SLUA MUIRI" or S.M. (er. . . . SLURRY MURRAY`S ? ? ) no offense meant to the ladies and gentlemen of the Reserve Forces, they provide valuable services to free up more of the regulars for Anti-Terrorist and security duties on the Border and in the State etc. . .etc. These Long Service Medals were introduced on the 13th June, 1961, for all ranks, and may be awarded for 7 years continuous, satisfactory, service, with the addition of a bar for a further 5 years. The Medal is in Bronze alloy and is 32mm in diameter. Obverse; The figure of an ancient Irish Foot Soldier or "Kern", dressed in a light tunic with a sword in his belt, a throwing spear in his right hand and in his left an oval shaped sheild bearing a Celtic design. The legend around this is "FAIRE BIOGDAC TUS NA SAOIRSE" which in English means "ETERNAL VIGILANCE IS THE PRICE OF FREEDOM. Reverse; The inscription "AN BONN SEIRBHISE FCA AGUS SM" The medals issued unnamed. Ribbon; The Seven year ribbon is 34mm wide, Saint Patrick Blue with 5mm gold esges, and the twelve year ribbon has an additional 2mm gold stripe in the centre. Suspension; A straight unswivelled bar affixed to the top of the medal by a claw. The ribbon hangs from a bronze pin-back brooch bearing the words "SEIRBIS" - SERVICE in raised letters and a raised border. Bars; A bar exactly like that for the Regular Army Service Medal is worn on the ribbon of the twelve year model. In recent years it was decided to award a further bar for 21 years in service with the F.C.A. & S.M. the bar as a round device in the cetre with the Roman numerals 21. Designer; Commandant A. Molloy. Manufacturer; P. Quinn Ltd., Dublin. Exremely rare to encounter are the miniture medals with either service ribbons (er. . . I somehow ended up with 3 in my collection ) Kevin in Deva.

Another view of the Monument to the "HERO'S" they usually leave the wreaths till they wither away, some basic maintenance will be required to the marble of the monument and the surrounding floor tiles as its showing signs of age. On the column itself there are signs that some kind of plaque has been removed whether by the authorities (large communist Insignia?) or by the local Gypsies is any body's guess Kevin in Deva EDIT: The new Monument in Black Marble as of 15th October 2007.