Kev in Deva

Hallo Brian I cannot recall ever seeing a H. K. H. of any type with an impressed inscription, if done, it was done privately and as the Crosses were issued circa 1934 onwards most carried some type of a maker mark on various locations of the cross rear, I believe the real early pieces were issued in bronze and as the war progressed the material was changed. With regards age: The Cross was being made I believe up to about 30 years ago, and before these I think over 6 and a half million Combatant types were issued upon application, the later German Republic issue as replacements to German veterans, carried no Maker mark to the rear, therefore leaving a clean surface to take a struck "inscription". I have even seen screwback versions of the H.C.H. on Ebay for sale!! Kevin in Deva

This one is for the Rickster and his love for ribbons and devices. I got pipped at the post on this one which has a fascinating combo of ribbons. It went for 132 US Dollars. Kevin in Deva.

Now theres a nice little medal, showing some obvious thought went into the design Kevin in Deva.

I also do not like the "T" shaped pin, I imagine it would do massive damage to the uniform material unless one was expected to sew loops on the uniform jacket?? The Front I am adding the sellers pictures for reference, because once the auction end the seller is quick to remove the picture links as he did with a previous sale of a star. I think it would be suspicious if, over a period of time he is selling the same "model"!! side view. Kevin in Deva

Well seeing where he is located, and all the other RARE Russian Imperial goodies he his offering which have been faked BIG-TIME I would not trust its a real Turkish - German piece even if it is better to be in doubt and cash in pocket. Dull dark pictures taken at odd camera angles dont help to alay my suspicions either. Kevin in Deva

Hallo Gents, Could anybody suggest or even know a reason for a German Military Officer to have been awarded this medal?? Military Advisor, etc....etc.... Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Uwe I looked where you suggested and found the following: White cotton label, stamped in ink in red letters: SCHWARZ PASSAU = Maker ?? Q / U 1 2 B / 00017 / 90926 over 3 / 71 = Year of manufacture ?? 170 / 108 = Size ?? This is then over stamped with a capital letter "I" and "F". Thanks for all the other info supplied as well Are many people interested in collecting these items?? Kevin in Deva

Hallo Mark, Belated welcome to the forum, Very nice picture, please add shots of the rear. As a ex-Irish Defence Force veteran with over 21 years service including service with the U.N. in Lebanon, I cannot help but wonder why regular military personel have no bar to their service medals for 21 years service. Is anybody campaigning for such a bar? Since moving to live in Romania I am slightly out of touch with all the changes despite still having some contacts still serving in the Irish Defence Forces and two brothers with the F.C.A. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Gents, with regards this bar I think it would it be safe to assume, A. The receipiant was at the time of WW1 a member of the German Army and hardely able to qualify for a Romanian Royal award as they were fighting against the Romanians. B. Post WW1 - Pre WW2 he gets a Romanian and Austrian medical award?? C. If a WW2 award from Romania would a Sanitary Merit Medal have been granted to him as a (combatant) ?? along with the KVK II Class with swords. D. Or he got the KVK II Class with swords and the Order of the Crown of Romania for services rendered in WW2?? Kevin in Deva

Hallo Christian with regards verb 2: it refers to the Milosevic regime and their actions carried out in the region. For as many people as you have who are claiming that N.A.T.O. and the U.S.A. were the aggressors in the region, you will find as many who will state that Yugoslavia and particularly the Serbians were the main aggressors. For as many websites you post linking to backing up the claims of N.A.T.O. and U.S.A. aggression, there can be found as many that claim the opposite. As Ed, rightly states in his post, this conflict is in the too recent past to be discussed rationaly without bringing politics and passion into the discussion. Suffice to say "SasaYU" post with regards "it was not a conflict but only bombardment" implies that NATO & the US were the only aggressors. When any rational person knows it was not so one-sided as he would have us believe. Kevin in Deva

Hopefully the old boy left them that way and did not change them to the post-royalty design of 1983 He appears to have the following on the bar: 1. Cross of Valour 1940 (bar has 1940 on it.) 2. Medal for Outstanding Acts 1940. 3. Royal Navy Campaign Cross & with submarine symbol probably in Silver for a Petty Officer. 4. Long Service and Good Conduct Medal for NCOs 1937 (Naval Ribbon). 5. Commemorative Medal for National Resistance 1941 - 1945. 6. Commemorative Medal of the War of 1940 - 1941 (Navy) 7.Commemorative Medal of the War of 1941 - 1945 (Navy) 8. (Unknown to me). Police Service Post War?? Kevin in Deva.

Ed Nice to see the old soldier get his just desserts for those of us unused to Indian currency how much money are we talking about here?? Kevin in Deva

Finally a reply from the seller: Kevin in Deva

Seems the dictionary offers us a better definition than SasaYU simple one, with regards the word conflict, just what was the YU doing to warrent NATO intervention??? (See verb 2. bottom of the post) Noun 1. conflict: conflict - an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals); "the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs" struggle, battle class struggle, class war, class warfare - conflict between social or economic classes (especially between the capitalist and proletariat classes) insurrection, revolt, uprising, rising, rebellion - organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another counterinsurgency, pacification - actions taken by a government to defeat insurgency group action - action taken by a group of people strife - bitter conflict; heated often violent dissension tug-of-war - any hard struggle between equally matched groups turf war - a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights; "a turf war erupted between street gangs"; "the president's resignation was the result of a turf war with the board of directors" fight, fighting, combat, scrap - the act of fighting; any contest or struggle; "a fight broke out at the hockey game"; "there was fighting in the streets"; "the unhappy couple got into a terrible scrap" feud - a bitter quarrel between two parties warfare, war - an active struggle between competing entities; "a price war"; "a war of wits"; "diplomatic warfare" 2. conflict - opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings; "he was immobilized by conflict and indecision" ambivalence, ambivalency - mixed feelings or emotions. 3. conflict conflict - a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war; "Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement" battle, engagement, fight military action, action - a military engagement; "he saw action in Korea" Armageddon - any catastrophically destructive battle; "they called the first World War an Armageddon" pitched battle - a fierce battle fought in close combat between troops in predetermined positions at a chosen time and place naval battle - a pitched battle between naval fleets armed combat, combat - an engagement fought between two military forces. war, warfare - the waging of armed conflict against an enemy; "thousands of people were killed in the war" dogfight - an aerial engagement between fighter planes. assault - close fighting during the culmination of a military attack. Battle of Britain - the prolonged bombardment of British cities by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and the aerial combat that accompanied it. Drogheda - in 1649 the place was captured by Oliver Cromwell, who massacred the Catholic inhabitants. armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker". 4. conflict - a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests; "his conflict of interest made him ineligible for the post"; "a conflict of loyalties." state - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state." friction, clash - a state of conflict between persons. clash - a state of conflict between colors; "her dress was a disturbing clash of colors." cold war - a state of political conflict using means short of armed warfare. disagreement, dissonance, dissension - a conflict of people's opinions or actions or characters. 5. conflict - an incompatibility of dates or events; "he noticed a conflict in the dates of the two meetings" incompatibility - the quality of being unable to exist or work in congenial combination. 6. conflict - opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot); "this form of conflict is essential to Mann's writing" oppositeness, opposition - the relation between opposed entities. 7. conflict conflict - a disagreement or argument about something important; "he had a dispute with his wife"; "there were irreconcilable differences"; "the familiar conflict between Republicans and Democrats" difference of opinion, dispute, difference. disagreement - the speech act of disagreeing or arguing or disputing collision - a conflict of opposed ideas or attitudes or goals; "a collision of interests" contestation, controversy, disceptation, arguing, argument, contention, disputation, tilt - a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement; "they were involved in a violent argument" dustup, quarrel, run-in, wrangle, row, words - an angry dispute; "they had a quarrel"; "they had words." Verb 1. conflict - be in conflict; "The two proposals conflict!" counterpoint, contrast - to show differences when compared; be different; "the students contrast considerably in their artistic abilities" jar, clash, collide - be incompatible; be or come into conflict; "These colors clash." 2. conflict - go against, as of rules and laws; "He ran afould of the law"; "This behavior conflicts with our rules" contravene, infringe, run afoul. breach, infract, transgress, violate, go against, offend, break - act in disregard of laws and rules; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law." Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Paul, Well you have to remember that the Irish are not in N.A.T.O. and the force including the three services of Army, Aer Corps, and Navy with the Part-time Reserve was about 15,000 strong. With regards the uniform design, when I went in the Army in 1976 the Regulars were wearing the new modern design uniform for parade wear which had come into being circa 1974, the FCA (Reserves) were still wearing the style very reminiscent of the WW2 British battle dress. Both groups wore Black Berets with the same "FF Sunburst" badges in a red square background. Eventually the F.C.A. got the same style uniforms as us but F.C.A. personnel were only allowed the plain green combat if they were part of the small group employed on full-time duty in Military Barracks along the border, they got all the glamorous jobs of spud-peeling and dixie-bashing and Barrack and Camp Fire-Piquet, they also shared in Camp and barrack guard armed with the Lee-Enfield, Mk. 4 303. And no offence to these chaps there was a certain "Dads Army" look about them, the other thing was an increased use of F.C.A. officers to perform the task of Barrack or Camp Duty Officer, these guys carrying the same commissions as a regular Officer would drive into work, perform their 24 hour duty then head home the next morning, while some of the younger officers were fairly smart and knew what they were doing some of the more older and inflexible types were barely treated with respect by the regulars for their incompetence (for example when mounting the Daily Guard or Weekly Patrols it was the regular Barrack Orderly Sergeant who prompted them in the commands through-out the ceremony.) Do not get me wrong I give credit where credit is due to both sides of the fence. I will have to seriously think about setting down the situations and conditions in more detail with regards these times as there is far more than I can fill in here. (Might be a job for a long cold winter in Transylvania) From about 2001 the Permanent Defence Forces of Ireland finally got their camo uniforms to replace the plain green ones in use since the early 1970's also Gore-Tex weather proof clothing, new web-equipment along with new Flack-Jackets, (we had been using the Austrian Styer 5.56mm AUG for a while previous to the issue of the camo clothing and Kevlar Israeli style helmets were introduced about the same time as the rifles. A very handy informative booklet called "The Irish Defence Forces since 1922" by Donal MacCarron and Illustrated by Bill Younghusband published by Osprey Men-at-Arms 417, ISBN 1-84176-742-5 is a good read, Coupled with "Irish Army Vehicles, Transport and Armour since 1922!, by Mr. Karl Martin, ISBN 0-9543413-0-9. Kevin in Deva

Hallo Paul, This is slightly off topic but goes to show the mentality that prevailed with regards the equipment of the PDF (Permanent Defence Force) of Ireland. the "Too British" aspect dosent come into the factor at all, seeing the Irish Military has been a seperate entety since 1922. Its the "penny-pinching" people who work for the Department of Finance along with the ever-present "cost-cutting" buddies in the Defence Department who do not wish to spend money on such trinkets as medals or insignia. The same mentality applies to the Irish getting any new equipment, during my time in service we were involved in massive search for Mr. Don Tidy Mr Tidey, a senior supermarket executive, was kidnapped by an IRA gang in November 1983 and was held for 23 days before his release. His kidnapping sparked a nationwide search which led to a shoot-out at Derrada Wood, near Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, during which a trainee Garda and a member of the Defence Forces were killed. The businessman was found in a dugout in a secluded wooded area under the guard of four Kalashnikov armed men. Trainee (unarmed) Garda Gary Sheehan (23) of Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, and Pte. Patrick Kelly (35) of Moate, Co Westmeath, armed with a 7.62mm SLR were killed in a shoot-out. Mr. Tidey sent a wreath to the Gardai funeral but none to the soldier who he said was after all doing what he was paid to do Shortly after this period we were fell in on Parade in Finner Camp and marched into one of the wooden huts for a lecture by the then Adjutant of the 28th Infantry Battalion, he told us about the short comings encountered in mounting searches with the Gardai (Police) and to rectify the problem for the future we were expected to obtain at our own exspences the following items laid out for display on a nearby table. 1 plain Green rain suit and pants. 1 pair of Rubber Wellington boots, Green or Black (no yellow ones allowed!) 1 wooly cap for keeping the head warm (no Ski Masks or Balaclavas, to similar to what "The Boys" wear). 1 pair of good quality wet-proof gloves (black in colour). 1 good quality Large Flash-Ligh complete with spare batteries and bulbs. 1 mini camping gas stove and spare catridges. I army surplus neck-veil British Army style.** 1 army surplus style combat hood (Our jackets had fixing buttons for this item yet the hood was never on issue 1 Emergency Ration Pack the following contents kept in a plastic box with airtight lid: Contents: Tea-bags, Sugar packets, Milk-powder, Coffee, packets of Cheese, chocolate bars such as Mars, Snickers etc, Glucose sweets, chewing gum. 2 X Rolls of Civillian Issue toilet paper. All the items were to be kept ready in the normal field pack along with issue socks, underwear, towel & washing equipment, Knife Fork, spoon and Aluminum Plate. for any Emergency call out. At this time we were also to be issued "at great expense to the State" a second set of Combat Uniform, as soldiers had been filmed during the Tidey affair wearing wet & torn combats (not having spares it was deemed embarrising for the general public to see dirty white underwear showing through the barbed wire torn crotches of Army combat pants. ** About this time to somebody with a bit of savvy was begining to question the dress code of wearing light Kahki shirts with a brown neck-tie under combat jackets. It was also standard wear under the one-piece overalls that were standard barrack wear for all General Duties. Kevin in Deva.

Seems like the words "Alternatively" and "most probably" with a few "according to other sources" are used very frequently in these websires, which offers very little proof of all it claims to represent. How so many aircraft are shot down and still not identified as to what they were is strange as well?? One site claims 218 Air-crew personel killed, funny how all these deaths could be hidden from the families of the aircrew in the various countries they came from?? There is a major element of propaganda in all of the sites featured. And at the end of the day, what do the sites want to convince us off, that Yugoslavia won the conflict?? Is there any Independent site out there which has studied all the claims?? Kevin in Deva

Seems the seller is to busy contemplating what he will be spending the money on to answer simple questions Kevin in Deva

The link goes nowhere maybe the item has been removed from ebay?? Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Collin, this is the best I can do from the original ebay auction picture. Might be wishful thinking but it looks a little like the Wolfs-hook rune No matter what try with the hip insignia the detail is to small to make out. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Mike I believe to be part of a badge to an Austrian Handworker Guild, My poor translation would be: Founded in the year 1863, Handkraft Association of Under (?) Lustenau LUSTENAU is a town in the westernmost Austrian province of Vorarlberg, in the Dornbirn district. It lies on the Rhine River, which forms the border with Switzerland. Lustenau is Vorarlbergs fourth largest town, in terms of inhabitants (20.806 in the year 2004). Kevin in Deva

Hallo Gentlemen The detail is very small, but all the young ladies in swimsuits standing appear to have an insignia or motiff on the left hip. Kevin in Deva.

Gentlemen the point of my previous posts in this thread was with regards the "tone" used by certain posters in this thread. They like all of us have the right to make a statement or reply, without getting caustic, sarcastic or offended if somebody posts other than what they believe to be the truth. Its not simply a matter of declaring that "BoB" had better offer proof, Bob, did not get sarcastic in the tone of his reply or state that he was tired of arguing his point. And Bob might not just be in a postion to post an immediate reply as many members have jobs to attend as well as time spent on this Forum. Here, on the Gentlemens Military Interest Club we tend to try and keep our posts in a friendly manner, again with the object of learning more about the many items of militaria that exsist in the world. There are no exceptions to this rule on the Forum regardless of how many posts you have made or not. We would like everybodys experience here at GMIC to be an enjoyable one. Kevin in Deva (Lounge Host).

Hallo Paul, there are no awards for Good Conduct or Honorable service in the Irish Defence Forces. The Good Conduct Medal issue was stopped because of the adverse effect it was creating when being awarded. The criteria was just too open to abuse, many felt it was being awarded to people who were very friendly with the people making the recomendations, it seem to go to a lot of Company Headquarter personnel and Military Police. I hope Ceallach would be good enough to post the complete list contained in "The Medal Society of Ireland journal # 11 & 14 lists the officially named recipients for 1988 & 1989 respectively - ALL 120." Hopefully then it will be possible to break down the percentage of Privates, Corporals, Sergeants, Company-Sergeants, Company-QM-Sergeants who were getting it. Its a pity really that the issue was suspended, many soldiers were only going to get a service medal or Service Medal with bar for reasons of being unable to volunteer for overseas with UN, or service medal and bar, and a U.N. medal and an Irish Commemorative U.N. Service Medal. There is no medal or insignia for wounds being sustained on active service in Ireland or for wounds or injuries received on U.N. Service. There is not even a service ribbon on the sleeve of the uniform to indicate years of service as with other armies. The Reserve Defence Forces recently were granted permission to wear a bar on their Service Medals for 21 years service, something not even granted to the regular military!! Kevin in Deva.

Alex if you check the G.W.F. you will see where this item has already been identified via the OMSA website as: a Chinese Warlord Period Victory Medal. Kevin in Deva.