Memorial Cross for 1940-1945

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags , , on October 8, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NetherlandsCreated on March 31, 1950 by the Executive Committee of the Dutch Red Cross. It was awarded to volunteers and staff of the Dutch Red Cross in recognition for the Red Cross work performed during the occupation period (May 10, 1940 to May 5, 1945) and the period of insurrection in the the post war Dutch colonies. For the latter there was also established a bar with the inscription “INDONESIA 1945-1950”. Approval to carry the remembrance cross on the military uniform was followed by Army Order no. 137 of May 31, 1950.

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War Commemorative Cross 1945 with Oorlogsdienst-Koopvardij 1940-45 bar

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags , on October 8, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NetherlandsThis medal, from the Netherlands, was issued with a range of bars depending on the recipients theatre of service. I have quite a few of these now and I picked this one up because it had the Oorlogsdienst-Koopvardij bar which is the last of the standard bars that I didn’t have. This bar is for war services in the fishing fleet.

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Richtaufsatz-35 8cm Mortar Optical Sight

Posted in Optics with tags , , , , , on September 6, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svgThis is an RA-35 optical sight for the Granatwerfer 34 8cm medium mortar. The sight shows signs of post war use by the Austrians (the green over paint). The sight was manufactured by Hanseatische Werkstätten für Feinmechanik u. Optik, in Hamburg-Schnelsen and is marked with their CRN code.

 

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Nachrichten Für Die Truppe Propaganda Newspaper

Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags , , on September 5, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_StatesThis is the 12th of April 1945 edition of “Nachrichten Für Die Truppe”. This was a German language newspaper craeted by the Allies and dropped by bomber over the troop lines. It combined real news about Allied successes with unverifiable gossip about the Nazi leadership. Classed as grey propaganda since the Allies never owned up to producing it and the German soldier was under no doubts about who did write it. It was very popular with German soldiers. The newspaper was produced from April 1944 until the end of the war. Interestingly enough the Germans themselves printed their versions of this in order to combat it.

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SHAEF Propaganda Newsletter

Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags , , on September 5, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_StatesThis is an example of the S.H.A.E.F. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) The Daily Organ of Supreme Headquarters newsletter from April 13th 1945. In the Summer of 1944 the Psychological Warfare Division of SHAEF, under General Eisenhower, took over the propaganda campaign against Germany. This newsletter was produced from April until July 1945. The newsletter was dropped from converted bombers and was produced in 4 languages (1 per page), English, German, French and Polish. It was classified as white propaganda as it contained factual information about Allied successes as well as survival and civilian advice for displaced populations.

 

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A Birchall Sapper in WW1

Posted in 1914-1918 Service Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , , , on September 5, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis small group is impressed to 8518 SPR W.T. BIRCHALL RE. William Birchall served as a sapper in the Royal Engineers. This means he spent a lot of time on trench improvements and likely served close to or at the front. He doesn’t appear on the CWGC website so he survived. The group came with the owners miniatures which is a nice touch since I often find these things as lonely orphans.

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A Birchall in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers

Posted in 1914-1918 Service Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , , on August 24, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomA modest medal, unfortunately an orphan. This medal is impressed to 8846 PVT A. BURCHELL R.W.FUS. Albert Burchell served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and later in The Welsh Regiment. I haven’t been able to find any more information about this man. No attestation papers. But since he doesn’t appear on the CWGC site, it appears he survived the Great War.

Update: From a friend on another site a little more about Albert
Albert Burchell
Rank: Private
Medal Awarded: British War Medal and Victory Medal
Regiment or Corps: Welsh Regiment Regimental Number: 267026 Sub Unit: 1/6th Battalion
Previous Units: 8846. R.W. Fus. Pte. Infantry Base Depot., Att. 6th Welch R., 15632. 6th Welch R., 267026. 6th Welch R., Welch R. Infantry Base Depot., 8th Welch R., Att. 37th Div Cyclists, 8th Welch R.

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Commemorative Medal of the 1939-1945 War with France, Afrique and Liberation Bar

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags , on August 24, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_FranceThis is a French medal awarded to all participants in recognised formations, fitted with a range of bars depending on the type and theatre of service. In this case the bars are “France” for all regular forces involved in the French Campaign of 1940, the “Liberation” bar for the French Campaign of 1944 and the “Afrique” bar for the North African Campaign of 1941-1943..

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The War Commemorative Cross with Oost-Azië/Zuid-Pacific 1942-1945 Bar, Oorlogsvluchten 1940-1945 Bar and Nederlandsch Indië 1941-1942 Bar

Posted in 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags , on August 24, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NetherlandsThis medal, from the Netherlands, was issued with a range of bars depending on the recipients theatre of service. I have quite a few of these now and I picked this one up because it had the Oorlogsvluchten bar (War Flights).

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WW1 Anti-German Toilet Paper

Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags , , on July 30, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_StatesThe arrival of the US in the First World War was accompanied by a rash of the usual cheesy propaganda items. This one, a sheet of toilet paper with Kaiser Wilhelm’s face printed on it, was typical of the tone many of these items adopted. Bloody funny still and Bill’s been dead for 90 years.

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Another WW1 Birchall in the Merchant Navy

Posted in Family Groups & Singles with tags , , , on May 3, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is a pretty humble medal that has had a hard life. This is the WW1 British War Medal, impressed to Frederick W. Birchall. Because of the lack of a unit or service number I suspected this was a merchant seaman award. 10 minutes on the British Archives and here he is. Frederick was born in 1871 in Liverpool and would therefore have been 43 when war broke out. His medals were forwarded to the Merchant Marine Office in Canning Place, Liverpool. He was also awarded the Merchantile War Medal, since lost to time. The War Medal here has the neck of its suspender broken as well as bad edge knocking and bruising. It probably sat in someones junk drawer for a few decades.

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A Birchall in Heavy Bombers for the RCAF

Posted in 1945 + Medals, Family Groups & Singles with tags , , , on March 1, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_CanadaThis medal is a GVI Canadian Efficiency Decoration awarded to Wing Commander Kenneth Birchall (C1592). Ken was born in Ottawa on the 17th of March 1916. He attended the technical school in Ottawa and went on to become a Pilot-Sergeant in the RCAF, later enlisting in 1939 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

The Ottawa Journal records his promotion to Flying Officer (Temporary)  in January 1940. He went on to complete two tours in bombers over France and Germany and then returned to Canada. He served as the Chief Instructor at No.2 Bombing and Gunnery School at Mossbank in Manitoba. In the 14 June 1945 London Gazette he was gazetted for the Air Force Cross (AFRO 1127/45 dated 6 July 1945).  Ken had completed 1,502 hours flying as of date of award. The award was presented 1 April 1949.

The blurb for the award is as follows…

“Wing Commander Birchall, during the period of his employment as chief instructor at No.2 Bombing and Gunnery School, has produced outstanding results in training efficiency. Through devotion to duty and untiring effort he contributed in great measure to raising and maintaining the efficiency and morale of this station at a very high level. His service has been outstanding for the past five years and during that period he has made a valuable contribution to the prosecution of the war.”

Aside from the missing AFC, Ken would also be entitled to the Victory Medal, the 1939-45 Star, the Air Crew Europe Star, the Defence Medal and the CVSM with Overseas Bar.

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British Air Ministry Medal Chit

Posted in Paper with tags , , on January 17, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is a slip that would have accompanied an airman’s issue of medals at the end of WW2. This was actually supplied along with an Air Crew Europe Star that I acquired, however the medal turned out to be a restrike. I kept the slip since it was authentic and I didn’t have another example.

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US Personality Identification Playing Cards

Posted in Odds & Ends with tags , , , , on January 17, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_StatesThis deck of playing cards, manufactured by the US Flag King Leisure Products Company, dates from the Second Bush-Iraq War in 2003. These cards were developed by the US military in order to facilitate the capture of the Baath Party regime bureaucrats and military leaders. This was critical since being Arabs and all having moustaches they were effectively identical to the US occupation and therefore difficult to capture. This is what is called satirical flourish.

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New Zealand Post Commemorative Issue

Posted in Stamps with tags , on January 17, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_New_ZealandThis is a set of commemorative stamps issued by New Zealand Post in 2014. The event was the 2014 Anzac Day anniversary, 100 years since the outbreak of WW1. The issue took the form of a set of period propaganda posters issued by the NZ Government during WW2.

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40 Pfennig Hitler Head Stamp Block

Posted in Stamps with tags , , on January 17, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svgGerman postal services used the so-called Hitler Head issue between 1941 and 1944. There were three sizes in the basic set. Those between 1 and 24 pfennig, between 25 and 80 pfennig and between 1 and 5RM. This is a block of 9 of the 40 pfennig examples. I don’t collect these, they collect me.

These were liberated in the millions btw, they were work pfennigs then, they are worth less now!

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1000w Westinghouse Spotlight Bulb

Posted in Odds & Ends with tags , , on January 17, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_StatesThis is a 1000w incandescent bulb manufactured by Westinghouse in 1943. These were made for a military contract and likely ended up on a naval vessel or coastal emplacement. This particular one was removed from a Sperry spot light. Interesting only because it is fragile and bloody big.

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Anti-Japanese Postcard

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , , , , on December 14, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_StatesThere’s a racist theme in early war propaganda coming out of the US. Fairly uniformly the Japanese were displayed as small, bucktoothed and simian-like. Certainly the phrase “Slap the Jap” was very common. Of course the US would have a very hard war in the Pacific that wasn’t really helped by their consistent underrating of the Japanese soldier. This postcard, franked in October 1942, is illustrative of the messaging used at this point in the war.

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Anti-Hitler Propaganda Pot

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , , , on December 14, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomFieldings of Staffordshire put out a very successful run of propaganda items in the opening months of the war. These included small “po’s” that mocked the Axis leadership. Of course there were imitators that got onto the market, hoping to take advantage of the demand that Fieldings created. These imitators are generally lower in quality than the Fieldings ones. Here is an example. It simply says “Adolf in Poland” on the outside and has a caricature of the guy inside.

More googling tells me that these were made by Lancaster Ltd. in  Hanley, England during 1939-1940.

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Anti-Goering Propaganda Pot

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , , , , , on December 14, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomThis is the fifth in a series of faux chamber pots put out by Fieldings of Staffordshire, England. On the front it says ‘Jerry No 2”. On the rear it says “Flip your ashes on Old Piggy″ and “Violation of Poland. Inside is a cartoon image of Goering. The design is a tongue in cheek one executed by the outstanding designer Enoch Boulton. These pots were viewed as being a little bad taste at the time, especially the ultra-rare large one that rotated on a wooden base and played “Rule Britannia”. Funnily enough I never realised that this one existed. An internet guy emailed me looking to buy my Mussolini and he ended up selling me the Goering one.

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Mussolini Propaganda Ashtray

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , , , , on December 14, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_StatesHere’s a particularly ugly bit of home decor. It’s a caricature of Benito Mussolini, intended as an ashtray and manufactured by Bassons Dummy Products of New York City in 1942. There’s one of Adolf and Tojo as well which I shall cast the Eye of Sauron onto and track down.

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Tippco Tin Toy Kübel, Crew and Pak-36

Posted in Toys with tags , , , on June 6, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svgThe Tippco Toy Company made these vehicles between 1934 and 1939. Tippco was a German-Jewish owned company whose owner was forced to sell for pfennigs on the reichsmark and emigrate to England. This one is called a Kübel and tows a Pak-36 AT Gun. The crew is made of Elastolin. The engine still winds and it has a forward and reverse gear and steerable wheels. Makes me want to go and invade Miniature Poland.

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You’re a Sap, Mister Jap Lyric Sheet

Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags , , , on June 6, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_StatesI never get sick of the overt racism inherent in the US response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Here is the sheet music for the December 23rd 1941 hit by the Murphy Sisters, “You’re a Sap, Mister Jap”. On a side note the A-B-C-D that the song refers to is the joint alliance of America, Britain, China and the Dutch, most of whose naval assets were sent to the bottom of the South Java Sea by the Japanese in early 1942.

You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, you make a Yankee cranky
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, Uncle Sammy’s gonna spanky
Wait and see before we’re done
The A, B, C and D will sink your rising sun*
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, you don’t know Uncle Sammy
When he fights for his rights, you’ll take it on the lammy
For he’ll wipe the Axis right off the map
You’re a sap, sap sap, Mr. Jap

You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, you make a Yankee cranky
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, Uncle Sammy’s gonna spanky
Wait and see before we’re done
The A, B, C and D will sink your rising sun
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, oh what a load to carry
Don’t you know, don’t you know, you’re committing hari-kari
For we’ll wipe the Axis right off the map
You’re a sap, sap, sap, Mr. Jap

You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, oh it makes a Yankee cranky
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, Uncle Sam’s gonna spanky
Wait to see before we’s done
The A, B, C and D will sink your rising sun
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, oh you don’t know Uncle Sammy
When he fights for his rights, you’ll take it on the lammy
For he’ll wipe the Axis right off the map
You’re a sap, sap sap, Mr. Jap

You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, oh what a load to carry
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, you’re committing hari-kari
For we’ll wipe the Axis right off the map
You’re a sap, sap sap, Mr. Jap

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Lineol SA Truppen Figures

Posted in Toys with tags , , on June 5, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svgThis group of SA figures was made by the Lineol company sometime between 1933 and 1945. Interestingly these are not made out of plastic but rather from a combination of wood waste and resin. You can identify Lineol brand vs their competitor Hauser by looking for rectangular bases on the figures. In this case I was lucky enough to find a set with their original boxes. Wonderful, now I just need to find a little über-brat who wants to recreate Kristallnacht.

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Anti-Hitler Matchbox Cover

Posted in Propaganda Items with tags , , on June 4, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_United_KingdomBritish-made, celluloid-covered metal cover designed to hold a box of wooden matches. Front shows hand with thumb and fingers labeled “China/Britain/America/Russia/Free French” squeezing Hitler’s neck. The one side panel of the piece reads “The Greatest Enemy In History Against Humanity Is At Last In The Allies Grip.” The back of the piece has verse “Mussolini’s Note To Hitler/Why Oh! Why, Must I Die, All Through You, Oh! The Pity Of It All. With One Sharp Twist/Of That Wrist,/We’ll Both Be Through/I’m Sure We’re Heading For A Fall/Yours Broken-Heartedly,/Mussolini.”

Such fun!

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