Several years ago my father was working in Egypt on a long term job. So I was able to travel to Egypt several times to visit him, and I could then use his car to drive around. As you can guess, my top priority was not the pyramids, but the Western Desert, with El Alamein.
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Since I went there several times over the years, I was able to make some good friends there. Here we are eating a meal the way they do it. I have to say their food was extremely good, and quite healthy to. I didnt see any obese people in the desert. -
One of my goals while over there was to try to find few relics of the battle of El Alamein. When possible, I would ask people if they had any junk they had found in the desert.
The kind of guys in the photo below sometimes had a few coins or small items they had found during their daily activities. He is preparing some boiling hot tae to drink in the desert. He said that sometimes people are unlucky and build their fire over some mines or unexploded shells.Comment
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One day one person had this little badge amongst his items found in the desert.
This kind of personal object lost by soldiers is one of my favorit types of collectibles, though most people would say that it has "no collectible value".
Quite a few random items like this are lost on battlefields and can be found amongst other mass produced and impersonal military items, like unit badges, etc.Comment
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Anyways, about 8 years went by since I foudn the badge, and in the meantime I have become quite addicted to researching items; so this christmas I decided to find out more about the Oberrot football club.
In a minute of googling I found that Oberrot was a small town of about 3500 people, and that the football team still existed.
So I wrote up a quick letter, and sent one copy to the mayor, and one to the football club. This is what I wrote:
Dear Sir or Madame
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My name is Jean-Loup G., and I am a medical student from Nice, in southern France. My Hobby is to do research about World War 2. (…)
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My father used to live in Egypt, and so I went there to visit him several times. In Egypt there were large battles between the English, Germans and Italians in 1942. I visited the battlefield of El Alamein many times. The beguins there became my friends, and they showed my old military items that they found in the desert.<O</O
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One object that the beduins found is a small football badge with the inscription „FussballKlub Oberrot 1928.“ I am sending you a photo of this badge. Who knows how the soldier lost it. Maybe he was killed or captured?<O</O
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Is it maybe possible to do a bit of research? Who was in the Oberrot Football Club in 1928? Who in Oberrot was a member of the Afrika Korps fighting in Egypt? Did anybody from the region of Oberrot get killed in Egypt? Is there maybe a historian in Oberrot who could be interested to help me with this research?<O</O
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I know that this research is not of any importance, but I think we can discover something interesting.<O</O
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With friendly greetings from the south of France (…).<O</O
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Jean-Loup G.<O</O
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When I sent the letter, I really wasnt expecting to ever get a reply. I could imagine some civil servant opening this letter asking about a badge lost almost 70 years ago on the other side of the Mediterranean sea. What would his reaction be? Probably consternation, then laughter with his work collegues about what kind of stupid letters they receive.
So I was very pleasently surprised when I saw that I had received an email from the Oberrot football club just a few days after sending the letter; and when I read the email I just about fell off my chair!
The first words were: "Your letter about the insignia of our football club has triggered great joy and surprise here."
I found out that only two men from Oberrot had been part of the Africa Korps: Hans Niederberger, and Richard Metzger. Only one of them, named Richard Metzger, had been part of the football club.
One of the former members of the team sent me a photo of the football club back then, with Richard Metzger on the photo, standing on the right.Last edited by Jean-Loup; 02-06-2010, 02:48 PM.Comment
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Unfortunatly, the story does not have a happy ending. When soldiers lose something on the battlefield, there is often a very good, or shoudl I say "very bad" reason for it.
Richard Metzger was serving in 6th Kompanie of Panzer Regiment 8 on July 17th 1942 in the area of El Alamein, when he was killed in action. By some strange twist of events, Hans Niederberger was nearby and "had to recover his dead comerad Richard Metzger from a tank that had been hit by the English."Comment
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Today Richard Metzger remains far away from home with his comerades, the in the El Alamein German military cemetery, that receives brief visits from tourists on their drive between Alexandria and Siwa or Marsa Matruh.
Most of Richards former football team mates shared his fate. All the ones with a cross on them on the photo but one were killed during the war.Last edited by Jean-Loup; 02-06-2010, 02:49 PM.Comment
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The result of this little research project was very rewarding for me. The only problem is that the Football club would like its badge back, to put it in a display case. They sent me one of their modern badges in exchange. I am still pondering on what I should do...
JLComment
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Mighty interesting thread. Too bad it does not have a happy ending.Comment
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Send the badge
Wthout hesitation, without a doubt,,send it back It is the right and honorable thing to do..I really can't understand why you would even have to wonder...It means so little to you and so much to them..Do something in memory of the young man who lost his life so many years ago...Send a part of him home..........Comment
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This was a very personal item for Richard as he took it into battle with him. I really think it should be returned to the Football club in my opinion. I realize that the badge means a lot to you, but it means much more to them as he was a fallen member and it is obvious they care about their history.Originally posted by Jean-Loup View Post
Great thread by the way Jean-Loup!
SteveComment
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Awesome thread! Obviousily its up tp you whether you want to return the badge. Just remember that if you pass away or part with it prior,the badge will probably have little meaning for the new owner. Just another trinket among so many found in fleamarkets. For the club which has been around since at least 1928 it will be a treasure whose history and story of sacrifice will out live us all.Jim
PS You are now part of that story.Comment
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Fantastic thread and amazing how much you found out rgds Dave
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Great thread! Thanks for sharing the item and the research results! Adding a face and a story to an item is a great experience!
Regards, GiorgosComment
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