Wallonian volunteer collar tab

[C. Kleijn]

In the excellent publication 'For Rex and for Belgium', by Marc Rikmenspoel and Eddy de Bruyne, two portrait photos of Wallonian volunteers wearing the Burgundy cross collar tab are included. According to this book, they were officially issued to Rexist refugees in the 28. SS-Freiw.Gren.Div. "Wallonien", late 1944, to replace the runes, but were only worn for a short period. I have never seen one in collections, but they were most certainly issued. Can anyone show me a photo of such a tab? Was it worn in combination with the Burgundy cross arm shield or with the standard Wallonian sleeve shield?

With kind regards,

Cees

[Greg Domian]

I only know of one wallonien collar tab in any collection and that belongs to Bob Hritz. maybe if he sees this, he will post a pic or two. I have lusted over it for years.


Greg

[C. Kleijn]

Thank you for the clarification Greg. Would love to see a photo of the example you mentioned. If I recall it correctly, you have one terrific Burgundy cross arm shield in your collection. Do you know if these were ever worn? These must be as hard to get as the collar tabs.

Cees

[Greg Domian]

I do not believe these shields were ever worn. At least no pics have ever surfaced showing them being worn. I think the collar tab is rarer in my opinion as I have seen 3 of them where as I have only seen one collar tab. The 3 shields I have seen all have the same, what I call an anomolly in there shape that would indicate that they cam from a bundle. Again, produced but never distributed for wear.


Greg

[Bob Hritz]

Hello Cees,

I have attached a photo fo the Wallonien collar tab. I would like to see the photos of the collar tab in wear.

Bob Hritz

[Gary Wood]

Hello Cees,

I have attached a photo fo the Wallonien collar tab. I would like to see the photos of the collar tab in wear.

Bob Hritz

Bob,
Great patch , I would also like to see pictures of this type of tab being worn as well
cheers
Gary

[C. Kleijn]

Hello Bob,

Thank you very much for posting this fabulous tab. Here are some photos of the tab in wear. They are depicted in 'For Rex and for Belgium', a book about the Walloon political and military collaboration. I will quote what Rikmenspoel and De Bruyne write about the Rexist refugees, who wore these tabs:

'During September 1944, Degrelle ordered compulsory enlistment into the 28. SS-Freiw.-Gren.Div.Wallonien of all Rexist refugees aged 16-55 who had fled to Germany in September 1944. Alleged full battle strength of the Walloon unit reached 3,500 to 4,000 men. The reality, however, was different. Only a small number of these 'volunteers' were fit for battle duties.'

The man on the photo below is a 52 years old Rexist refugee, who was enrolled on 8 October, 1944.

[C. Kleijn]

Here is a younger Rexist refugee - photo also taken in October 1944. Both photos appear in Soldbücher.

[C. Kleijn]

Greg, thanks again for your clarification. Would it be possible to see a photo of the Burgundy cross shield, either here or by e-mail? I did a quick search on this forum, but couldn't find it anymore.

Cees

[werner]

Hi
Here is one.
You can see the badge


Regards
Werner

[C. Kleijn]

Hello Werner,

Thank you for your contribution. I would love to see some close-ups of the items you posted. Can you show us the inside of the Soldbuch? I have never seen that one before.

With kind regards,

Cees

[werner]

Hello Werner,

Thank you for your contribution. I would love to see some close-ups of the items you posted. Can you show us the inside of the Soldbuch? I have never seen that one before.

With kind regards,

Cees

Yes,

Here are some pics

#1

[werner]

#2

[werner]

Sorry for the big size but when i try to reduce, the quality is really poor !!!!

#3

[werner]

#4