Polish battledress Italian campaign

[Garth Thompson]

Garth, what’s the story behind your acquisition of this BD?

Tony,
As I put in the previous post it came from a New York/New Jersey area dealer. I saw it at the ASMIC convention in Ohio this year and worked a trade with him. As is usual with these guys, he failed to get any name or family information.
Garth

[Antoni Zawadzki]

Tony,
As I put in the previous post it came from a New York/New Jersey area dealer. I saw it at the ASMIC convention in Ohio this year and worked a trade with him. As is usual with these guys, he failed to get any name or family information.
Garth

Thanks Garth. You must've posted your initial reply to my question just as I was placing my post. Too bad about the lack of a name. It's a shame that these things get lost. Any knowledgeable dealer knows that a named piece is worth a premium, so it's possible that the seller may not have had this info. But regardless, congrats on picking up a real cracker of a BD! And thanks again for sharing the pics.

Best regards,
Tony

PS Earlier I mentioned General Anders' wound bar . . . here's a pic of the great Władysław Anders in uniform showing the bar with it's eight stars for battlescars suffered during both the Border Wars following WWI and the September 1939 Campaign where he sustained a serious leg injury that did not receive proper medical treatment during his two years as a Soviet prisoner. This left him with a permanent limp.

[vicjoy1945]

Hey Guys !!

Chiming in late...but...what the hey !!

I was aware of the availability of this BD and would have purchaed it in a heartbeat had it been identified. I know the original seller very well and had he been the individual who picked it up I guarantee he would have gotten a name !! The "picker" probably brought the BD to him.

In any case, my Dad who served with the Polish II Corp had ribbon bars constructed in the exact same manner. I remember them well as a kid. I use to make my Dad pull out his medals, patches, photos, etc, etc often and show them to me. Over the years, the "ribbons" came apart and the small segments fell out. I haven't been able to find them in my folks house. I remember each color in the Monte Cassino "ribbon" was a separate "plastic" piece and the housing for the ribbon bar was concave. Each segment fit into the brass housing that had a small lip that kept it in place. Boy I'd like to find em again !! Incidently, my Dad's 3rd DSK "patch" was of a multi-piece construction made of the same "plastic."

The placement of the Polish tab, II Corp patch, and 5th Kressy patch doen't really bother. If you have the book "Passer By"...check page 120 for the photo plate 71. This has a picture of Lt. Gen Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko and General has a very similar patch arrangement on his sleeve.

The 8th Army patch seems very low on the sleeve...could there have been another patch above this ?? Usually this patch is immediately below the Polish tab.

Another thing to remember is that the Poles were very proud of their service for their country...many joined veteran's organizations here and abroad. Quite a few of the veterans put together uniforms to wear in ceremonies and parades...often using orginal insignia. I attend Memorial Day services every year as my father is buried in a special section dedicated to Polish solders and often the veterans attending the ceremony wear uniforms. In fact, my Dad had a BD uniform he put together to wear in parades as he was one of the organization's flag bearers.

Thanks again for showing this wonderful uniform !!

Vic

[Bluenosejohno]

Polish cap badge

I have picked up in Toronto a polish cap badge it is metal and black in colour the eagles head has no crown, on the back of the badge are a two metal prongs and stampped into the centre of the shild are W8A 518 with a German nazi german stamp above the lettering. Does anyone know what unit this belongs to? many thanks for finding the time to read this post. John

[Antoni Zawadzki]

I have picked up in Toronto a polish cap badge it is metal and black in colour the eagles head has no crown, on the back of the badge are a two metal prongs and stampped into the centre of the shild are W8A 518 with a German nazi german stamp above the lettering. Does anyone know what unit this belongs to? many thanks for finding the time to read this post. John

Any chance of seeing a pic?