BGS BundesGrenzSchutz

[Klaus1989]

interesting video. Have seen period photos of camo caps without insignia or buttons before. Not sure why it done. Most for sale are Sturm garbage though. Have only seen 1-2 genuine Sumpftarn caps offered for sale in 6+ years collecting.

Recently acquired 1950s BGS brown leather belt for Meister/officer ranks, which could be of interest here. First for sale, that I have seen for sale. Markings are only size stamp and previous owner name. The easiest way to tell from WH is strange reddish thread unique to BGS officer equipment (mapcases also), where WH used mostly white thread.





My 1950s Meister i. BGS summer tunic display is almost complete. Need only brown Astra holster, which I have never seen. Maybe if I wait long enough...



Regards
Klaus

[Gordon Craig]

Klaus,

Nice to see such good picture of this belt.

Regards,

Gordon

[Collectinsteve]

VERY nice find. I have never seen the belt in detail before. It could be easily confused with DDR MdI belts if the pictures aren't very good.

As for the BGS hats, there are very few of them on the market. I save pictures of them each time I find one for sale or someone shows a hat in their collection. It's not a very full folder on my harddrive, that's for sure! As far as I can tell they were only made in the period 1958-1963 (roughly speaking).

I bought a genuine hat cheap on Spanish eBay many years ago and then a second that was not so cheap. I might have a third somewhere, but I forget if I do. Fortunately they are very easy to distinguish from the crap STURM hats.

Steve

[Klaus1989]

The belt has typical West German construction with pebbled buckle, which help to identify from DDR belts. It is very nice quality. More likely, that scrupleless seller would try to sell as WH..

3 sumpftarn caps in your collection?! That is more, than I have seen! I lost bids on one a few years ago, because it went for over EUR 100.

[Marksharky]

BGS Bandage

It's been a while since there has been anything new on this BGS thread, so here's a little something from the dusty back shelves of my collection to get this going again....... This bandage is marked "Bundesgrenzschutz" and it is dated 1962. I don't know much about the different types of field bandages that the BGS used, but I certainly find them interesting.

If anyone has more information about these field dressings, or has any in their collection that they could share, that would be great!

I think these photos describe mine best:

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[Klaus1989]

It's been a while since there has been anything new on this BGS thread, so here's a little something from the dusty back shelves of my collection to get this going again....... This bandage is marked "Bundesgrenzschutz" and it is dated 1962. I don't know much about the different types of field bandages that the BGS used, but I certainly find them interesting.

If anyone has more information about these field dressings, or has any in their collection that they could share, that would be great!

the West German subforum has not been so active lately. I have more BGS equipment, that I will post sometime later.

Your bandage is for burn wounds (and other large injuries). Metalline is patented bandage design from Lohmann. This type of larger bandage would be carried in first aid or medical kits.

I have several 1950s/60s small bandages for the bandage pockets in tunics. All from Ypsilon KG, Troisdorf but are slightly different. 2 are marked Bundesgrenzschutz. The light green one is earlier type and show stains. I can not bring myself however to "dissect" any of them.





Regards
Klaus

[Marksharky]

Thanks for posting the photos of the smaller bandages. I have been on the look-out for some of these to fill out my "field gear", but haven't found a source, or stumbled across any in the usual marketplaces.
I received mine from a good friend , and fellow collector in Berlin. He also sent me a newer issue bandage of the same size and type dated in the early 2000's. I'll pull that one out tonight and post a photo or two.

The older 1962 bandage was already opened when he received it, so I did not have to feel guilty about "dissecting" it. The exploratory venture had already been completed for me!

To go along with the bandage conversation, here is a BGS first aid card that is dated 1984. It is unissued.

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[Marksharky]

BGS Hankerchief

Here is another BGS item that I added to my collection recently. It is a BGS issued hankerchief that dates to the 1950's or 1960's. From what i understand, these were standard issue in the 1950's, 1960's and into the 1970's. I have spoken to BGS veterans who served in the late 1980's who were never issued one of these, so that 50's to 60's date would seem to fit.
The hankerchief is unmarked, however I did receive it from a BGS veteran who attested to it being actual BGS issue. I would love to spot one of these in an old period photo!

I find one of the most challenging parts of collecting, is finding all of the "little stuff" that would fill the pockets and pouches in the field gear!

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[Gordon Craig]

Marksharky,

Interesting that these were used by the BGS. They are also used by the BW. I found one in the pocket of a uniform and they are shown on page 298 of Schuster's book. Mine is not marked either.

Regards,


Gordon

[Marksharky]

Interesting that these hankerchiefs were used by both BGS and BW. I wonder if they were available to all of the German service organizations as well. Like THW, etc. I find that some of the most challenging things to find when collecting, are the small "everyday" things that are original to the period. I often wonder what one would find in the pockets of a period uniform. The WW2 era pocket contents were documented quite well by US field intelligence when prisoners were "inventoried", but I think that the Cold War era is going to be speculation. I would guess that a BGS officer would most likely have a few issued and civilian things mixed in. I recently added a period BUND sewing kit to my field gear. "It's the little things" that round out a field pack display!
As an interesting side note, when I was a a Sheriff's Deputy back in the 1980's, and resigned to take a position as a Police Officer, I emptied the contents of my uniform pants pocket onto a Xerox machine and "photographed" the contents along with my open wallet with Officer ID and badge. I did it on a whim at the time, but I must say that it is pretty interesting to look at that "time capsule" Xerox photo now! A lot of insight can be gained from those little details!

[Marksharky]

BGS Scarf

Here is another interesting uniform accessory that is often seen in the old photographs.
This BGS issued scarf is marked "BGS", and appears to be dated 1963. It is actually a darker green than the photos show. It is a great addition to my 1960's era display.

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[Klaus1989]

I have several of these also. All are dated 1963 and I have never seen another year... Because they are lightweight material, I suspect, that they could be scarves for the Dienstanzug. The early thick wool scarf with green stripe is harder to find. I posted mine on page 46 of this thread.

Regards
Klaus

[chiffonnier]

BGS visor

This one came in this week.
I couldn't resist it for the online buy it now price of 10 euro.
All the best,
Kees

[Klaus1989]

Kees,
nice Schirmmütze in the wool/polyester material. Appear to be dated 1961? Would be very early example if so, as was switched to this material 1960/61 (earlier caps are from Filzstoff). Nice find!

Regards
Klaus

[chiffonnier]

Kees,
nice Schirmmütze in the wool/polyester material. Appear to be dated 1961? Would be very early example if so, as was switched to this material 1960/61 (earlier caps are from Filzstoff). Nice find!

Regards
Klaus

Klaus,you have keen eyes.
Yes 1961 is the date.
Thank you
All the best,
Kees