Red Cross question

[uscob]

Can anybody ID this Pair of Collar Patches for me?
My guess is West German, but I can't find anything satisfying in the Net.
Came wwith some East German Stuff but htese are different.

[Gordon Craig]

Nico,

They look like West German Red Cross but I have never seen them with sewn red crosses before. Mine all have metal red crosses with gold edges.

Regards,

Gordon

[uscob]

Gordon, that's the same question I have.
Maybe a Dress Variation, Private Purchase or something in this direction.
Metal Attachment or woven I know.
do you know what "Rank" this is?

[HPL2008]

Originally, Dienststellung ["duty position"; the term "Dienstgrad"/"rank" was never used by the post-war DRK] was displayed by chevrons/bars on the collar patches. Later this was changed to sleeve badges.

I have only ever seen DRK collar patches with metal Red Cross emblems and metal chevrons/bars, but if we assume that the single lace bar means the same thing as a single metal bar, the duty position is Gruppenführer.

[HPL2008]

Just this week, I found a pair of DRK Gruppenführer collar patches with the metal devices for my collection. I thought they might be of interest here.

The second pair of images shows the right collar patch in comparison with a later specimen. Later ones are slightly larger and have thicker piping and are typically backed with plastic instead of buckram. (I have seen white and clear plastic material used.) These collar patches were worn well into the 1990s.

[HPL2008]

A little update that might be of interest here.

I just got myself an old copy of the service- and uniform regulations [Dienstordnung und Bekleidungsvorschrift] of the DRK Landesverband Rheinland-Pfalz. Unfortunately, it is not dated, but I would tentatively date it to the 1950s to mid-1960s.

While it specifies the Red Cross emblems on the collar patches to be enamelled, it describes the duty position insignia to be either metal clasps or embroidered:

"Kragenspiegel aus weißgrauem Tuch mit Rotem Kreuz aus Emaille."
"Die Dienststellungsabzeichen am Kragenspiegel sind Silber- bzw. Goldspangen oder können gestickt sein."