Batterie Todt Soldbuch

[erichcraciun]

Hello,

here is the Soldbuch and documents to Obermaat Christian Heinsen, stationed much further down the coast in Brest and St. Nazaire.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ad.php?t=39972

[Lambert]

Very interesting Soldbuch, thanks for posting!

[Simon H]

Really nice collection of items from a member of the Batterie Todt personnel. Indeed Fargo camp only exists now as the ammunition dump for the Royal Artillery at nearby Larkhill.

Thanks for sharing.

Regards,
Simon

[dennisb]

Very nice Soldbuch, Barry! Thanks for sharing.

[desiro]

Great Soldbuch Barry.

I visited Battery Todt just a few weeks ago 15 years after my last visit.

Turm II Hidden in the forest is no longer accessible as its been turned into
a Bat sanctuary,i remember some good German murials on the walls of this Turm
on my last visit.

Turm I Museum

Turm III is just a mess following postwar explosion

Turm IV is my favourite,close to the coast with some German murials in
the lower storage areas.

Andy

[Dimitri D]

Very nice soldbuch.

[Dimitri D]

I just looked at my kriegsmarine küstenartillerie portraits collection and noticed this guy who looks the same as the one in your soldbuch.

[Dimitri D]

Let's compare :

[jmark]

Definitely the same guy.

[Erwin L]

Definetely the same guy, Dimitri. Now your portrait has a name etc

Erwin

[Stormfighter]

Thank you for posting this portrait photo Dimitri. It makes me wonder if you found this photo in France. Perhaps Wilhelm Kiel gave it to one of his French girlfriends.

The portrait photo clearly demonstrates something I have known for a long time, that is, that hair color in a Soldbuch photo can be deceiving at times. Kiel's hair color in his Soldbuch appears to be very dark, but in the studio portrait photo you have, it is clear that his hair was blond. On page 2 of the Soldbuch, his hair is listed as being blond.

Barry

[Dimitri D]

Thank you for posting this portrait photo Dimitri. It makes me wonder if you found this photo in France. Perhaps Wilhelm Kiel gave it to one of his French girlfriends.

The portrait photo clearly demonstrates something I have known for a long time, that is, that hair color in a Soldbuch photo can be deceiving at times. Kiel's hair color in his Soldbuch appears to be very dark, but in the studio portrait photo you have, it is clear that his hair was blond. On page 2 of the Soldbuch, his hair is listed as being blond.

Barry

Hello Barry,

I found this portrait few months ago on ebay Germany.

I guess this soldier pulled several copies of his portrait for give to his comrades, very common in period.

This portrait has been done in Neumünster as written behind it.

Yes he is blond, I guess the difference is depending of the photograph material.

Also you can notice he is also wearing an SA sport badge on his pocket.

So, nice soldbuch that I would love to enter in my KA collection, think to me if you let it go.

[Stormfighter]

Hello Barry,

I found this portrait few months ago on ebay Germany.

I guess this soldier pulled several copies of his portrait for give to his comrades, very common in period.

This portrait has been done in Neumünster as written behind it.

Yes he is blond, I guess the difference is depending of the photograph material.

Also you can notice he is also wearing an SA sport badge on his pocket.

So, nice soldbuch that I would love to enter in my KA collection, think to me if you let it go.

Dimitri,

Thanks for the additional information. It's interesting that the portrait photo was taken at a studio in Neumünster in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Wilhelm Kiel was born and lived in Gadeland, which is a district of Neumünster. According to page 37 of Kiel's Soldbuch, he was on leave from 23 November to 9 December 1943 in Neumünster. I would be willing to bet that Kiel's portrait photo was taken during this leave.

Yes, Kiel is wearing an SA-Sportabzeichen (SA Sport's Badge), I am assuming it's an SA-Sportabzeichen in Bronze, which is not listed in his Soldbuch.

Dimitri, you will be the first to know if I decide to part with the Soldbuch of Wilhelm Kiel

Barry

[Panzer Rob]

Very, very nice Batterie Todt Soldbuch Barry! Also very cool to see a photo of him surface from across the pond. Perhaps the two will be reunited

Best,
Rob

[Andy C.]

Amazing Barry, thanks for the link mate.