Imperial War Museum uniforms

[Drew Wright]

Guys:

I took these pics when I was at the IWM and can't remember to whom these were supposed to belong. Can anyone tell me? Also, was is the opinion on originality?

Thanks in advance,

Drew

[Drew Wright]

Second and last uniform...

[Drew Wright]

No ideas???

[Robin Lumsden]

As I recall, the white one was sold to the IWM by a British dealer.

[Drew Wright]

As I recall, the white one was sold to the IWM by a British dealer.

Hahaha; love that response. One can read much in to it!

Did it come with an attribution to a specific individual by chance?

Regards,

Drew

[Robin Lumsden]

Hahaha; love that response. One can read much in to it!

Did it come with an attribution to a specific individual by chance?

Regards,

Drew

Drew.



It did indeed come with an attribution, but I'm struggling to remember who it was attributed to.

Lammers seems to ring a bell, but my memory is not what it was.

The IWM bought many of its items from collectors and dealers over the years, including their 'L/12' 20th July Wound Badge, which came from the US.

Many visitors assume that everything in the museum must have been vet acquired by British troops.

[Robin Lumsden]

The IWM have even had to fall back on old Lumsden (word for word) for some of their research information....................................

An extract from their catalogue of exhibits.............

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EXHIBITS ARCHIVE - SEARCH RESULTS - RECORD 7 of 11

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</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD colSpan=7></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD width=22></TD><TD></TD><TD><B>ID Number: </B>
<B>EPH 4478</B>

</TD><TD></TD><TD><B>Item Name: ring, SS 'Death's Head' (Totenkopfring der SS) [insignia]</B>

</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD colSpan=7></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD background=/common/images/rule.jpg colSpan=5></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD colSpan=7></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD colSpan=5><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD>Production Date: 1934

</TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD colSpan=5></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD background=/common/images/rule.jpg colSpan=5></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD colSpan=5></TD><TD></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD colSpan=5><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD>The recipient of the ring was one Richard Reinhard Ferdinand Pruchtnow, son of master butcher Friedrich Pruchtnow and Martha (nee Platzke), born 8 April 1892 in Berlin. Richard Pruchtnow served in the First World War from August 1914 to November 1918, and was wounded once. He was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class, as well as the War Service Cross with clasp for his service. He worked in banking and insurance throughout the 1920s, joining the SS in November of 1931. The SD employed him until August 1934, and then in the headquarters of the SS in Berlin until his death (from liver cancer) in June 1943. No further details of what his work entailed is available. The ring came to the museum through a friend of an American veteran, who reportedly confiscated it from Ilse Koch during the liberation of the concentration camps at the end of the war. It is not clear how she came to be in possession of the ring.
History of the Totenkopfring der SS (SS Death's Head ring): instituted by Himmler on 10 April 1934, the Totenkopfring was not classed as a national decoration as it was a gift of the Reichsfuhrer. However, it ranked as a senior award within the SS brotherhood, recognizing the wearer's personal achievement, devotion to duty, and loyalty to the Fuhrer and his ideals.
The concept and runic form of the ring was undoubtedly adopted by Himmler from pagan German mythology, which related how Thor possessed a pure silver ring on which people could take oaths and how binding treaties were carved in runes on Wotan's spear. The Death's Head ring comprised a massive band of oak leaves deeply embossed with a Totenkopf and a number of symbolic runes. Each piece was cast and hand-finished by specially commissioned jewellers working for the firm of Otto Gahr in Munich, and was finely engraved inside the band with the letters 'S.lb' (the abbreviation for 'Seinem lieben' or, roughly, 'To Dear') followed by the recipient's surname, the date of presentation and a facsimile of Himmler's signature.
Initially, the weighty silver ring was reserved primarily for those Old Guard veterans with SS membership numbers below 5,000 but qualifications for the award were gradually extended until, by 1939, virtually all officers with over three years' service were eligible. Award of the ring could be postponed if the prospective holder had been punished for contravention of the SS discipline code. Each ring was presented with a citation which read 'I award you the SS Death's Head Ring. The ring symbolizes our loyalty to the Fuehrer, our steadfast obedience and our brotherhood and comradeship. The Death's Head reminds us that we should be ready at any time to lay down our lives for the good of the Germanic people. The runes diametrically opposite the Death's head are symbols from our past of the prosperity which we will restore through National Socialism. The two Sig-Runes stand for the name of our SS. The swastika and the Hagall-Rune represent our unshakable faith in the ultimate victory of our philosophy. The ring is wreathed in oak, the traditional German leaf. The Death's Head Ring cannot be bought or sold, and must never fall into the hands of those not entitled to wear it. When you leave the SS, or when you die, the ring must be returned to the Reichsfuehrer-SS. The unauthorized acquisition of duplicates of the ring is forbidden and punishable by law. Wear the ring with Honour! H. Himmler.'
The ring, which was to be worn only on the ring finger of the left hand, was bestowed on set SS promotion dates. All awards were recorded in the Dienstaltersliste, or Officers' Seniority List, and the personnel files of the holders. All ring-holders who were demoted, suspended or dismissed from the SS, or who resigned or retired, had to return their rings and citations to the SS Personalhauptamt. Those later accepted back into the organization would again qualify for the ring. When a serving ring-holder died, his relatives could retain his citation as a keepsake, but had to return his ring to the SS Personalhauptamt which arranged for its preservation in Himmler's castle at Wewelsburg in permanent commemoration of the holder. Similarly, if a ring-holder fighting with the Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS was killed in action, his ring had to be retrieved from the body by members of his unit and returned by the unit commander to the SS Personalhauptamt for preservation. In effect, the returned rings of dead SS men constituted military memorials and were cared for as such at Wewelsburg's ever-growing 'Schrein des Inhabers des Totenkopfringes' or 'Shrine to Holders of the Death's Head Ring'.
The Death's Head Ring became so sought-after an honour that many SS and police men not entitled to wear it had a variety of unofficial 'skull rings' produced in gold and silver by local jewellers and even concentration-camp inmates. However, these lacked any runic symbolism and were rather vulgar representations of the real thing.
On 17 October 1944, the Reichsfuhrer-SS cancelled further manufacture and presentation of the Totenkopfring for the duration of the war. In the spring of 1945, on Himmler's orders, all the rings which had been kept in the shrine were blast-sealed into a mountainside near Wewelsburg, to prevent their capture by the Allies. To this day, they have never been found. Between 1934 and 1944, around 14,500 rings were awarded. As at 1 January 1945, according to official SS statistics, 64 percent of these had been returned on the deaths of their holders (i.e. those rings to be buried at Wewelsburg), 10 percent had been lost on the battlefield, and 26 percent were either still in the possession of ring holders or otherwise unaccounted for. That would mean that, in theory, about 3,500 rings might have been in circulation at the end of the war. Information derived from 'SS Regalia', by Robin Lumsden.


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[DonC]

I believe the white one was attributed and the black was not - I could be wrong. I will look over the photos I took in November and see if I caught any of the wording. Did you see Göring's tunic, Drew?

Don

[NTZ]

I would love to get a better look at the visor geeks Holy Grail, the white Alg. It sure looks pretty good at a distance.

[Drew Wright]

I believe the white one was attributed and the black was not - I could be wrong. I will look over the photos I took in November and see if I caught any of the wording. Did you see Göring's tunic, Drew?

Don

Don:

Thanks much. Yes I did see it and have some blurry pics of it. For some reason, I couldn't get any in focus pictures of that one...

Drew