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That is very true, you can get almost anything if you are lucky enough to be in the right place, unfortunately I was at the wrong time. About 30yrs ago, I had been to a small militaria shop in Welwyn Garden City, which has now disappeared over the yrs. I was looking for German Helmet pins. I had taken three of mine with me just to compare any that I found. This shop had none, so I was driving back home, and for some reason decided to take the back route through the country lanes. Now I had driven this route for years as a copper, but that was normally chasing someone trying to avoid the main roads after a night of drinking. I was just poodling along, and passed a yard that went back into a courtyard with a sign that said "JUST JUNK", I,d never seen this before,( which does,nt really say much for my observational skills). I turned round a pulled into the yard and sure enough there was a little cottage style shop with gardening equipment outside,a couple of concrete statues, a few old park benches and odds and ends scattered about. I never even thought about the pins ,just wanted to look around out of curiosity, I went inside and it was packed with all sorts of "junk" so I thought maybe I might find something military. After about 30 minutes, I could,nt see nothing that interested me. and I was about to leave, when the old guy behind the counter asked if I was looking for anything particular. I said not really just looking, I thought you might have militaria in here, He shook his head, "No boy, not something I have around here normally but every now and then, something might turn up", I thanked him but we got talking, I told him of my interest and he was pretty chatty. I told him I had been over to WGC but could,nt find these pins, and I showed them to him. "Oh, you mean helmet liner pins," well this sort of floored me, he knew what they were. He then said that he had a box full of them. I was still trying to take it in. I asked him what he meant by box full. He said he had an old wooden ammo box somewhere and it was half full of these pins. My head was about to turn full circle.He told me that he could,nt remember where they came from but he,d had them for a good 30-40yrs. He called his son to go find them. He asked me how many did I want, well I had to say all of them. He asked me how much was I willing to pay, I told him I had £40 on me and that was all. Thats a deal he said provided they are what you,re looking for. 10 minutes later the son came back. He said that the mother was sick of finding bits of old junk lying about the house so she binned them about a month ago. . The old boy told his son ,go tell your mother she,s a stupid cow, weve just lost £40 quid because of her. I was completely gutted, I could hardly speak. I eventually asked him how many do you reckon were in the box. he said about a couple of hundred. I was about to leave, but I think he could see just how disappointed I was, He told me to hang on a minute. He went off and came back with a MK11 British helmet, in pretty good order, and dated 1940. "I forgot I had this, have this on me" Although I was still reeling at what happened I ended up with another MK11 for nothing. So one huge disappointment turned into a reasonable substitute. I went back there during the years until he passed away and the son shut up shop, but I never did get anymore militaria from there. But believe you me that is just about my luck with militaria, right place wrong time, everytime

Hello again @Henri. I think I bought a few items from you a couple of years ago, mostly field dressings....Good to have you on board

I 100% agree with @Henri and @Davejb ! When you DELIBERATELY sell something to invest in something else it's a good thing but if you sell something to invest in something else and the owner backs off,well...it sux big time! It's absolutely true...you can find quite a lot of items in other Countries as well,especially the USoA,in fact I still own a gorgeous M44 jacket coming from the vet's family Stateside,a couple of helmets and a few caps,coming from American vets and a few more things from Canada. These items and the ones coming out of the wood are irreplaceable though,no matter what you do!For the rest I 101% agree with @Henri..we can live without them and we can always start collecting again any time! Along the years I had built a small net of "treasure hunters" helping me out and calling me everytime they found something intersting,and they were obviously into other collecting fields,like WW1,Neapoleonic Wars,Antiques aso.They asked their friends about items and in 35 years or so I have managed to build up a nice collection,especially of WW2 German footwear,of which at a certain point I owned 300 pairs and counting,now reduced to "only" forty pairs or so...I had rented a small garage only for them! For decades I've attended the many "Bourses aux armes et Militaria" in Central and Southern France,you could read the "calendrier" each month on France's Militaria Magazine and until the very early 2000s they were a feast for the eyes;collectors from the area gathered to sell and swap their items and I just couldn't help going there;Draguignan,Puyloubier,Isle Sur La Sorgue,Aix En Provence and tens of other places full of WW2 French,German and Allied militaria from WW1 and 2,it was worth getting up at 3,4,5 'o clock in the morning to get there asap and get the best pieces,maybe after calling a friend or two the day before and ask them to look for this or that thing! Being in the right place at the RIGHT moment was crucial!I do have quite a few slings made of heavy webbing to carry the MG ammo boxes and a friend of mine was looking for one years ago,I told him that I couldn't let mine go since they were Tropical,LW,WH,early-War.mid-War,late-War ect (you know how collectors are made!) but that I would have looked for them in France.They're not EXCEEDINGLY rare but they're not that thick on the ground either!Well,a pal and I went to the "Bourse" in Draguignan one morning in February 1999,and while I was talking with a friend who was a dealer there as well I noticed that he had a HUGE lot of anything MG-related;laufschutzbehalters,drums,trommeltragers (drum carriers),leather slings,stocks,bipods,fillintheblanks.I asked him where he had found those things and he told me that he had found them the week before but he wouldn't tell where,of course!I was looking at the K98k slings mixed with the MG 34/42 ones when I noticed this HUGE cardboard box of the kind used to ship clothes.I asked him if he'd brought a fridge along and he replied "Oh,that?Nothing interesting since nobody seems to care,in fact I was about to put the box back in the van when you came and greet me!".OK,said I,what's in the box then? "Look,it's full of German medic stretchers without the frames and the handles and a few dozens straps!I've given a few to L over there but please don't ask me to open the box because I've just spent a hour wrapping it in tape and blah...blah...blah...".I went to L's table and,you've guessed that,he had a bunch of those nice heavy web straps with double carbine hooks!I went back to my French friend and asked him with my best poker face "How much would you ask for one of them straps?I need one or two,I'd have asked L but the ones you've given to him must be the worst you had because they're dirty and greasy!".He laughed,smiled and said "You're right,the ones I have are clean and I'm asking YOU 200 'Balles' (French Francs,i.e. less than €30/£23 at current rates) for a strap or 150 'Balles' (€23/£18) if you'll buy ten or more!".How many of them have you got? I asked "Don't know,I think about thirty/forty if we count out the ones I have..." OK, OK...I'LL TAKE THEM ALL...poker face mode OFF!They were beautiful,the hooks were clearly WaA'd and their paint was intact,the web straps were ink stamped and there were blue,green,gray,tan (made of tropical thick webbing with fine weave) in near-mint conditions!A few minutes later I bought twenty sets () of M I N T, U N I T - S T A M P E D internal suspenders for the M35/41 tunics from another guy and my friend bought an unrestored but 100% complete WH-issue bicycle which had been on hold for a guy who hadn't come...thankfully we went there with my pal's "old" but spacious 1993 G-300 Merc for before noon my friend had bought a fabulous and heavy LW Stromaggregat (field generator) and a mint US Jerrycan for his Willys and I bought several gas masks,two or three pairs of boots and a few stunning wooden ammo crates and a few more bits and bobs!To think that when I was preparing my coffee that morning I didn't want to go because it was frigging cold,it was pouring.it was 4 'o clock and Draguignan was a good 3-1/2 hours away from where I lived,but since I told my friend that I'd have gone I couldn't say "no" at the very last moment!

Thanks for the help with it @DAK D, I'm loving this learning curve i'm on just now...:) If I do sell it in the future, you will certainly have first dibs...:)

And how far it has come.... ive left a few things out as they're little pieces I don't want to lose but here you are:

Wow wow wow Norrie. This item is very personal as my Grandfather, whom I called Pa, was a ARPs Messenger boy. If you ever think of selling it mate please come to me first. What a beautiful item.

Well guys, One of my strong character points is: that when I have made a descision, I don't look back! What is the use of "what if...???" I rather think "What is possible.....now....or in the future!" A lot of people told me that I would regret my descision, but I always told them that I could start again every day. OK, items would be more expensive, harder to find but still could get a nice collection again. Different story of course with front items, because these are a one of a kind. After all, it is all material and that we collect is a luxery problem, like any other hobby. Now a days I rather spend my money on a nice evening out with my girl, a trip with friends to a good Belgium beer brewer, go skydiving and paragliding in the south of Germany between te mountains. Things you can't posses, but keep in your memory for life! I respect all those collectors who still enjoy collecting and I am blessed that I can visit these collections to admire. But it is more the passion of the person that I like then the items it self. It are the stories the person tells and the twinkling eyes when he tells: that is what I love! Passion and history! What I wrote before: that what I still liked ( rations, tabacco, escape items and some personal gear) is what I kept. Doesn't take up much space ( in crates) and can always decide later if I want to part with some of it. Concerning wat @HetzersGonnaHetz mentioned. Indeed you can find still stuff, but it is getting more difficult every day. But I don't agree that it is only on continental countries. Got me some of the best items from some UK and US based people (veterans or family from them). It is only the sort of items you can find is diiferent. From the vets you most time can get personal items with a story like brought back knifes, helmets, badges and stuff they used them self. In the countries they fought you can find the fieldgear, helmets, vehicle parts, ammo and sometimes weapons. But with these there is most time no story, beside "i picked it up after the war and forgot about it!" You can find WWII items every were, but have to put some effort in it! It will not knock on your door by it self!

Hoi Henri, for starters thank you for sharing these pictures!I'm glad you don't regret selling part of it,for I had a nearly identical collection (all German items,though!) and a few years ago I sold part of it to purchase a "time capsule",near-mint Kettenkrad with its Infanteriekarre and a lot of other items found by a collector/landowner in a farm on one of his properties....the bas turd backed off and decided not to let the Ket go anymore but my items were gone and I couldn't have them back!I sold the bare mannequins and put 30/40 complete uniforms (fortunately I kept them all apart from two or three duplicates and "only" sold caps,AFV/Vehicles parts,equipment and Pioniere and Nachrichten stuff )in storage and take out a piece now and then to discuss it with our friends here!All of those items were "vets" of the Italian and Souther France Fronts and I have regretted selling them ever since! @HetzersGonnaHetz is right;many,if not ALL the European Continental Countries involved in the War are still a treasure trove for collectors who know where to look at,especially Italy and France.Items are not so easy to come by as they were until the end of the 90s but there are many little treasures waiting!Again,thank you for sharing that and for bringing back great memories when my "mancave" was like that! Groetjes uit Italie Manu

As a matter of fact: the "Rupert" came out of the UK!!!! Funny storie how I got it. Mate of me is a trader and now and then made a trip to the UK to attend shows there. (we are talking about 15 years ago or so). In that time I was compleeting a British Armour Vehicle mannequin and needed a headset and mic. Asked him if he had one and he said "Think so....some were!" But one thing my mate is not orginized!!! At least not in my eyes: he calls it a logic chaos. We went into his small shop he had behind his house but could not find the damn thing. "Oh wait.....", he said "it might be in my garage that is about a mile from here......come on...we going to have a look!" Again: complete chaos, but the luck was that the garaga was half empty, so there was still some space to walk. Because of the chaos he needed to search him self on the square feet he suspected were he dropped it. In the meanwhile, like every collector, I was scanning the place, because I never was there. In a corner on a pile of boxes and bags, there was a black trashbag. I looked inside and ........yep.......the rupert and chute. Did not know what it was when I saw it in the bag so asked my friend. "Oh that.....that is a dummy......got it last week in the UK on a show!" Asked him if it was for sale? "Sure.....that is why I am a trader!" Me: "how much?" > he: "don't know....pfff.....what do you think of 300 euro complete?" For me it was a gamble price concerned, because I never looked for something like that! It was a pure case of coming across an odd item and liking it! Bought it and after that found out how rare it was! But, that is one of the items that has found a new home already!

Scottish?? Sorry but I have enough trouble with my German-Irish background. Add some Scottish to the mix and the world couldn't handle me.

Its amazing really, as a kid I had loads of original gear, mainly because it was so cheap and you could go to places like Petticoat Lane or Camden Passage and see it almost everywhere, but now i,m lucky if I can afford a bayonet every so often and thats normally from a jumble sale or junk shop if I,m lucky. In truth I have more or less stopped collecting on a regular basis. I,m 61 years old, the only person in my family who shows any interest is my adult daughter, where most of what I have left, will eventually go to her .Prices now have reached ridiculous heights and I feel sorry for younger collectors as its becoming a wealthy persons hobby, In some cases you can buy a 200year old reasonable looking Antique table ,chairs, or bureau cheaper than a German helmet. But its good that there are younger collectors out there keeping the hobby alive and preserving history

My Oberbann 1 visor cap for an early technical member. i hope you enjoy this cap as much as I do, this was the 1st cap I bought.. It is personalised to someone with the initials T.K

A cracking example of late-War M43 Einheitsfeldmutze/Bergmutze.This "vet" has seen action,is full of character and has been found several years ago.At first I thought it as a beautiful field-made cap but I reconsidered that checking it out carefully.It's been beautifully made and it's one of the M43s I love most! The earcover consists of four pieces instead of the usual two and it's been secured with stitches to the crown of the cap as was the case with many M43s and M36 and 42 sidecaps (gonna post one or two soon!) for no apparent reason,to me at least, other than aesthetics. This cap is full of great details and I'll post quite a few pictures to let you discover them one by one.The ,lining is made of thick fabric (the top) and of water-repellant cloth (the crown) nearly identical to the cloth the Windjacke was made of.There are no makers's stamp and/or date but the owner wrote his name on the lining. The top of the cap obviously comes from a recycled M36 sidecap and under the earcover there are a needle and a safety pin,still where the former owner left them. The visor is rather short,like on early-to-mid-War Bergmutzen and that's quite interesting for mid-to-late War Bergmutzen were just M43 Einheitsfelmutzen with a metal edelweiss sewn on the ear cover.In the pictures it looks longer than it actually is,but I don't know how to use cameras well,so please cope with me! This M43 has a neatly and PERIOD hand-applied T-shaped insigna (the thread it's been used to sew it was gray but it's discolored on the stitches hit by the sunlight!) well "sunken" into the cloth and a metal Edelweiss held by black thread. It's definitely not a minty,"textbook" (I HATE this term....it smells of WAFITES! ) M43 like many others I have in my collection,but it's absolutely amongst the ones I like most...... if not the ONE I like most! Sorry for attaching so many pictures but you can find nice details in each and every one of them! Cheers Manu

Ok

Ha, Sorry, but that shall remain a secret between me and the seller....:)

Dang very nice collection. You guys are so organized compared to me! I have two large bedrooms full of things you can hardly walk in them plus two smaller bedrooms almost full. Wife says once those two little rooms are full I'm done. I e caught her throwing things away that I've hid in otherrooms of the house. Just makes me wonder what she actually got away with throwing out! One day I'll clean it out organize it take photos.

Wow great start! Your on your way!

Can you make it a bit sooner, I might not be around to listen to it!!!!!!!!!

A truly stunning collection.

No...fact, and one which is commonly ignored by certain folk to bump up the price of German tunics etc. Hugo Boss ran a clothing factory which was one of hundreds of others manufacturing clothing for the Wehrmacht and SS/NSDAP organisations...fact.he never actually designed anything until after the war.

There's always one.... The medals are still in testing at the moment, I need to add them manually...

@Davejb this is Holland, so anything that was in Holland 70 years ago is probably in a fellas garage somewhere, you could probably buy rocking horse sh#t there.

Thats not a collection, its a bloody museum, you have some very rare pieces there, and where on Earth did you get a "Rupert" from with original chute, .The Airborne Museums at Duxford and Pegasus Bridge only have one each, and yours looks in better condition than both???????????

You certainly have/had a very diverse collection. I covers just about everything. Very imprssive in deed. I do love to see I am not the only one who put a filing cabinet to good use for storing.

Me too...I just got a smaller tray cabinet from work today.one of the wards were having a clear out so I managed to purloin (legally) one which was to be thrown out.don't you just love free stuff!

Nope....never regreded the decision! Still have a big part, but from the part I sold we could pay expensive bills for house costs, buy an other car and live life. Also a part of the money went into my scale model collection. I now have a stash I need to become 400 years if I want to build it all! The items I was doubting about, I kept! My opinion was that I could always sell when I wanted it. But I am not active searching to add items anymore and a specially because I narrowed my field of interest dramaticly it is also harder to add items.

Fantastically diverse collection of artefacts! Very nice and I bet you wish you still had it all!!

@Norrie, I bet you were greetin' seeing that happen...

OK, some specific items! Some sold already, some still in my possion and some I will keep.

....and some more pictures I thought you guys would like!

Some of the display cases and drawers....and other places I stacked everything!

Hi Guys, righty, again, gawd, you all know yer stuff....well impressed with your info...and actually found the dates on this liner...:) Pics below chaps...:) Only taken with the phone, best i can do for now...Hope they are of assistance...:) BTW, there's a letter M on the front and the back of the helmet...:)

@Dave I don't think that the MoH that I had ever was issued to someone, because normally they are named on the back and mine was still blanc. And most time these medals come on the market BECAUSE FAMILY sells them!!!!

Could be!

P.S.;try and write "S h i t t y " in a message,post it and...hey,presto... the word "jobby" will appear!That's what makes a Scottish forum so great...you write in English and the words come out in Scottish!

Mark,I have NEVER,EVER raised havoc in my whole life!You're giving me a bad name by saying that mate,but if you're referring to my clashes with the Mafiosos/crooks/forgers at the Shithouse,aka Wehrmacht Awards* and the Mobsters at Warelics* well....comparing those places to this is like comparing apples and oranges!This forum is the frendliest I've ever been part of and superbly moderated by the likes of Lenny and Dave!There are no primadonnas.no drama queens,no undercover sh#t-stirrers like WAF's Lucky Duck, no grave robbers like Dimas and Collectrussia* amongst the others,no convicted felons...in a nutshell;this forum is a somewhat "enlarged" family while the others are the collecting community's equivalent to St. Quentin and Alcatraz! *I stand behind my words,spoken or written while taking FULL responsability for them !

Wow guys, thanks for the support. I get where youre coming from and I'm very lucky to be here and be surrounded by experts!

I think you are well on your way. As stated before, we all started somewhere. Me, I was about your age when I first started to seriously collect. I have now tipped 50, my wife and I have raised 3 kids (all adults now) she has her horses and I have my medals, and lots of other things that she knows nothing about. It all comes with time. I do hope the attitude of the 'old collectors' have changed since I was a young buck. Back when I started, I would ask a question, pretty much told to go away kid, you are bothering me...OR you can't afford it so leave and let the real collectors have a look at my table.

Hi @HetzersGonnaHetz, I noticed that there is a WD marking and "P" code on those knuckledusters and that could be Pimlico depot in London. This particular depot in London did handle personal kit, so it is a possible clue to the originality of the item. Note : In WW2 "P" would be 1941and the format looks like WW2, as the letter code is above the WD marking. D

Oh...you're in Michigan(I thought you lived in GB or Scotland)...you can keep them 'dusters then!

I've been to Bovington a few times, probably my favourite museum..

I'm aiming for Bovington...

Fantastic, even if blackened! I had a Luftwaffe tropical belt w/early buckle that had also been blackened on the front. Found out it was commonly done upon transfer to the continent. I never tried to clean it. Wonder if they wore these also with the Rundbundhosen? Would be very hot! Any examples of the tropical ankle boots? Steve

As I am sure most of you know, I have been digging WW2 relics for nearly 20 years now. I very rarely buy anything. Why bother when I can dig stuff for free?!?!?! However, every now and again I will do the odd trade here and there to get an item to enhance my collection. A few years back now, one of your run-of-the-mill normal metal detectorists got in touch. He had a load of ground dug solid shot artillery shells that he didn't want, but before he took them down the tip, thought he'd see if I wanted them. Despite living 50 miles away, I arrived at his door ten minutes later and duly took possession of said shells. Nice lot they were too.....75mm, 17lber, 2lber and 6lbers. I had been searching for a WW2 dated 6lber shell case for some years and this just intensified my search. The ones I found were either butchered, (chopped off at the shoulder) or worse, turned into trench art. Others were up for sale but the sellers wouldn't consider a trade. I was getting very close to putting my hand in my pocket when a fellow relic hunter said he'd got one and would trade for it. So, I finally got my WW2 dated 6lber shell case, (without money changing hands), and I have now painted and married one of the ground dug projectiles with the shell case. Even though the drive band has the rifling marks, I still love this piece. Very chuffed!

a group photo of some BDM items I own , I can post them individually but I just like the photo.

Hi @Manu Della Valle, That's a fantastic pair of LW tropical tall boots. D

Hi @HetzersGonnaHetz, You are doing really well so far D

Cheers Mark, I turned 15 the other week. Got some spend that I'm saving up. That's French helmet needs a liner and chinstrap so it'll go towards them . Everyone on this forum are top blokes and they've helped me loads.

That's a good start for someone of 14 mate keep it up it's a great hobby

I have to agree with Mav, its a beautiful uniform, and it actually looks comfortable to wear, Italian cloth with satin type lining. never seen those type of trousers before especially with that belt, the blue buttons really sets it off as well