Garry

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I saw the thread on WAF concerning the 'M' shoulderstrap but I'm not an association member over there so can't post pictures. Anyway, I remembered seeing a photo in a 1939 copy of the Westfalen HJ publication 'Unsere Fahne'. The article was written in 1939 but the photos are clearly older than that. It describes the work of the 'Funktechnische Bereitschaft' in Münster and shows a picture of a boy wearing a strap that seems to have the M on it. Now, I've personally never found anything in any publications which mention any straps with an 'M' designation so I shouldn't be seeing an M but no matter how I look at it I see one. What do you think?

Can't work out 100% what is below the "O" for Ost but Ostland or Berlin seem the only possibilities. If we assume that his shoulder strap is non-regulation and that the "M" is a "3" that has been embroidered in the wrong place and with the wrong orientation it still wouldn't match the triangle ("Ost Berlin") because Gebiet Berlin never had a Bann 3. That only leaves Ostland which did have a Bann 3 but again, why the strange orientation if that is indeed a "3"?


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Interesting photo Garry. Does indeed look like an "m", and most definetly an earlier period photo.

Edit, I think Bart is way off with thinking it is for Kriegsmarine IMO.
 
I agree Darin. As you said on that thread, very interesting that the straps shown are clearly converted which hints at something either short-lived like LBA or something late-war. Can't for the life of me think of anything beginning with M which would make sense on a HJ shoulder strap though.
 
How about "Militärschüler" (military student)? Students at some schools were called that, eg. "Militärschüler der Fliegertechnischen Schulen"

../henrik
 
HE DOES APPEAR TO BE DOING A REPAIR OR MAKING A radio device with his solder iron in hand. Wonder if the m is for a tech of some sort anyhow very interesting and something new to ponder
 
i love a mistory, it looks like a M on the boards to me aswell and what evers on the triangle it looks like it starts with a O and the bottom word a W, paul isnt that like a volts tester he has in hand as its got a wire comeing from it and not at the end whare a solder iron would have one, just tell me to shut it :D but its only a guess ;)

however its a intresting seniro
 
nope is soldering you can see the line of solder in his left hand one more ale and you will see it :lol:

paul its the ale thats doing it!!

heres what i see...well tonight anyway a negitive wire in his left had with the testing torch in the right look close and you will see the light bulb chamber light up? towards his right hand it looks to bulky at the right hand site to be just a thin solder nib :blush:

thats what i see, he is in at the guts of something anyway :laugh: and paul it could be (prob is) a soldering iron :thumbup1:
 
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You're right guys :) A part of the Funktechnische Bereitschaft (FTB) responsibility was the maintenance and repair of broadcasting equipment.

A section of the article states that the detachment was attached to the Gebiet staff which perhaps adds more weight to the notion that this is indeed an 'M' and that its meaning is related to the FTB. After all, we do know that those working on the Gebiet staff wore the 'G' designation on their straps so why not the 'M' for these boys? Just a theory at this stage though. Definitely worth exploring more I think.
 
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