The Collection (So Far)

[WehrMike95]

I figured I'd post the collection I have so far, I have a few more TR pieces coming in but still waiting on them. In the process of moving so the pieces aren't really set up on a display but that will come once the wife and I are settled in our new home!
Either way!
Here's a few pics of my collection, spanning TR, Imperial Japan, USA and Britain with a few pieces having a personal story within the family and a bit of history!

Third Reich


Imperial Japan

I am not all that well versed on the Japanese pieces but hope to expand this part of my collection, the chopsticks are a great personal story I have learned from my Great Uncle Harold who served in Burma as a Lance Corporal and was stationed at Changi Prison in Singapore after the war, where those chopsticks were given to him by a Japanese prisoner of war as he told me, he went on to tell me the prisoner was some form of officer and had carved the box himself. His name is etched into the back, I haven't been able to really decipher it however.

British WW2

Inside the Canvas wrap marked "BWO" is a British Officers Cartography Set which was one of my Great Uncles who served in the Second World War, I am unsure as to which one because it was left to my grandfather (their youngest brother) and his memory was failing. Here is it opened, note the Broad Arrow mark. Many pieces inside are also stamped so it is a complete set, there are a few pieces that were put in afterwards however I believe by my Great Uncle. (and it has travelled a long way now with me from the UK to the USA!)

U.S. WW2

With the US Ribbon Bars I have found out they are from the U.S. Navy, I am unsure about the Victory Medal however.

 

 

I'm hoping once the wife and I are situated I have set my display up for a long term look I will definitely be posting that as an update to this!

If you see anything in the collection you can expand on, especially the US and Japanese pieces I welcome it! As those two areas are a new territory for me!

[RRA227]

Nice display.  Rich A. in Pa.

[danimal03]

Nice stuff.  That is only the 3rd NSDAP door push pate I have seen.  Ironically, I saw one in-person at the Gettysburg show two weeks ago for $135 which I though was a good price, but I put my money elsewhere...

[WehrMike95]

5 minutes ago, danimal03 said:

Nice stuff.  That is only the 3rd NSDAP door push pate I have seen.  Ironically, I saw one in-person at the Gettysburg show two weeks ago for $135 which I though was a good price, but I put my money elsewhere...

Thank you!
It was actually the first piece of my TR collection, my father who is a huge collector had a set of 6 that he got, he told me they were possibly from an embassy or war office of some kind!
I was lucky enough for him to give me one of his, but I haven't seen many others otherwise myself!

[Marshallj]

That design door push plate was readily available in the 1970's up until about 20 years ago. The British repro dealer Nicholas Morigi was the main seller. I'm afraid yours is one of his fakes.     

[WehrMike95]

8 minutes ago, Marshallj said:

That design door push plate was readily available in the 1970's up until about 20 years ago. The British repro dealer Nicholas Morigi was the main seller. I'm afraid yours is one of his fakes.     

Shame to hear that, either way a nice piece to display!

[WehrMike95]

Now the wife and I have moved into the new house and I have finally got a display cabinet sorted (and expanded the collection some) I have some new photos of the collection to share. (the books and models are mostly around there to fill in the gaps while I wait on a few things)
(The brown leather binder holds a variety of german ww2 photos and stamps, pics of which I will share when my new job lot of photos comes in and the binder is even more filled out)
All in All it provides a nice conversation piece to our dining room!



Majority of the collection is original pieces with a couple repro/fake pieces in there to fill the space til I find originals or something better.
The helmets and overseas cap however are stamped and legit. The left british helmet being a ww1 model and the right being a ww2 model.
I especially love the Luftwaffe cap cockade on the german shelf, it was a crash recovery piece and the edges have melted.

 

[RRA227]

Nice.  Rich A. in Pa.

[danimal03]

Nice collection and nice displays.  Looks nice in that cabinet.  I really like the push plate.  I snoozed on one I saw several months ago for sale.  I got sidetracked at a show and the dealer left by the time I remembered...  they are pretty scarce...

[S.ChrisKelly]

For "WehrMike95"...

 

That display cabinet is awesome! Dining room?  Wow.  That is super extra awesome!  Did you buy the cabinet "off the rack", or have it custom built? I see the light in the top of the interior.  Nice touch.

[WehrMike95]

On 7/4/2025 at 6:26 PM, danimal03 said:

Nice collection and nice displays.  Looks nice in that cabinet.  I really like the push plate.  I snoozed on one I saw several months ago for sale.  I got sidetracked at a show and the dealer left by the time I remembered...  they are pretty scarce...

Thank you! The one I have is a reproduction unfortunately but I keep it in the collection to fill some space! I've been looking to replace it with a NSDAP banner or flag when I find one for a good price. 

On 7/4/2025 at 9:37 PM, S.ChrisKelly said:

For "WehrMike95"...

 

That display cabinet is awesome! Dining room?  Wow.  That is super extra awesome!  Did you buy the cabinet "off the rack", or have it custom built? I see the light in the top of the interior.  Nice touch.

Thank you! It fits the bare wood aesthetic we were going for in the house, with the more ornate decoration on top haha! I actually bought it from a consignment store while the wife and I were shopping around for furniture for the house, it was on sale so I snatched it up! (though the wife has said if I have to upsize she calls dibs on it for her plates and such)
The light doesn't work, but I plan to replace it with an LED unit eventually that I can loop a light per shelf when I get around to doing it.

[S.ChrisKelly]

I'd like to see a close ~ up of the RAF wings in the fourth image in Post #7.

[WehrMike95]

1 hour ago, S.ChrisKelly said:

I'd like to see a close ~ up of the RAF wings in the fourth image in Post #7.

Absolutely!
It's a small RAF Sweetheart Pin, sadly the clasp at the back is a little dented up so it doesn't open anymore (and don't want to force it).

[S.ChrisKelly]

I was curious because I had one similar.  The disc in the center was blue, with the stylized "RAF" in the center, bare metal, like a "cut out" in the blue enamel paint.  It was marked "sterling" on the reverse.  It was given to my father by his maternal uncle, Murtaugh Montgonery.  Alas, now lost.  My search for a replacement was unproductive over the decades.  So many of those "sweetheart brooches" may very well have been super extra limited production, or even one or a few of a kind.  You know how the jewelry business goes.

 

Stylistically, it looked very similar to these:

 

 

Sources:

 

https://www.sallybosleysbadgeshop.com/shop.php?code=65225

 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-ww2-9ct-gold-raf-wings-281829878

 

Murtaugh Montgomery is on the left in the image below, somewhere in the U.K., during the Second World War.

 

[WehrMike95]

12 hours ago, S.ChrisKelly said:

I was curious because I had one similar.  The disc in the center was blue, with the stylized "RAF" in the center, bare metal, like a "cut out" in the blue enamel paint.  It was marked "sterling" on the reverse.  It was given to my father by his maternal uncle, Murtaugh Montgonery.  Alas, now lost.  My search for a replacement was unproductive over the decades.  So many of those "sweetheart brooches" may very well have been super extra limited production, or even one or a few of a kind.  You know how the jewelry business goes.

 

Stylistically, it looked very similar to these:

 

 

Sources:

 

https://www.sallybosleysbadgeshop.com/shop.php?code=65225

 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-ww2-9ct-gold-raf-wings-281829878

 

Murtaugh Montgomery is on the left in the image below, somewhere in the U.K., during the Second World War.

 

That's wonderful! 
The story is as important if not more so than the piece in my eyes and it's amazing to be able to trace such a story!
I got mine from Harris Militaria, https://www.harrismilitaria.com/en-GB/1-raf-ww2/prodcat_1018?reset=true
from my last look they have a couple of sweetheart brooches from the RAF on there for fairly decent prices, (being british born and bred myself I adore collecting pieces of history from my homeland)

I adore the sweetheart brooches for the part of the era we don't see all that much, a much more tender and albeit melancholy side of the war from a homefront stand of view.

{also a search found this, idk if it helps? https://www.harrismilitaria.com/en-GB/1-raf-ww2/raf-pilot-wings-sweetheart-brooch/prod_10430 }

[S.ChrisKelly]

In both the U.K. and the U.S.A., the "sweetheart brooches/pins" are the coolest collectibles.  If that's your bailiwick, when you see it, buy it!  You may never see another like it.

[WehrMike95]

Just now, S.ChrisKelly said:

In both the U.K. and the U.S.A., the "sweetheart brooches/pins" are the coolest collectibles.  If that's your bailiwick, when you see it, buy it!  You may never see another like it.

Oh 100% agree with you there!
I have been looking at a spitfire fund badge myself when I can warrant spending more on the collection, I would say also finding sweetheart brooches with the letters sent accompanying them is a special find that I'd always say get if you can!

[WehrMike95]

On 8/13/2025 at 10:38 PM, S.ChrisKelly said:

In both the U.K. and the U.S.A., the "sweetheart brooches/pins" are the coolest collectibles.  If that's your bailiwick, when you see it, buy it!  You may never see another like it.

Thought you may be interested in my finished RAF shadowbox now I've had some time to collect a few bits!

[RRA227]

Nice. Rich A. in Pa.