UBB.threads Forums Uniform & Accessories Medals & Badges of the Third Reich Forum Finnish March Badges

Just arrived from Finland are these travel pins:

Borga
Hameenlinna
Hamina
Imatra
Kemi
Kiruna (actually a Swedish town in Lapland)
Kotka
Mikkeli
Naantali Nadendal
Savon Linna

Tampere
Turku Abo
Vaasa Vasa
Vchomicm (??? hard to make this out)
Suomi Map postwar with safety pin back
Compare Suomi maps pre and post war

There are three times for the Lapland war, the Lapin Sota pin and a badge and a pin for Suomen Latu.

It is Christmas in April in the Great White North.

Enjoy,

John

Nice!
Always interesting to see how your collection expands :-)

The text says: "Vehoniemi", at least to my knowledge.

Vehoniemi is a beautiful ridge located near the city of Tampere.

A large part of the ridge is a nature reserve, and there is made of nature trails.
Heikki Tiitola, building builder, built in 1928, located on the site of ridge, and was especially popular in the 1930s.

The house visited eg. Norwegian Crown Prince Olavi in 1936, President Ky?sti Kallio in 1938,
Prime Minister Jukka Rangell and German Gestapo?s Head Heinrich Himmler in 1942.

The Red Tower, in the Badge, still exists.

https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehoniemi

Sorry for the confusion: Vchomicm (??? hard to make this out) = Vehoniemi

Thank you, Rainer.

I had a hard time trying to read the name...as you get older, eyesight is the second thing to go.

John

You're welcome, John. The main thing is that the mystery of the text was solved

I picked this little baby up in Hungary from my friend, Janos. A Nazi German - Finland friendship bracelet, unmarked, but in silver.

John

What a great looking piece! Congrats John

I have finally found the last of the Nordfront badges that I was looking for (a big thank you to my friend in Finland, Rainer).

These were issued as 4 Nordfront, 4 Lapplandfront and 4 Eismeerfront badges and were for the fight against the Russians. Finland fought long and hard with allies such as Germany and the other Scandinavian countries. I got onto these once I found that these badges were given to or purchased by Norwegians who fought alongside the Finns and the Germans.

So, here is my last badge, Die Eismeerfront (Ice Road Front) with the date 1941-43 and with white enamel.

Also, a shot of my four Eismeerfornt badges, plus all twelve together, finally.

The hunt isn't over... I am still looking for many versions of the so-called travel pins from Finland.

Hello John,

Congratulations on your replenishment of the Collection. You're one of those lucky really few people to have this whole series full !

Now that you've got the Nordfront Badges as a whole family. You will probably stop actively collecting Finland-themed characters.
This is understandable when you have spent many years on this issue.

Reading the previous post. Looks like the updates are continuing :)

Best regards
Rainer S

Now that I have finally found the last missing Nordfront badge, I will not stop looking for other Finland and possibly war related items, such as the travel pins.

In fact, you sent me one, that, while it is post war, is definitely war themed. On the face of it, it says Valmius 98, and it was issued in 1998 by the Finnish army Reserve Officer's Club to mark the loss of Petsamo and region.

I also am waiting for another pin that, with the help of our GDC's Gaspare, I found on German fleabay.

Thank you, again, Rainer, you have been a big help to me in my journey.

John

All twelve. That's quite an accomplishment. What's it been close to an eight year quest? I have throughly enjoyed watching you build your collection through the years.
Thanks for sharing.

--dj--Joe

Derjager, my oldest pictures are dated 2010, but I acquired my first one a couple of years prior to that. So, let's say that it has been a 10+ year quest.

Thank you for the kind words.

I enjoy sharing my finds with fellow enthusiasts.

John

John, have you ever read or heard of the reason for the white vs black enamel versions?

--dj--Joe

Joe, I haven't but will ask my Finnish friend.

John

No one I talked to knows why there are white and black variations of each Nordfront badge.

Anyway, just in from German fleabay (thank you for the heads up, Gaspare) is this pin, no writing, just a depiction of a skier.

J

Thanks for checking.

--dj--Joe

Now, this is an interesting travel pin.

It says TSY 1920. On the rear are engraved V 1927 7 7 and Imatra. But the image of the castle on the front is that of Turku Castle.

Thanks to my friend Rainer, I also have pictures of Turku catle, both before and after being bombed by the Russians.

A neat pin.

I showed as pentagon shaped Aavasaksa pin earlier and now have found this round pin. Here are shots of the pin and the two together.

John

variants,,nice John!

, and your TSY 1920 pin,,thats really something,,the pin, engraving, hallmarking,,very nice piece..,G.

Just arrived is this bracelet:

Suomi Deutschland 1940 1943

Finnish bear and German eagle

John

Great looking piece

I agree! Thats really a Fantastic piece!. John you are hunter extraordinaire of these pieces!.
Would be great to find a catalog or even a advert for such fantastic pieces..

John,, I've seen these with the Finn march pins attached, with a chain, a leather strap..A Finn or Norwegian item? Would you know if its anything official? Thanks..

G:

I believe that a lot of these items were not official Finnish military issue, but were created as souvenirs for the participants in the various campaigns in Finland.

I have seen this medal/tinnie before. The Ice Road Front was celebrated by this and other pins (along with the North Front and the Lappland Front).

BTW, I do have some pictures and pamphlets showing some of the Finnish campaign items somewhere, but have to dig them out, maybe take pictures.

J

Here are some pictures of a few booklets/reference pamphlets that I have on Scandinavians fighting on the German side.

Lotta Svard was the name of the Finnish women's auxiliaries. They were so fierce and successful that banning them was a key clause in the peace treaty between Finland and the Soviet Union signed on the 23rd of November, 1944.

Finland at War shows some of the badges and pins from the Winter War (1939-40) and the Continuation War (1941-44).

Volunteers for Germany shows Scandinavian posters, paper docs and pins and badges from the various Scandinavian countries in support of Germany.

J

John,,, those are fantastic!! Really great to see!!
When I collected For.Vol. stuff and occupied area items.. Man !! I had a lot of Finn stuff,,,but some of that stuff is what dreams were made from for me!!

On your 2nd color page,,,#8 & # 24,,would have paid or traded anything to get those 2!!

And page #20,,,those 4 pieces! , same,, all great pieces!.

and last , #5 Tinnie SS day 1943 ....

I know a couple are commemorative and unorthodox,,,but wished I would have had them,,,really great to see , and thanks for posting!!

Here are some of the items show in pics above that I have in my collection (I focus on the German/Norway link to Finland and the war effort).

And, my Germanske SS Norge collection, so far.

Oh man i love that 'Den Norske Legion' pin. That was just an impossible piece to get years ago [and probably still is!] .
SS Germ Norge stuff looking good too.
Congrats great pieces!

Thanks G.

It took a while to find a DNL pin, but I also found a 1970s produced one as well. Her are pics to compare.

J

Some lovely pieces there, I have a Germanske SS Norge pin somewhere, I will see if I can find it. I also the Iceland NS pin shown on page 20 of the booklet you show. Again if I can find the pictures I will post them here later.

In the mean time I just had some Lotta Svard pieces in which is an area that I am not very interested in, amongst them were these small pieces which I believe are skiing/marching badges. The gold one has makings on the back which resemble hallmarks, but I guess that they could just be maker marks, any idea?

Don

And the bronze.

There is also an enamel star with a serial number on the reverse which I think is a training badge of some sort.

Don:

Yes, those are Lotta Svard (Finnish Women's Auxiliaries) pins (skiing and marching, training star), nice conditioned items.

The Lotta Svard were so efficient and fierce that they were specifically negotiated to be banned by the Russians in their peace treaty with Finland.

John

Hi John,

Thank you for the information.

I assume that there isn't much value in these, any idea what a fair price to ask would be as they aren't in my collecting field?

Thanks
Don

Don:

These don't seem to go for a lot nowadays.

I found a fleabay listing for the white star at $15.00. I would expect to see the other pins go for $20-50 depending on who is buying.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Finland-WWII-Lotta-Svard-Badge-Volontary-Womans-Corps-White-star-Winter/253174331982?hash=item3af25dba4e:g:VWcAAOSwtGlZAi9a

John

Thanks again John,

I suspected as much, they came with a couple of Nordfront type badges & also these.....

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Also a centre piece from a Nordfront type badge & a medal....