Paradummy

[Grimebox]

Look what floated down my chimney this Christmas!!

He's made of hessian/burlap and is stuffed with what I think is horse hair (or whatever they stuff chairs with). His hands and feet are filled with sand. The white on him appears to be plaster or similar.

For those who don't know, Paradummies were not just used on D-Day (The ones shown in the Longest Day were movie props). The Germans were first to use paradummies in the invasion of the Netherlands and also over Scotland. The Allies used them numerous times in various countries

Paradummy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[no 1 pts school]

hello grime box .

i would like to see some better pictures of the dummy please as i am not sure its an a original ..... there is too many things going on with it ... why is it covered in that white plaster stuff ???. parachute looks wrong to me .... where the chute is stowed it seems different to the ones ive seen ..
they have been faked in the past few years . as they are well sought after and command a high price

can any one on the forum enlighten us to say if its a right or wrong one ...

regards paul....

[GasMasksUK]

I've heard of these being faked myself, and I think I actually seen the one pictured above for sale a while back. I believe that they were painted white so they would be easier to spot using a searchlight, thus getting more attention than actual Para's. Another one can be seen on WD Militaria, and it does seem to be of better quality than the one shown here too, however I'm sure the quality of these did vary depending on who they were made by and when they were made. Very interesting items though

Thanks

Danny

[davejb]

I think Ade will have a say on this , he's been associated with our Para boys for a number of years and is well versed on the equipment used during the period

[James C]

very interesting

[cricketchris1944]

I am no expert on thoses items.
But I am not getting a good felling.
to me this could be a fake.
I think it is suppose to be a British dummy but not the same.
But let see what other have to say
Chris

[no 1 pts school]

the more i look at it . i am not happy with it . i have to agree with you chris .....

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, these have been faked for well over 20 years now.

I think I have some pics on file of some originals, but nothing detailed. I thought I had actually written about these before actually, but I cannot find the thread now?

I must say I am not convinced by the one shown here sorry. Never seen one with this plaster finish on it.

Cheers, Ade.

[cricketchris1944]

It is still a very nice piece to display.
The two hardest items to find original is the para dummy and the para leg bag.
Chris

[Feuerbach]

Hmm, interesting piece, what is the size of it? Could the filling be coconut hair?