Polish Army uniform badges and POW tag

[jisaak6]

Hi from Canada - I am new to the site and thanks for letting me join. I am trying to find some info on Polish army badges and a POW tag that belonged to the grandfather of my daughter in law. Not much is known and I would greatly appreciate any information that could be provided or directing me to an appropriate group. Please see photos attached...at least I hope they attached!

Many thanks!

[Krakow1]

The dogtag " Kriegsgefangene Durchgangs Lager , not sure A " stands for " POW Transit Camp Number ,not sure, A " and prisoners number 675.
That says to me he was captured at some point, most likely in Warsaw Uprising, later freed and joined the II Corps in Italy. Also the lack of the Monte Cassino Cross suggests later arrival to the II Corps.
Jisaak6 is that all badges/Crosses that You have ?

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi jisaak, and welcome.

This soldier served in the Polish 2nd Corps, which fought alongside the Allies in the Mediterranean theater during WW2.

On the left are a couple of “hat eagles”. The one on top is manufactured by Lorioli of Milan, Italy. It should have a maker-marked spinner on a threaded post.

Moving clockwise are a pair of khaki drill uniform shoulder flashes.. These were suspended from the shoulder straps. The one of the left is actually the right side flash displaying the British 8th Army shield, an honorary bestowal to the Poles following their participation in the victory at the Battle Of Monte Cassino in May 1944. Next up is left side flash bearing the “syrenka” (mermaid of Warsaw) shield on blue background denoting 2nd Corps Base service.

Then we have a pair of shoulder titles, with these ones being of Palestinian manufacture.

Below are a pair of collar pennons in red/yellow for Military Police. Lorioli was also a producer of these, and these should have maker marked spinners of the same type as the eagle badge mentioned earlier.

Continuing clockwise are British 8th Army shields (one sitting upside down), and then a printed 2nd Corps insignia followed by a bullion thread version.

The German issue dog tag suggest that your daughter-in-law’s grandfather was a POW. Many Poles freed from German captivity in 1945 enlisted in the Polish 2nd Corps Stationed in Italy. My father has a similar story, although he was a forced labourer deported from Poland in 1941.

Hope that helps. Thanks for sharing these with us. Cheers,
Tony

[A.J. Zawadzki]

oops, cross-posting with Krakow.

[jisaak6]

Many thanks for your reply Krakow1, greatly appreciated!

[jisaak6]

Hi jisaak, and welcome.

This soldier served in the Polish 2nd Corps, which fought alongside the Allies in the Mediterranean theater during WW2.

On the left are a couple of “hat eagles”. The one on top is manufactured by Lorioli of Milan, Italy. It should have a maker-marked spinner on a threaded post.

Moving clockwise are a pair of khaki drill uniform shoulder flashes.. These were suspended from the shoulder straps. The one of the left is actually the right side flash displaying the British 8th Army shield, an honorary bestowal to the Poles following their participation in the victory at the Battle Of Monte Cassino in May 1944. Next up is left side flash bearing the “syrenka” (mermaid of Warsaw) shield on blue background denoting 2nd Corps Base service.

Then we have a pair of shoulder titles, with these ones being of Palestinian manufacture.

Below are a pair of collar pennons in red/yellow for Military Police. Lorioli was also a producer of these, and these should have maker marked spinners of the same type as the eagle badge mentioned earlier.

Continuing clockwise are British 8th Army shields (one sitting upside down), and then a printed 2nd Corps insignia followed by a bullion thread version.

The German issue dog tag suggest that your daughter-in-law’s grandfather was a POW. Many Poles freed from German captivity in 1945 enlisted in the Polish 2nd Corps Stationed in Italy. My father has a similar story, although he was a forced labourer deported from Poland in 1941.

Hope that helps. Thanks for sharing these with us. Cheers,
Tony

Many thanks Tony! This is great info, as like many veterans, the family never knew much about his service.
The Military Police pennons tie in with a photograph that we have that show the main gate of a camp with a large sign that I make out as "17 SZWADR ZANDARMERII"...which I believe indicated Military Police. Possibly this was his unit.
From the dog tag, is there any way of knowing where he was held as a POW? I noticed on the forced labour forum pages, on page 8 or 9, that there was a dog tag very similar with the b crossed out and a capital A beside...I was wondering if the A denoted a camp?
We do know that he ended up in England after the war, married shortly thereafter and then came to Canada in the early 1950's. We know little of him or his bride, with regards to what area of Poland they originated from. These badges and dog tags were recently discovered in some old boxes in a basement that nobody has looked through in 30+ years....the puzzle continues

Once again many thanks!
jim

[Krakow1]

Jim,

Yes, the A denotes a Camp. A transititional POW Camp, a Camp where POW's were sent initially to be held and processed, before being sent to different Camps.

One Dulag, number 121 was the Pruszkow Camp where they sent people after the Warsaw Uprising. Dulag is short in Polish for the german " Durchgangs Lager.

The number 675 is his Prisoner number.

[jisaak6]

Jim,

Yes, the A denotes a Camp. A transititional POW Camp, a Camp where POW's were sent initially to be held and processed, before being sent to different Camps.

One Dulag, number 121 was the Pruszkow Camp where they sent people after the Warsaw Uprising. Dulag is short in Polish for the german " Durchgangs Lager.

The number 675 is his Prisoner number.

Thanks Krakow!