How old were you when you started collecting?

**Vegard T** · 09-20-2012, 09:00 PM

I guess I started in the summer, 6 years ago when I was cleaning in the garage at the age of 11 and found my father's military badges etc from his time in the Army in the 1960s, I was allowed to keep them and it began. In the start I just collected anything military my wallet would allow, after a while I switched over to World War 2 after seeing a German officer visor cap and thinking "I must get one of those!" And since I had been interested in WW2 for as long as I could remember. 6 years in, and still no visor cap, I guess I should think about getting one soon.

**harryamb2** · 09-20-2012, 09:31 PM

all I can say is HI kids 1947 I started at 5years old.growing up in woolwich [garrison town RA. and the arsenal} what do you expect,keep it up guys .harry

**diver99** · 09-20-2012, 10:37 PM

I started from about six. Father was in the RAF, so had military life. Often had bits of kit from father. Early memories are war films and RAF camps. Usual learning curve of airfix kits, warlord,commando comics and then proper books. my mothers father was R.N. Died 1939, Step grandfather was R.A. In india in the 1930s.my fathers father R.E. In WW1. I had brief spell in RAF, and T.A. Infantry and Engineers. Always dipped in and out of collecting, as well as buying/selling. Was part of my job when worked in military museum. Back to buying and selling and trying to pay the bills before i buy nice things again.

**KriegMann** · 09-21-2012, 12:08 AM

I truly started around 2008-2009 when my grandfather gave me one of two 1907 Lee Enfield bayonets that he fancied up for my father and uncle, and when he started telling his stories from when he was in Korea.

**FrankBooth** · 09-21-2012, 01:58 AM

I started very young as well. When I was about 8 years old my father was a civil service worker for the U.S.M.C.. He was offered a position at Mountain Warfare Training Center in Pickel Meadows, California. At that time the base was in caretaker status and there was only my family and two others living there. There was tons of militaria and surplus all over the base that was just sitting around basically abandoned. Crate after crate of helmets, uniforms, and all sorts of gear. In the mountains all around the base were thousands of items just laying about, M-1 Garand clips, machine gun ammo belts, flares, expended ordinance, bunkers, gear, anything they had used during training troops to fight in Korea. I recall taking helmets out and shooting them up with .22 rifles on a regular basis. I was able to put a huge collection of U.S.M.C. gear together in a short period of time and continued to add to it for several years.

That's when I started collecting and have collected on and off ever since. I've stopped, sold up, and started again at least three singnificant times that I can recall where I sold fairly large collections. I've collected U.S.M.C., Camo uniforms from all over, Gulf War, and Hilter Youth. After selling up my first Hitler Youth collection which was just a lot of different stuff with no real direction other that H.J. I became much more focused this time around. I sold off most of my U.S.M.C. gear at the Great Western back in the heyday of assualt rifles to buy as many guns as I could. I'm sort of at a crossroads now, not sure if I should continue, sell up and move to a better house and nieghborhood, use the funds for travel or just keep going. It's getting more difficult and expensive to find items. I've spent a fair sum of money and amassed a lot of insignia but nothing in my collection seems to have the "WOW" factor of SS or other rare items. It's just stuff I like I guess.

**KMMorris** · 09-21-2012, 02:24 AM

15 years old. first medals were the 1941 Russian front and a WW1 iron cross.
Morris

**Chopperman** · 09-21-2012, 07:56 PM

I started when I was 9. We had a Army/Navy surplus store just down the street.
They had box after box of US patches. You could buy all you wanted--10 for $1.
This was in 1965. I'm sure they had quite a bit more than that but the shoulder
patches were what caught my eye.

I started collecting bayonets when I was 13.

**M18922** · 09-21-2012, 08:11 PM

12 years old with a salty mothers-cross.

Cheers, Patrick

**TrondK** · 09-21-2012, 09:55 PM

I am not sure when the insanity started, i remember my neighbour found a rusty helmet in a small creek and when i finally got my fingers into this fantastic interesting treasure and smelled that special rusty wonderful perfume, it started the interest for everything historical- from ancient times and until the end of ww2.

It could be i were something around 12 -13 years old.

I try to keep it under control by studying small pieces of the war instead for like i did before- buy everything with a military stamp on.

That last part keeps my wife more happy as well...

I believe some people have the passion for antiques deep deep in their soul, while others only cares for the soulless new plastic that are being delivered thru the supermarkeds and video stores.

**bigmacglenn** · 11-20-2012, 05:55 PM

I was 8 years old growing up in Germany when I found a pile of Luftwaffe Rucksacks in a family friend's barn...I was allowed to keep two of them, and I've been collecting ever since...I've sold two previous collections and am now on my third collection...but I'm done selling; In fact I regret having sold them...One of many lessons learned in this incredibly interesting hobby!
cheers, Glenn