Hi Helldude. Wow! So your Great Grandfather was actually there. That's incredible! I hope you don't mind me asking but is he still alive? Do you or members of your family have recollections of him talking about the battle?
Hi Helldude. Wow! So your Great Grandfather was actually there. That's incredible! I hope you don't mind me asking but is he still alive? Do you or members of your family have recollections of him talking about the battle?
He died on July 6, 1944 Case - Nuowa(in metric) but two medals sent his friend from England in 1948
Hello Helldude,
Your Great Grandfather Stanislaw Frankowski is mentioned in the book published in 1952 in London by the Historical Institute of the Sikorski Museum.
His entry is as follows:
Frankowski Stanislaw, Rank: Wachmistrz, Born: 10th April 1915, Place of Birth: Plonsk, Date of Death: 6th July 1944, Buried in Loreto War Cemetery in Italy, in grave Number: 6-C-6.
Wachmistrz Stanislaw Frankowski service number (also found on his ID Tags) was: 1915-39-III.
I hope that the above information is of some use and interest to you and your family.
Best wishes
Andrzej
All thoughts and opinions expressed are those of my own and should not be mistaken for medical and/or legal advice.
"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne
Hello Bill,
In answer to your question of the number of unissued Monte Cassino Crosses out of the 50,000 produced only 48,847 where issued leaving 1,153.
I remember in the 1970's going into the medal department at Spink and Son in St.James's in London and looking through draws full of awards that they produced for the Polish Government in Exile and a draw full of Monte Cassino Crosses that they had purchased.
Those where the days when Polish Militaria was very cheap to purchase because no one knew anything about them at the same time the Militaria Market in the Uk was flooded by Panasuik Badges being passed off as originals, hence dealers where cautious when buying anything.
But anyway apologies for going off script, I hope that the above answers your question.
Best wishes
Andrzej
Thanks Andrzej. So just over 2% of the crosses produced remained unissued, a relatively small quantity making these that much more collectible in their own right. Oh, and please do continue to enlighten us with your interesting anecdotal sidebars from those days in London back in the 1970’s.
Cheers,
Tony
Last edited by A.J. Zawadzki; 09-17-2014 at 02:36 AM.
All thoughts and opinions expressed are those of my own and should not be mistaken for medical and/or legal advice.
"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne
Thank you for all the information Tony & Andrzej. You guys are great! And I will not accept your apology for going off script, Andrzej. I thank you for it. It's great!! Hearing about things like that is really interesting.
Excuse my ignorance, but Panasuik Badges have been mentioned in a few threads I've read. I'm not familiar with this. I've gathered that these badges are reproductions but can you tell me a bit about them?
Thanks again
Helldude, so sorry to hear that your Great Grandfather lost his life over there. Your family must be very proud of him though. Have you had an opportunity to visit his grave in Italy by any chance? Thanks for posting the photo.
Panasiuk is a prolific Warsaw based maker of reproduction pre-WW2 military badges. His operation has been in business for several decades. They produce faithful copies, but are not exact replicas. But this does not prevent them from being found on the market described as original badges. Collectors who have developed a basic knowledge of genuine badges can easily differentiate the Panasiuks from originals, even those that have been mated to original or copies of original spinners, as they sometimes are by unscrupulous sellers.
Cheers, Tony
All thoughts and opinions expressed are those of my own and should not be mistaken for medical and/or legal advice.
"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne
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