Boots: Who can read this owners name?

[Glenn66]

Awhile back I purchased a fine pair of German Officers boots in very good condition. They are knee high and quite solid with hardly any wear to the soles. The soles have a series of nails around the heel and don't appear to have ever had steel caps fitted so i'd have to say the boots were for parade use only. I knew there was some writing on the interior of each boot which I took to be the owners name and unit. Only trouble is, it is very hard to read and to decipher so I hope somebody here has a better eye than I do as well as a knowledge of abbreviated unit titles.

First up I have three shots which I think show the owners name in the clearest light.The first letter of the first word seems to be a stylized 'S' or perhaps 'F' or even a 'G'. I think if I take it to be a 'G' then I can see the name 'Gunther'? There is quite a gap between what would be the 'n' and the 't' of Gunther if that is the case so maybe it is two seperate words or abbreviations and not a name at all.





With the second word I think I see the first letter as a 'H' and thereafter 'ost' so i'm thinking the owner's name was Gunther Host. Anyone see anything different?



The next couple of shots are a mixture of images of the left and right boots and I think the number '2' is shown followed by what I think is an abbreviation and this is where i'm having the most trouble. The abbreviation could be 'ine' followed by a slash or even an 'me' followed by a slash?



The other boot has the '2' somewhat obscured but the abbreviation afterwards seems clearer and looks to me like there is a dot above the first letter so perhaps that confirms the first letter as an 'i'. The second letter could be an 'n' or 'm', the third letter looks to be an 'e' in much the same way as the other boot but here we see an additional letter not apparant in the other boot. I'm seeing an 's'? Then there is what may be the slash and that has a fullstop after it. Would it be correct to follow the slash with a fullstop? If not then the 'slash' may be something else but i'm finding it hard to get a 't' or 'l' from it.



The last word appears very clear with the second letter being a 't' as far as i'm concerned and if so then the first letter should be an 's'. Letter three looks like a 'u' and then the text is more like a series of squiggles which could be an 'n' or 'm'? Now if the word is 'Stum' or even 'Sturm' then if i'm right that the translation in English is 'Storm' then it all sounds a bit interesting but the next two letters look like a double 'f' followed by another 'l' on one boot and 'fefel' on the other boot. If there is such a word as 'Stumffl' or 'Sturmfefel' then I have no idea what it may mean as googling the word brought up nothing.





So at the end of the day I don't really know what I have here. The best I can come up with is 'Gunther Host, 2nd ???, Sturmfefel' and even if I'm right it doesn't tell me much.

I really hope some of the more experienced eyes can offer opinions on whose boots I have here and what unit he served. I'm not expecting anything extraordinary and in fact I told the wife they were a doctor's boots and because they were in such nice condition they were probably never worn outside his offices!

[Glenn66]

Really? 48 veiws and no-one can hazard a guess?

[Dean]

Really? 48 veiws and no-one can hazard a guess?

last name looks like "Hennessy" or "Honnfefel" ?????? Hey , at least i tried! Who knows? maybe it says "Hossenfeffer"!!

[Glenn66]

Finally! Someone willing to step up and take a guess! Thanks!

Now if there was someone familiar with period German script that would help as that first letter of the last word could be an 'F', a 'S' or a 'H'.

[Dean]

Finally! Someone willing to step up and take a guess! Thanks!

Now if there was someone familiar with period German script that would help as that first letter of the last word could be an 'F', a 'S' or a 'H'.

i agree.. i was torn between 's' and 'f'' too... i even thought i saw an 'L' ! wait it looks like stonnifefel ! Im SERIOUS!!!!!!!!!! LOOK!

[alan8376]

Iv'e got my German relatives on the job! We are trying to break the name etc down. The hand writing is possibly in the 'old German style' called " Suetterlin."

After the Christian name Gunther, is the word 'Arzt' which is German for doctor, as mentioned earlier on. We are currently working on the surname! It might be a typical old German name from the south of Grmany??

The boots were certainly 'made to measure' for the owner. The maker of the boots carries the 'Royal Warrant.' Not sure at this point if they were made in Austria!

I'll let you know if anything else is known about the surname.

[Glenn66]

Thanks for the help, if you like I can try to get some better images of the maker stamp? It'll be a few days as i'm out of town until Sunday.

[wingco]

Hi Glenn, looks very like shonefeld

[Glenn66]

Could be...I have the boots hidden in a cupboard these days and haven't looked at them for awhile.

[Combat Boots]

Glenn, really can't help with the writing but would like to see a picture or two of the outsides of the boots if you have time. Thanks, Bob