Queen City Militaria

The 1957 Ice Hockey World Championships were held between February 24th and March 5th 1957 at the Palace of Sports of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, USSR.

This was the last World Championships played on natural ice and the first World Championships held in the Soviet Union. The 1957 Championships are mostly remembered for the political circumstances surrounding the games. Hungary had been recently occupied by the Soviet Army (to suppress a revolution in October and November 1956) and as a result, the United States and Canada boycotted the World Championships in protest. Joining them were Norway, West Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

This enamel press badge is a rare piece of history from the 1957 Ice Hockey World Championships in Moscow, and it is currently available @ www.queencitymilitaria.com

I had a lot of fun making this episode of The Militaria Podcast. Please give it a watch/listen and like the page on Facebook for more updates!

The Militaria Podcast - Episode 4: The Frauenschaft Episode In this informative episode, the gang discusses the items and history of the NS-Frauenschaft and Frauenwerk (in addition to other women's badges and awards.)...

The Battles of Khalkhin Gol were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Japan and Manchukuo in 1939. The conflict was named after the river Khalkhin Gol, which passes through the battlefield. In Japan, the decisive battle of the conflict is known as the "Nomonhan Incident" after Nomonhan, a nearby village on the border between Mongolia and Manchuria. The battles resulted in the defeat of the Japanese Sixth Army.

This medal was awarded for the 30 Year Jubilee of Victory in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. Awarded to veterans of Mongolia and the Soviet Union who participated in the battles, it is a unique and interesting award that is currently available for purchase.

www.queencitymilitaria.com

The Militaria Podcast - Episode 1: Ya Gotta Remember The Hyphen Join us for the first episode of the new podcast from Queen City Militaria, Wehrmacht-Militaria, and SMG War-Relics! In this episode of The Militaria Podcast...

Updated Inventory!

While researching the 1935 Berlin Radio Exhibition badge, I found some archival footage from the event and the subsequent massive fire that destroyed much of it. Ironically enough, the badge is made of wood.

Footage of the 1935 Berlin Radio Exhibition Fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zWsKyIYQhs

Browse the entire inventory of authentic pieces of history at www.queencitymilitaria.com

A nice diverse update this week! Authentic historical items from the Soviet Union, Germany, and the United States have been listed. As always, more is on the way!

Browse the full inventory @

Queen City Militaria Established in 2015, Queen City Militaria is dedicated to providing original pieces of history at affordable prices. Specializing in items from WWI and WWII.

This week's website update is almost entirely WWI and WWII German items, with a special focus on cloth insignia. More items are still to be added!

Browse the entire inventory of authentic pieces of history at www.queencitymilitaria.com

This beautiful Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was listed for sale today, along with some other interesting items. This is the type 1 design of the order, used from 1951-2001. Personally, I prefer it to the contemporary design. I'm sure you agree, you've always had good taste.

Visit www.queencitymilitaria.com to browse the complete inventory of original pieces of history!

Original campaign are re-stocked, and a beautiful flatback Order of the Red Banner of Labour has also been added to the store. Browse our entire inventory at www.queencitymilitaria.com

I'm back from Kentucky and I've brought all sorts of WWI and WWII items home with me. Browse all the German, Soviet, US (& etc) items at www.queencitymilitaria.com and take home a piece of history.

Queen City Militaria Established in 2015, Queen City Militaria is dedicated to providing original pieces of history at affordable prices. Specializing in items from WWI and WWII.

Some nice WWI and WWII German items have been added to the store this week, and as always, more is on the way.

Not pictured: Soviet orders and award banners, DPRK orders and insignia, and much more. Take a moment and browse the entire inventory at www.queencitymilitaria.com

www.queencitymilitaria.com

Newly listed: Several WWII German awards complete with documents, Soviet flags from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, a German army ration sack, and a WWII US service banner with 3 stars. As always, more is on the way!

Browse the entire inventory at www.queencitymilitaria.com

Lots of great original WWII German insignia currently available on www.queencitymilitaria.com - More than what is pictured here, and with more on the way!

Original Red Banners from the Lithuanian SSR, an award banner from the Latvian SSR, German insignia, and more! All added to www.queencitymilitaria.com today. More great stuff on the way, as always!

Here are a few of the Soviet Orders for labor that are currently available at www.queencitymilitaria.com - The Orders of the Red Banner of Labour in the front row are 1950's "flatback" examples. If you ask me, they're some of the most beautiful awards produced by the Soviet Union.

These are only some of the original WWII Soviet Orders of the Red Star that are currently available at www.queencitymilitaria.com - Many of which are researched and feature portraits of the awards in wear.

More great items have been added to the store this week, with more on the way!

Queen City Militaria Established in 2015, Queen City Militaria is dedicated to providing original pieces of history at affordable prices. Specializing in items from WWI and WWII.

www.queencitymilitaria.com - More authentic pieces of history from Germany, the USSR, USA, and more, now available.

The Medal for Participation in the Battle of Berlin was established by the Sejm by the Act of April 21, 1966, to commemorate the victory over N**i Germany and the contribution of the Polish People's Army in the capture of Berlin in 1945. According to the law, the medal was a recognition of people who took part in the 1945 Berlin Offensive.

The medal was awarded to persons who performed military service in the period from April 1945 to May 9, 1945 in the following units of the Polish Army:

• 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division
• 2nd Pomeranian Haubic Artillery Brigade
• 1st Independent Mortar Brigade
• 6th Warsaw Independent Motorized Pontoon-Bridge Battalion
• Polish Independent Special Battalion

The medal could also be awarded to personnel who performed military service in the above-mentioned period at the headquarters and staffs during the battle, as well as in the headquarters and units of the Polish Armed Forces in the East cooperating in the capture of Berlin.

This Polish Medal for Participation in the Battle of Berlin is now available @ www.queencitymilitaria.com - and it comes with it's original award box as well as paperwork! A great (and affordable) post-WWII commemorative award, if I do say so myself.

Here's something very unique!

This Order of the Patriotic War (No. 297,807) was awarded to Andrias Ivanovich Akopyan (a District Operative of the People’s Commissariat of Procurements in the city of Goris) on June 23, 1945. It was awarded in recognition of grain collection/confiscation. Part of a fairly unique phenomenon, this OPW2 is one of only 3,101 2nd class orders awarded grain collection/confiscation throughout the entire USSR.

Due to the fact that each republic issued their own decree for awarding OPW's along this criteria, this specific order is one of only 80 2nd class examples awarded by the Armenian SSR.

For more info or to purchase:
https://www.queencitymilitaria.com/product-page/soviet-order-of-the-patriotic-war-2nd-class-serial-no-297-807-researched

A good bunch of German items have been listed for sale this week, in addition to some great Soviet and Hungarian items. Visit www.queencitymilitaria.com to browse the full inventory.

Ivan Sergeevich Gridyaev was born in Voronezh Oblast, Berezovsky District, in the village of Berezovskoe, 1912. He joined the Red Army in 1939 and the Communist Party in 1941. His award record card lists his education level as "middle."

A Major of the Ordinance Service, Gridyaev served as Assistant Regimental Commander for Supply in the 164th Guards Rifle Regiment, 55th Guards Rifle Division, 28th Army.

In his citations for combat actions, he is recognized for bringing ammunition to the front, organizing supply, repairing guns (artillery), occasionally evacuating wounded, and frequently dealing with challenging roads or lack of roads entirely.

He is an extremely well decorated soldier, being awarded the Order of the Red Star FOUR TIMES.

Only 1222 recipients have been identified as receiving four Red Stars, amounting to only 4888 Stars out of the 3.8 million awarded. Gridyaev is part of a very small and prestigious club.

In addition to his 4 Orders of the Red Star, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 2cl (x2), Combat Service Medal (x2), Order of the Red Banner, and medals for Berlin, Koenigsberg, the Caucasus, and Victory over Germany.

Researched awards and awards with research potential are always available at www.queencitymilitaria.com with more added all the time!

Anton Fomich Starikovich was born in Smolensk Oblast, Kardymovsky District, in the village of Elogino, on June 25th 1906. He joined the Red Army in 1928, and the CPSU in 1938. His award record card lists him as being the unit commander of "Military Unit 20601" - which is best assumed to be a nuclear weapons inspectorate unit based on it's intentionally vague name.

In the citation for his Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class, awarded in 1945, Starikovich is recognized for his service commanding a transport battalion during the Soviet invasion of Japan. It is debatable whether or not he participated in the nuclear duties that Military Unit 20601 would have engaged in during the post-war years.

In addition to his campaign medals for Victory over Germany and Victory over Japan, Starikovich was awarded the Order of the Red Star (1944), Order of the Patriotic War (1945), Order of the Red Banner (1949), and Order of Lenin (1954). Most of these awards, including the Red Star pictured here, are visible in his portrait.

Researched awards, and awards with research potential, are available for purchase @ www.queencitymilitaria.com

This medal bar once belonged to Boris Petrovich Gubsky. Gubsky was born in Sumy, Ukraine in 1919. His award record card lists him as having a "middle" level education, and states that he joined the Red Army on October 1st, 1937.

At the time of awarding for his Combat Merit Medal (303,800) he was serving as a senior weapons technician for the 63rd Bomber Aviation Regiment, 132nd Bomber Aviation Division. It was 1943. This division was equipped with American made Douglas A-20 Havok medium bombers. His citation reads as follows:

"He is an excellently disciplined commander. He is devoted to the Party of Lenin and Stalin and the Socialist motherland. In his combat work against the German-Fascist invaders, he shows labor heroism and self-sacrificing work in maintaining aircraft for combat sorties.

Comrade Gubsky has serviced 266 combat flights. The bombs were always slung in timely fashion; machine guns operated excellently in the air, and not by accident were 4 enemy aircraft shot down by gunner-radiomen in aerial battles using machine guns prepared and checked by Comrade Gubsky. Superbly knowledgeable of gun and bomb armaments, Comrade Gubsky instructed all gunners, pilots, and navigators to skillfully operate gun and bomb armaments.

For labor heroism displayed, as demonstrated in supporting 266 combat sorties, for conveying his experience in employment of armament to flight crews, I present Comrade Gubsky for the government award the Medal for Combat Merits."

Gubsky's "place of service at present time" is listed as 48th Air Force School for Military Aviation Mechanics, where he is a Senior Instructor for Operational Cycle Practical Training.

Feel free to visit www.queencitymilitaria.com and browse the selection of researched awards, or awards with research potential.

The Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization, abbreviated as the Young Pioneers, was a compulsory youth organization of the Soviet Union for children and adolescents ages 9–14 that existed between 1922 and 1991.

The Pioneer Organization was designed to develop an allegiance to the Communist Party. Its most important goals were organizing forced labor events and spreading communist propaganda to the youth.

This "Solemn Oath Of A Young Pioneer" banner was listed for sale (along with other Soviet flags) on www.queencitymilitaria.com this week - An affordable piece at an excellent display size of around 43" tall by 28" wide. Always nice to see printed banners where the gold paint is still in tact.

It reads:

"I, (last name, first name), joining the ranks of the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization, in the presence of my comrades, solemnly promise: to passionately love and cherish my Motherland, to live as the great Lenin bade us to, as the Communist Party teaches us to, as require the laws of the Pioneers of the Soviet Union."