Farewell ceremony held by Chinese for rescued American aviators

Somewhere in China 1942

Farewell, American aviator!

In honor of the defenders of Stalingrad, King George VI of the United Kingdom commissioned a ceremonial longsword to be presented to the Soviet Union. Thirty six inches long, with a hand grip bound in 18 carat carat gold wire and a pommel of rock crystal, the blade was inscribed in Russian and English with the words:

“TO THE STEEL-HEARTED CITIZENS OF STALINGRAD. THE GIFT OF KING GEORGE VI. IN TOKEN OF THE HOMAGE OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE”

Believe it or not the sword was created by Wilkinson Sword, yes, the same company who make the razors (Our American readers might know them by the name Schick). The sword was presented by Winston Churchill to Joseph Stalin at the Tehran Conference in 1943 and resides today at the Stalingrad Museum in Volgograd.



Sword of Stalingrad

Two senior Hitlerjugend members, probably late pre-war.  Both are wearing the Hitler Youth Badge of Honour (probably the basic version, though the "gold" version cannot be excluded on the basis of the resolution of this 'photo).  The boy to the right is wearing two badges for equestrian proficiency.  It is interesting that, while there was a German Young Horseman's Badge (awarded only in bronze, to youths under 17 years of age), these badges more closely resemble the German Horseman's Badge - their shape is more ovoid than the youth award, and both badges in the 'photo appear to be of pierced construction, rather than flat-plate stamped construction of the youth award.  While the German Horseman's Badge was primarily an adult award, qualifying younger equestrians were not, as far as I know, debarred from such an award.  It seems likely, therefore, that this young man had received the German Horseman's Badge both in Bronze and in Silver.  If so, he must have been quite a young horseman ... Best regards, JR.