Flemish and Walloon insignia of the Waffen SS

Langemarck lion shield

This type, along with the Legion shield, is among the most iconic insignia worn by Flemings within the Waffen-SS. It was worn by Flemish volunteers in the Langemarck Storm Brigade and Division. In a few rare photographs, this type of shield can also be seen worn by Flemish DRK nurses.

These shields are of German manufacture and were produced in or near the Dachau concentration camp.

The SS-BW (Bekleidungswerke) was responsible for the production of uniforms and insignia for the SS, with workshops spread across locations including Bayreuth, Oranienburg, Posen, Ravensbrück, and Dachau itself. The produced garments and insignia were centrally stored at the depot in Dachau.

Bevo lion shield

This type is of German manufacture and produced in the typical Bevo style (machine-woven). It was worn in the Flemish Legion.

There is a well-known photograph showing this shield worn by a Fleming in the 'Das Reich' unit, but it is merely a wedding photograph. In practice, the Flemish lion shield was not permitted for Flemings serving in regular German Waffen-SS units.

NSKK/DRK/Flemish Legion Lion Shield

 This type of lion shield is of Flemish manufacture and was worn by volunteers of the Flemish Legion, but especially by Flemings within the NSKK and by Flemish DRK nurses.

Flemish Legion Lion Shield

 Flemish Legion lion shield of German manufacture. After the formation of the Langemarck Storm Brigade, this lion shield was sometimes still worn by veterans of the Flemish Legion on their Langemarck uniforms. This was logical, as many already had their uniforms and only needed to change their cuff title from "Legion Flandern" to "Langemarck."

This type was also worn by Flemish DRK nurses (see photo).

Flemish Hitler Youth Lion Shield

 This type is of Flemish manufacture and was primarily worn by members of the Flemish Hitler Youth. There exists one extremely rare photograph in which Jef Desseyn, a Flemish war correspondent, is seen wearing this shield—presumably because no other type was available at the time. Nonetheless, it can be concluded that this type was originally intended for the Flemish Hitler Youth. 

Walloon Volunteer Shield – Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS

Like other foreign volunteers, the Walloons also wore a distinctive shield that indicated their nationality. The Walloon volunteers in the Wehrmacht, and later in the Waffen-SS, used the same type of shield: the Belgian flag with the word "Wallonie" above it, manufactured by Bevo Wuppertal.
This shield is not part of my collection.  

Walloon Cuff Title Waffen-SS – Wallonien – Bevo Variant

Unlike the Flemish volunteers in the Flemish Legion and later in the Storm Brigade and Division Langemarck, the Walloon volunteers generally did not wear a cuff title bearing the inscription Wallonien. Only a few photographs of Léon Degrelle show him wearing such a cuff title, but there are hardly any, if any at all, known examples from other Walloon volunteers. It is therefore likely that the Walloons did not make use of cuff titles.
This cuff title is not part of my collection.

Rare EKM (Erkennungsmarke) belonging to a Walloon volunteer of the 6th SS Sturmbrigade Wallonien.

Stamped: "508 SS STURM BRIG WALLONIEN ERS KP"

This tag was discovered in Germany (Mecklenburg), together with three Flemish Erkennungsmarken. It's likely they were travelling west together near the end of the war.
Unfortunately, I have no further information about the volunteer yet. We're still working hard to identify him.Many thanks to the finder for allowing me to share this object on the page.