A great man has walked the line

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by batjka

This is extremely sad news indeed. This forum will never be the same without Matchlock's expertise. He was a unique man and with his passing so much knowledge is now lost. But his spirit is still with us and his posts will remain as a source of learning and as a memory of a great man that once was with us. Rest in peace, Michael. You will be dearly missed.

Well said! as are all these wonderful tributes to this man who truly loved this forum and openly shared his knowledge and lifetime of collecting and study. Actually much of the knowledge he shared is still here in these pages, and I can only imagine in the many personal contacts he had with others. I know I still have many notes and communications we had over the years, and truly treasure them as I look back to those days.
His spirit stands as an inspiration to keep searching and compiling data to continue learning and understanding the arms we collect and cherish.

Thank you Fernando for placing this tribute thread in permanent heading status, as it is well deserved.

[fernando]

Let's stick it for a while longer.

[stekemest]

So sad to hear that. He once asked me to show my "Klotzgeschoss" (clot shot), but I couldn't find it at the time. Strangely, a few days ago, I remembered his request and intended to finally make a few pictures, only to stumble upon this thread.

My condolences to his family and friends.

[Marcus den toom]

Hi Stekemest,

Don't feel bad about not beeing able to show the clod shot to Michl himself, non of us would have expected him to die this sudden. It really came as a shock, he was doing better and multiple members including myself noticed that he was full of energy the last few weeks and days before his tragic passing. When i called him just a few days before his death he was talking about a powder flask he had found in a Dutch museum, he really liked to have pictures of it and i was more than happy to get them for him... and i still will, not only for him but for all of the forum members. I think that is what Michl would have wanted and what we owe him for all his own contributions, to continue the reseach.
So if you feel up to it, you may still post those images i for one am very curious about them.

best Marcus

[Jim McDougall]

Marcus and Stekemest, thank you for your thoughtful insights and Marcus you are exactly right, Michael would indeed wish to have his work carried forward!
He was very much an inspiration in his lifetime of work, and especially the relatively short time we had him here with us, so his legacy is with us and these pages.

[batjka]

For those in the know, what will be the fate of his unique collection? I sure hope that a museum acquires it as a whole and puts it on display.

[fernando]

That appears to be a distant solution, so far !