Trooper_D

What a fascinating page! Thanks for posting the link, Paolo.

... and it's stories like this which, for me, make GMIC a 'must read'! Thanks Lars.

And here is a photo of the Knight 2nd Class from our favourite Internet-based purveyor of medals in the Great White North. It's expensive! (The First Class has a crown above the badge.) ETA: Someone else who got a Second Class in April 1891 was another Bavarian, Wilhelm Frieherr von Leonrod (his award letter was sold - not to me - on 14 March of this year, lot 1046, by Hermann Historica).

My guess is that this was worn by a member of a Marching Band in Sicily, of the type that is seen in Easter parades in Palermo and elsewhere. Many of them wear quasi military uniforms. Google >palermo "Corpo Bandistico"< and you will see many photographs of such bands.

Thank you for this, Bayern. Your suggestion makes good sense. What a shame that Prince Lajos wasn't more specific - there is a time and a place for princely discretion but this was not it, perhaps

Very interesting, Bayern. Could you give a very short explanation as to why this was the case, please?

Your supposition seems right, Paul. He was awarded his Navy Cross (and promotion to Rear Admiral) for his flight to the South Pole on November 28, 1929. So, if a Black Widow was sold at Sotheby's in Byrd's name, it can only have been a replacement (or duplicate). Post #4 at the link below, purports to show Byrd's medals (including the Tiffany gold MoH) at the November 10th 1988 sale. It certainly is a very dark colour! http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/263472-important-military-estate-auctions/

In fairness to Muckaroon1960, the US Navy Naval History and Heritage Command state on their Navy Cross webpage that "The Navy Cross was established by an act of Congress (Public Law 253) on 4 February 1919" and, further down on the page (as a caption to a photo of one), "One variation picked up the informal nickname "Black Widow" and was in use about 1941-1942, in which the medal itself and its wrap broach were over-anodized for a very dark, gunmetal finish." Is it possible that Messrs Hawkes and Harris were wrong, I wonder? Link: https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/awards/decorations/navy-cross2.html

Thank you for posting this, GrayC. It is always a delight to see a Fritz Schönpflug cartoon/caricature - and this is a new one to me. For anyone who is not already familiar with his work, he was always amusing in the way he showed up German and Austrian military foibles as well as being pretty much 'spot on' with uniform detail. A search of Google Images using his name will be well rewarded!

Thanks for that link, Dan. What a great story!

Interesting that Jaba1914's is not the exact same cross as shown in the black and white photo posted by Utgardloki.

I think this might be Sergeant Driver rather than Sergeant Doctor, Stew.

It transpires that the US Library of Congress has a copy of this photo in their collection, the details of which suggest (not necessarily correctly) that it was taken between 1915 and 1920. Here is the link, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014707821/ The tiff photo which can be downloaded from this link is of a higher definition than we have seen before. I don't think that they add a great deal to the investigation but I am posting below two extracts from the original which are of a better quality than the enlargement I originally posted. [for some reason, I can't delete the double posted image ]

Thank you very much, Laurentius. Please accept a cigar, as well

Give the gentleman a cigar If you click on the link below and right click the small image of the portrait above that appears there, then select 'Open image in a new tab' (in Google Chrome; other browsers may differ) you will be presented with a very large version - too large to post here, I think. http://www.zamekboskovice.cz/rod-mensdorff-pouilly Incidentally, has anyone any thoughts as to the star below the one in question?

In the second photo, the medal first from the left, a Vladimir with swords? The second from the left looks like the Order of Danilo 5th Class but surely that can't be right for someone of his status, can it? I wonder if the star, bottom right, is the Italian Order of the Crown. This enlargement of the first photo might help someone in identifying some of the medals.

Something I have only just noticed. Your bracelet is named for EvEns not EvAns, so a Belgium rather than a Welshman, I would suppose

Ostensibly, yes. However the British Army had been issuing official ID tags since 1907 (according to the link below) so I am of the opinion that bracelets, particularly the silver ones, were more of a fashion item than anything else. See the interesting explanation, here, https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first-world-war-identity-tags

This has all the appearance of being one of the ID bracelets which were commonly - but unofficially - worn by soldiers during the Great War. Click on this link and then click on 'images' and you will see many more, https://www.google.com/search?q=wwi+id+bracelet You may already know that the hallmark tells that it was made in Birmingham in 1917.

My great pleasure. I knew nothing about this action. That's what I like about GMIC: it's always pointing out new rabbit holes to fall down

The 36th Sikhs https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/indianinfantry/36thsikhs.htm

The name is Scouller and you will find the London Gazette entry for his AFC here, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/48639/supplement/28

Thanks for confirming that, Bayern. I hope you enjoyed the article.

By one of those strange coincidences, today's Daily Telegraph (a UK broadsheet newspaper, for those who don't know it) has published a review of a book about the first (and only?) female winner of the Velká pardubická. As far as I am aware it isn't behind the paywall (I'm a subscriber so I can't tell) so I would encourage a read as - to keep it on topic for GMIC - it mentions the influence of the Austro-Hungarian cavalry in the starting of the race as well as its politicisation just before WW2 (a third of the entry in 1937 were German officers). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/unbreakable-richard-askwith-review-tale-nazi-fighting-jockey/

If so, that brings it nicely back on topic Called Velká pardubická or so Wikipedia tells me, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velká_pardubická