Ulsterman

Oberst von der Mulbe @1915 of the Grenadier Guards and the GKK. Killed in action near Nogent, 1917.

Thank you very much; very sportsmanlike of you Stogieman.

However, I rarely collect bars this Millenium; perchance have you any odd photos laying about your manor?

The Friedrich Order 2nd class on this bar was only to Lts., the 1st class would be to Hauptmans and acting Majors. The fact that this man "had" an REO before the war would indicate he was at least a Hauptman in 1914. Also-glaringly-its' missing the inferior Crown Order.

He "was" in uniform too in 1897 by the Centennial medal-even as an Einjahrer he would have had 16 years in by August, 1914-a bit long for an Oberlt. (?).

Gentlemen:

Thank you very much for your help. I am in your debt. I apparently did not do so badly with this one. Sometimes ebay does turn up a treasure.

I bought this CDV last month. I am stumped as to what the medal is. I thought from the small picture that it was a St. Gregory-but I was wrong. Does anybody recognize this medal?

Thank you for looking.

nice-classics!

Not mandatory, but highly likely given that it was awarded for frontline service. I reckon it's much more likely a german lt. would get an Austrian award than an jr. Austrian officer receiving an EK2 and no other Austrian awards for war service. Most snaps I have of them show at least 3 awards.

Chris: I think the top 2 bars are probably to a German officer in WW1 (Lt.). He lacks a Karl troop Kreuz and any other Austrian awards besides the 14-18 commemorative. The last ribbon I believe is a Rumanian medal (military merit/order of the Star).

Interesting, as it appears to be an Order Of Alexander awarded to a german junior paymaster named Oskar Grimm? It was awarded about 6 months before the outbreak of the Balkan war of 1912.

good pic.

Well, KuK Lt. in 30 and a half? Mortor Bttn. 6?

By the way Chris, where was the Hungarian medal certificate issued? Wien?

Also, what's the date and number? I am interested in these.

Ta,

Wow- good stuff.

I met Sutton . I know the 48th well.

Dave:

Point taken (RE: NCOs)-but I'm showing my age and odd military background.

I still think in terms of the 1960s-early 1970s, before rank and medal inflation took place in the US forces. I still distinctly remember when the specialist stripes began to appear. I however, clearly remember Sergeants at 3-4 years, although they were flight crew on B-52s and it was 1970.

When I was a Nipper, below three stripes was not allowed in the NCOs' club and you actually had a significant number of NCOs passed over and out above five stripes.

I understand however, that the Airmans' school and the NCO school are more readily entered if one has a college degree.

What I really like about this bar is its "over the top" nature. In comparison to most other nations armed forces a 4 year jr. NCO would maybe have had one or two medals-but most likely nothing. There are British members on the forum who have 3 medals after almost 30 years outstanding service to the Crown. Had they been US NCOs they'd look like Soviet Admirals.

Nice bar gordon. Something for the book perhaps?

I got this enormous picture in Feb.. Note the rank and the ribbon bar @ 1918:

This was another pristine item: once part of the Seymour collection for many years:

This was the only bar I bought this year; the proud accomplishments of 40+ years of service to the Prussian state.

Thanks Bob. This will be a protracted project as most of the solid material is likely to be held at the British Public Record Office in Kew, London. I work in Africa in the private security industry month on-month off and I can't really justify extended periods in London during my downtime. I hope to be able to focus my study on the activities of the Auxiliaries in W. Cork since it's the area that saw most of the real action. Contrary to popular belief the War of Independence didn't inflame the whole island and membership of the IRA only became really 'fashionable' after the Treaty was concluded (its ranks swelled by the so-called 'Trucileers'). Generally the War seems to have been effectively fought in Cork, Tipperary and Dublin City and by its end it had been more or less 'won' militarily by the British. Politically, however, HMG were looking to get out of Ireland (Irish Home Rule having been one of their primary objectives since the turn of the 19th/20th centuries). Ireland had always been strategically crucial to the defence of England (both the Spaniards, in the 17c, and the French, in the 18c, had landed considerable forces in Western Ireland and the Germans had contemplated it in WW1) and HMG were happy to relinquish Ireland so long as they could be assured of its military integrity. The Treaty clearly assured this and the British continued, as part of the Treaty, to maintain bases in the Free State/Republic until 1938 just to be on the safe side. Ireland's neutrality in WW2 was a thorny issue since British Naval & RAF bases in W. Cork could have extended anti-submarine actions right across the Atlantic and aided the convoys considerably. Ireland remains coy about this phase in her history as many of the goods that sailors died to convoy across were destined for Ireland. The Irish government had a tough job to both justify and maintain its neutrality and were, doubtless, well aware that HMG would re-invade at the drop of a hat if any real favour was shown to the Third Reich. My father, a Tipperary man who was in the British Army (3rd King's Own Hussars) from 1937 to 1947, recounts an interesting story. He was part of the ill-fated expeditionary Force to Greece in WW2 and was finally captured at Malame Airfield in the Fall of Crete. He escaped 15 times in the next 4 years (apparently it was fairly easy to escape but difficult to stay at large) and during one of his sojourns in a Prison Camp all of the Irish prisoners were taken aside and invited to join one of the many 'Foreign Legions' that populated the German Army. To a man they all refused. Two of my Uncles (on my mother's side) were in the Irish Army during WW2 (one subsequently deserted to N. Ireland to join the British Army and the other got himself discharged and went on to join the RAF) and much of their effort was focused on the capture of downed German and Allied airmen. As a neutral country they were obliged to intern combatants from both sides but it was remarkable how many Allied pilots made it back to UK on various medical or other grounds. I recount these tales in order to both inform other members generally and to illustrate the extraordinary military ambivalence that exists between UK and Ireland. There's little real hatred between the bulk of UK and Ireland, they're more like journeyman boxers who are happy to fight each other with great vigour, if there's nobody else worth fighting together, and only really want to split the purse and get on to the piss-up afterwards. Since 1911 (the earliest date for which I have records) every male member of my family, on both sides, has seen active service in the IRA, the Irish Army and/or the British Army and one, John Cunningham, won the VC in WW1. The rest of us did it elsewhere in the North West Frontier, WW1, WW2, Korea (cousin in the 8th Irish Hussars, captured at the Imjin River), Kenya, Aden, Cyprus, N. Ireland (no medals of any note in those campaigns). Yet we would all (still living) support Ireland when it comes to sport, especially Rugby, (the real test of nationality).

Anyway, further to the War of Independence references, check out anything by Peter Hart, 'The IRA at War', 'The IRA and Its Enemies' for instance. Hart's history of this period is a little controversial because he's actually applying historical, psychological and sociological principles to his work. In terms of academic rigour he's the only one doing it for this period of Irish history.

ATB

Phelan

Oh-What about Bowyer-Bell? Admittedly, the man is a bastard personally, but the book, done before the Troubles erupted, is very well done and balanced in comparison to many of the others doneon the IRA.

Townshend is excellent-albeit a bit dry.

Arming The Protestants

The Correspondence of Field Marshall Henry Wilson by the Army Records Society touchs on some of the era.

I have posted it before, but here is my "big" small one:

Was he Wachtoffizier of L-56 or L-58?

I thought L-56 had extensive North Sea patroling experience.

A subject near and dear to my heart. In the 1980s I interviewed a few surviving "Tans".

There actually have been four books on the subject-if one includes the RIC one (and there's a separate one about the Northern Loyalists) and a few articles here and there.

The really rough troops were the "Auxis"-mostly ex-officers in the army. Many had decorations and in some photos almost half have the MC on the uniforms.

This area of history is, as was mentioned above, rarely viewed objectively. The IRA men who wrote their memoirs had a vested interest in making themselves and their cause sound heroic-and demonizing the enemy. One thinks of "Guerrilla Days In Ireland" or "The Singing Flame".

Many of the Auxis went home and went into normal life, were recalled in the 1940s and served in the war.

Many of the records from this era are still sealed-mostly to protect intelligence sources (and their families) from embarassment.

I'd start with "The Green Flag"-a superb book.

Great stuff Ed!! A treasure.

By 1937 the "new issue" of the wound badge was applied for by @500,000 veterans of WW1. 10% did not get one because they had been invalided by sickness-not injury.

See Frankfurter Zeitung, Sept. 10, 1937