David Gregory

I am surprised we have not seen more in this thread so far. The two items below have already been shown before, but that does not detract from their rarity. They both belong to groups and are not single "lost" documents. Hessen Kriegerehrenzeichen in Eisen. As a bravery award for front-line service with only some 2000 bestowals, it makes the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross look common by comparison: Mecklenburg-Strelitz Kreuz f?r Auszeichnung im Kriege, "Tapfer und Treu". In terms of numbers awarded, this is theoretically a little more common than the Hessen document shown above, but still very much in the "hens' teeth" league for rarity: The groups to which the above documents belong, as well as a couple of L?beck Hanseatenkreuz groups (which you do not see every week), will have to wait until I have done a bit more homework on their recipients. Don't be shy, show your rarities, whatever they might be!

Joel, It would seem that your man served with Infanterie-Regiment 120 from October 1898, probably for two years as required by most men who were mustered, and rejoined the army on 4 August 1914 on mobilisation. Page 1 with his personal details ("Nationale") will give you his place and date of birth and peacetime occupation, among other details. He was probably in his late 30ies by the end of the war and received the EK2 on 26 December 1915 (a late Christmas present, perhaps) and the W?rttemberg Silver Merit Medal (date obscured). One Soldbuch looks as though it dates from his pre-war service and the other will probably be one he received when he rejoined in August 1914 (or later if it was replaced). The issue date of the Soldbuch will be at the bottom of page 2. Any dated stamps or entries relating to vaccinations, promotions, training, assignments, pay received, hospitalisation and leave will tell you more about what he did and the units he served with throughout the war. He was in various hospitals from early to mid 1918 and then transferred to a convalescent squadron of Train-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 15 (a supply replacement unit) in Strassburg. He was discharged to Heidenheim in November 1918. David

Jim, If you need to reduce the amount of water, you could cut the boat down to the conning tower for a small diorama of a sub that is almost completely submerged. But more seriously, it ought to be fairly easy to scratch-build a conning tower as a display base for some KM figures. I would be interested to see how Gordon does the water for his displays. David

Those "fork" things are called ?pingles and for some reason, sellers on French eBay seem to be very reluctant to ship them outside France.

Paul, I'll keep a watch out for one. David

Chuck, Despite the fact that the revolution and its proponents spurned anything connected with the bourgeoisie, Art Nouveau decoration was obviously still in use in the early 1920s together with the addition of the obligatory star. I wonder how long it took for the truly revolutionary causes to dispel all traces of the old order and replace them with the more austere trappings of the new. I also wonder what would have happened to anyone found with a weapon for which he did not have the required alibi, such as this item. Old German handwriting takes a while before it can be read fluently, but that cursive script is a real challenge! Thanks for showing another interesting document. David

Christophe, The "World War 1 in colors" film may have been colourised, but the images shown above seem to come from a series of autochrome pictures that belong to a French archive and can be viewed online. Autochrome was a photographic transparency film patented on 5 June 1906 in America (patent no. 822,532) by Auguste and Louis Lumi?re of Lyons, France (French patent number 339,223, 1903). David Edit: Dave beat me to it while I was distracted by another thread.

Stijn, Unfortunately, the 26 RD book I have contains no names of officers killed in action. Glenn J may be able to help you if you are looking for a specific officer killed during the war. It would seem that you are looking for an officer who probably served with 4. or 6. Kompagnie of Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13. A history of the batallion will almost certainly tell you more. I can't find anything specific on Vermessungs-Abteilung (L). I initially thought it might be an instructional unit for artillery sound or light ranging (Schall- und Lichtmesstrupps), but the word Vermessung refers to survey and mapping work. Vermessungs-Abteilungen were responsible for all field survey work, such as the compilation of overview and detail maps, and the provision and modification of maps. Vermessungs-Abteilungen were assigned to each army from 1915 and also included a group of geologists, a trigonometry troop, a stereogram troop, a printing shop and a mapping section. The geologists attached to the Vermessungs-Abteilungen provided advice on the construction of fortifications and mining work, water supply and drainage, which would tie in with the work done by Pionier units. David

Paul, Two very nice 1914/15 star ribbons have arrived and one of them already graces a star that was waiting for it. I'll give Tony the other piece when I see him. I still haven't received it, but some W?rttemberg ribbon will be on its way to you asap. Many thanks and best regards from Germany, David

I really made an effort to find these auctions, but failed. Does anyone have a link to the auctions? Thanks in advance, David

I have a medal bar, document and Milit?rpass group for the second class cross. The only paperwork I have seen for the pin-back cross was a rather drab typed document dated some time in 1919 for an award to a man who was, by then, a policeman. The document was offered to me after I did the former owner a favour, but he immediately sold it to someone else, despite the fact that I told him I wanted it and was prepared to pay handsomely for it. I also have a document sent by the orders chancellery to a former officer in the very early 1920s approximately stating that "your request for an award can no longer be met" as bestowals had officially ceased. I'll post a scan as soon as my current scanner can be persuaded to do its job (or a new one arrives to replace it). The document for the 2nd class cross that I have is the only one I have ever seen. With just over 400 bestowals, a document for the pin-back cross can only be described as extremely rare and an item I would very much like to acquire (preferably as part of a group, of course). David

Stijn, Without having direct access to my books, I can only help with an overview of 26. Reserve-Divison for the time being. I assume Vermessungs-Abteilung (L) was an instructional survey unit (Lehr), but I'll check when I get home. Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie 1 might refer to 1. Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie I, which was assigned to 83. Infanterie-Division, but I suspect the unit designation might be incomplete as there were potentially many Pionier units with that as part of their name. Do you have any other details or context? David

Chuck, Did his name begin with B and did he have a reputation for having people locked up and/or disappear? David

I certainly don't object to artistic photos of breasts, but will there be a conflict of interests seeing as this is a gentleman's club?

Joe, I think the date is a little misleading and probably refers to the former period of active service of the men shown in the picture. If I recall correctly, Festungs-Maschinengewehr-Abteilungen, Nr.9 being raised in Strassburg, were formally established in 1913, which is probably the regular unit the men were affiliated with as reservists. The picture probably shows the name of the unit when they served with it, hence the confusion. David

At that price, I am surprised it lasted that long. Someone definitely got a bargain!

Richie, Thanks for showing the uniform ensembles and the extra details. There are so many aspects of military history and collecting militaria - so much stuff, so little time. I'm glad other collectors show what else there is to collect and learn about. David

Chip, Is that source a contemporary intelligence analysis or a post-war OOB? Many thanks in advance, David

Richie, Sorry to interrupt the flow of images. This stuff looks very interesting and I have seen none of it before. Can you show a detail image of a Bulgarian button? At a distance, they look rather like Bavarian buttons. Thanks in advance, David

Solomon, That is another very nice cross. I don't have any documents for this award, but you might not have seen a portrait of an officer based in Minden that I posted in early November of last year. It is not the same grade of the cross, but still a nice image of one in wear. David

Jim, I can only add that I have one identical to the first one shown. It came with a document group of a soldier who served with IR 162 and IR 463 and lived in Schleswig-Holstein. I have yet to see one whose ribbon was in good condition. The Brunswick badges are not uncommon and are an attractive addition to an Imperial collection.

Dolf, Those are very attractive awards. When does the Military Merit medal date from and are there any other versions of the Portuguese War Cross, i.e. not the 1917 type? Are there any Interallied Victory Medal variants or only one design? David

Another GMIC trip in the offing? Tony, your great photos have me checking my diary to see when we can go. Flanders is only 3 hours by car from Dortmund if traffic on the Antwerp ring road is not too heavy.

I hope not.

Tom, I'll do you a favour and make some space for it in my study. Just send it to me. Thanks in advance, David