FireMedals

A nice pair of masonic items. The Masonic connection to the Great War is (at least) two fold. First, a lot of Mason's served in, and died in, the war. Second, the main Masonic Temple in London, called the Freemason's Hall (on Great Queen St., if my memory serves) was dedicated to (I believe) all the WWI dead (maybe just Masons), but I'll have to find some additional books to verify that. The Grand Lodge of England, the governing body of English Lodges around the world, decided to offer Mason's the silver medal you have, at a price, which was a donation to help pay the the Great Queen St. building. It is not a Masonic Victory medal, as is sometimes seen on lists. It only commemorates the dead of the war, and went to help pay for the building as a memorial. I have a couple of books that I don't have access to at the moment, so I may be able to add more at a later date. As far as the name and number on the medal, the name is the Mason who donated to the Hall, and the number is his Lodge. I have checked a list I have of all Masonic Lodges in the world in 1933 and cannot find #704. Also, assuming the two items came together, and that they might belong to the same person, I checked for a "North Wales" lodge, and found none. It's possible 704 closed between 1919 and 1933, and it would not appear in the book. I think I might have an earlier edition, but I would think we must have a couple of brothers in the ranks who might be able to find a copy of "List of Lodges Masonic" for 1919 or thereabouts. That would give the location, and possible allow more research. U.S. Masonic research is practically impossible, but I've had some success with UK Lodges through friends who can check local resources. The symbol on the jewel is that of an officer, but the English system is different that the US and I don't recognize it. By the way, the Freemason's Hall is open to the public, and is a great building to see, even without a Masonic connection. I would also consider contacting the Hall and asking about the location of #704. They have been helpful to me in the past, and also have a research library that was open to the public (at least in 1988.) hope this is of help. I'll add more if I can find anyting. FireMedals

Sorry to say I don't own one, and can't afford it anyway. The pix you posted are perfect. I've already saved them. Thanks FireMedals

CRBeery Yes, you got a rare one there. I've been collecting fire awards since 1972, and have only seen one in person, and two on dealer lists. It was only issued from 1934 - 36 for 25 years of efficient service. This probably accounts for some of the low numbers, and I believe its size also accounts for bars that were just lost or thrown out. Unlike a nice medal, on a ribbon, most non-recipients or non-collectors don't seem to appreciate these bars. Thanks for the nice photo. They are as hard to get as the award itself. FireMedals

Don, As Christian L. noted, a Wurttemberg award for 25 years service. This style was issued during the Freestate period, 1925-1936. Like your previous Bavarian medal, this is also one of the more common fire brigade awards of the period. It is similar to a previous award under the Kingdom, 1912-1915, that had a crown at the top of the medal. The suspension, using the hard plate, is one of several interesting suspension variations that were being used in the German States at the time. FireMedals

Don, Check my photo posted June 8th. The correct medal needs to be raised a bit higher than the Bavarian one on there now. FireMedals

Don, I just saw a Prussian Fire Brigade medal that you need for your ribbon bar on German ebay. Check - Artikelnummer: 6186711914 FireMedals

If anyone has this extremely UGLY medal bar...please let me know. I will be happy to take it off your hands and beautify your collection all at once. And I won't even charge you for allowing me to accept it. FireMedals

The correct ribbon for the medal you have has 7 sky blue and 8 white stripes. I've seen it in two sizes... 35mm and 38mm. The 38mm ribbon had previously been used on a 25 year service bar from 1884 - 1914. After the war the Bavarian Freestate adopted the medal style, having one for 25 and one for 40 years service. The 40 year medal was gild and had a crimson ribbon. Both were issued from 1920 - 1936. I've attached a photo of the two sizes. There are also variations in the medal, but that is for another discussion. Hope this is of interest, FireMedals

(cont.) The miniature

(cont.) The 40 year award

Hi Don, I wondered who won that mule of medal and ribbon. I wrote the seller and told him what it was, but I don't think he ever updated his listing. I'm sure they were just married up for a sale. However, you shouldn't have too much trouble adding the correct medal and ribbon. As Rick has pointed out, the correct medal is frequently seen on ebay, and elsewhere. It is the Prussian Fire Brigade Association service medal, issued for 25 and 40 years service. The 25 year medal is silvered and the 40 golden. The reverse and the ribbon is the same for both. I've attached photos of the reverse of the 25 year medal, photo of the 40 year, and a photo of a fairly rare lapel ribbon bar with miniature medal attached. According to Gert Efler's excellent book on German fire awards, the silver medal was awarded from 1930-1934, and the gold from 1924 - 1934. (cont.)

Thanks Rick and Stogieman. More information than I ever thought I would know. I think I'm going to like this site. FireMedals

Help! Can someone tell me the requirements for this award? I've been offered a three medal bar with the Ludwig Cross, 1914/18 Honor Cross, and the ever-present 1920-36 Fire Brigade 25-year Honor Medal. Since I don't know the secret handshake (and I don't have a good Imperial library) I can find nothing of significance on the web. Thanks for any help. FireMedals

Here's the reverse

Thanks for the opinions on the Fire Brigade Decoration. I've attached front and back photos for your examination. After reading your comments, I decided to take a closer look at the bar. As I mentioned before, it has been poorly handled. The EK is broken in two places, at the base of the top and bottom arms, and wear and dings to the silver frame. The 14/18 Cross seems to have been spared most wear and damage from its location between the other two. The FB Decoration has the worst wear. All of the enamel is cracked, with some chips, the center medallion being the most damaged. It looks as if it was under a heavy weight at one time. The reverse of the first two have wear you could consider normal. I took the bar to a friend who is a chemical engineer, and he examined the reverse of the Fire Dec.. While there is pitting to the surface, he used a couple of chemicals and removed what I had thought was corrision. He said it was a deposit of some type, that did do some surface damage, but wasn't corrosion in the typical sense. Now the reverse looks much better, and he's going to see if he can improve it even more. An interesting observation about the damage on the FB Dec.. The left arm of the cross, that would normally be under the 14/18 Cross, has the least damage as if it was protected at the time of damage. Second, the deposits that were on the reverse were in a curved pattern, that matches exactly the curve of the bottom of the ribbon. All of the ribbons may be replaced, as there is a small piece of 14/18 Cross ribbon under the current ribbons that has a faded central red stripe. The current one is nice and bright. And any damage from the Fire Dec. ribbon did not come from the ribbon on there now, as it is clean. All ribbons seem to have an even amount of wear.[attachmentid=3625] And the metal of the FB Dec. is not silver, probably a bronze. The finish gives a golden appearance.

Here is the reverse Most of the gold finish is gone, still look good on the front. FireMedals

[attachmentid=3423]Hello, I?m a new member who found you site while surfing for information on fire medals. The excellent information on this thread made me want to join in the hope there are other fire-related medal collectors out there somewhere. I?ve been collecting over 30 years, and am more interested in information now than medals, but I don?t pass up one I can use when it comes along. I?d like the opinion of the 3R collectors on this fire brigade decoration. It?s on a bar with the IC and 14/18 Honor Cross. All three have seen hard wear, the FB Dec. being the worst. The reverse has what appears to be chemical damage as if it sat in something. The front has enamel damage. No sign of any maker marks, and no signs of them being removed either. My rule-of-thimb is to assume all of these are fake unless proven otherwise. Considering the minimum price I paid for the bar, and that the other two are good, I figure I'll come out ahead either way. Having a bit of trouble with getting photos onboard. If there is a front view here, I'll try to put a pix of the reverse in another post. Any opinions (assuming a photo came through)? FireMedals