GreyC

No. Leibregiment is not the same as Leibgarde. Leibregimenter got the name, because the sovereign of a state was the regiment´s chief. With that came the right to collect the money that was generated through the regiment (goes back to 17th/18th century). It is not a nickname, either, It´s a title of honour. GreyC

Tolle Sachen, Alex! GreyC

Hi Roman, very nice. With regard to Lippe I only have this photo of the other principality, Schaumburg-Lippe. It´s a private photo that shows Prinz Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe on his tricycle in the year of 1911, 5 years old. GreyC

Hi, I read Heinrich Schwenold. A name you find in Bavaria once in a while. No guesswork necessary. GreyC

I like the Raspe photo! GreyC

Nice one! GreyC

Hi Dave, thanks for the interesting info. GreyC

Fine photo, Andy! GreyC

Here´s an Offiziers-Aspiranten Lehrgang at Sennelager in September of 1918. GreyC

Hi, though I have difficulties deciphering all, I´ll give you what I can make out so far: 1.) Vati/father Givet 1914 2.) Vati (Hauptmann); Betr[iebs] Ing[enieur] [=operations engineer] ??ampel; ??? Bmstr [Betriebsmeister/head of operations] Hoffmann; Amtsgehilfe [clerk] Betriebsamt Givet 1914/15 (Belgien) 3.) Betriebsamt Givet 1914/15 4.) Dein Schwager Will z.[ur] Z.[eit] Bukarest 1917 5.) Rumänien 1917 GreyC

Yes. An Artillerie-Regiment is divided into (2) Abteilungen which are subdivided into Batterien. 1st Batterie is part of 1st Abt. IR´s did not have Batterien. My guess is, because there was no FuArt 50 it seemed superflous to write FAR 50 as it was the only option. GreyC

Hi, as far as i know, there was no FuAR 50. The FeldAR 50 was founded in 1899 and from Karlsruhe. The IR 50 was from Posen. GreyC

Hi, like the medal a lot. Here a photo from the ship from my collection. GreyC

Hi, could he have gotten the Chinese medal during the events surrounding the Boxeraufstand in 1900? Maybe not as a soldier but on diplomatic mission? GreyC

Thanks Laurentius, I attach a photo of a braunschweiger Förster who earned EKII and EKI as well as the braunschweiger Kriegsverdienstkreuz II and I. Klasse. The latter was only awarded since 20.März 1918 by Herzog Ernst August. The photo was taken in 1925. I like it because of the symmetry. GreyC

Quite an impressive display, there, Alan. I have seen photos on which soldiers wore two different crosses besides the EKI. I wonder if there were also soldiers with more than that? If so, probably Generals and higher. GreyC

Well, I am not so sure about that. If he wasn´t in the German Luftstreitkräfte from the get go, he might have been enlisted in an infantry regiment from Hamburg, got wounded, was declared unfit for infantry service at the front and switched to the FA33. This happened quite often. However upon checking the German loss-list there was no candidate that seemed likely. There was one Droth from Lübeck who got wounded... I think it is more likely he got the Hanseatenkreuz for helping out some unit of Hamburg origin with his service. GreyC

Hi, I am not familiar with these, but isn´t the Oldenburg cross the one next to the EKI on the left (from looking at it)? Best, GreyC

Hi, you´ll find career information in Fremde Heere Ost: Hitlers militärische Feindaufklärung von Magnus Pahl page 112. It´s online. GreyC

Hi, nobody by this name was born in Hamburg between 1886-1900 (General registry of births) and nobody by this name is listed in the Addressbooks of Hamburg in 1914,1916,1917 or 1920. So chances are substantial that he was not a Hamburg citizen or that he lived in Hamburg (at least during the time checked). GreyC

Hi thanks for showing as well as explaining! GreyC

Hi Dave, thanks for this interesting info. When he gave the interview he must have been well into his 60s and his miltary service was not the focal-point of the interviewer. So Gropius just mentioned it by the way. Maybe he wanted to keep it short yet make a certain point (bravery). GreyC

Hi, during the 19th century especially it was a la mode for wealthy people in Germany to have medals made to remember special occasions. wedding-anniverseries, special birthdys etc. Everybody invited to these functions then got one of these tokens. This could well be one of these, issued on the occasion of a wedding. GreyC

I see. greyc

The scars are no signs of a sport but of being member of a "Schlagende Verbindung", of which there were many in Germany during that time, and there are still some today. They are student associations. The duells were not part of a sporting activity, but a matter of honor and a ritual of "belonging" to a certain circle of academia. These duells were called Mensur (singular) and were highly ritualised and often bloody as can be seen on a photo from my collection taken in 1927 after such an event with all involved. GreyC