Mike Dwyer

I collect mainly Imperial German royalty postcards, but occasionally something else catches my eye. Here are two distinguished Masons I ran across.................... The Duke of Connaught

A close up of the medal itself, just to make it worse!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

As long as Wild Card is frying poor Matthijs' brain with that beautiful Henry the Lion commander's cross, I may as well post this photo of a grand cross that was part of a recent Herman Historica auction! It's beauty is beyond description!

Wasn't it from the Prussian habit of wearing only the EK2 ribbon in the button hole and the EK1 on the pocket and omitting all other orders and medals?

Sorry, Kevin, I saw this much earlier and didn't respond because I thought one of our more learned colleagues would. I can tell you this much, it's for a haptmann (captain) and I believe green was the color for infantry. According to the web site I used to look this up, these type of shoulder straps were adopted by the Bundeswehr in 1962 and are still used today. Hope that helps a little. It's about all the information I have. The web site I used (and borrowed the picture from) is at http://www.uniforminsignia.net/

That's the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Romania.

Dan, This is a bit but the quote you have below your signature Herr General, I see now I have notions of honor which are outdated. Ahh they're not outdated! They're stored. With care and love, for better times. Where does that come from?

Ooops, I remember that title now! However, I have seen Freifrau used as the title Baroness. I know Wikpedia is not the most reliable source sometimes, but it says this: The wife of a Freiherr is called Freifrau (German for "Free Lady"), a daughter of a Freiherr is called Freiin (short for Freiherrin). Is this incorrect?

Hey, Rick, I'm confused (as usual ). I thought a female baron in Germany was a Freifrau or Freifraulein. Why does this card say Baroness?

Don, Yes, those are W?rttemberg officer's straps, you can tell by the red and black thread. I believe they are for a hauptmann in Grenadier-Regiment K?nig Karl (5. W?rttembergisches) Nr.123.

You probably already know this, but with my extremely limited German, and the use of an on-line dictionary, I've managed to figure out that it says: Consecration of the Flag 1984 Veterans and Fighters Association of Neukirche

I just looked at the German mounting section there http://www.worldmedals.co.uk/Rib/rem.htm and it says they no longer mount medals German court style!

Sal, I could be mistaken, but since this is a neck decoration, I don't believe it would ever have been put on a bar. Lower grades were put on a bar, but I believe the neck decorations only appear on the neck, nowhere else. (Oops, sorry about that mistake, I thought the ribbon looked like the long neck ribbon, but now I see that it isn't!)

There are lots of people here who can, I'm sure, give you an opinion on this helmet. I'm afraid I'm not one of them. If you'd like to meet up with a group of knowledgeable picklehaube fanatics, then try this forum http://www.pickelhaubes.com/

Otto, That's wonderful!!!!

Not meaning to stray too far off the subject but, I've seen this term used often, charakterisiert, placed before an officers rank. What does this mean?

Don't know if they're any relation, but I found two different F?rst P?ckler titles: 1. F?rst von P?ckler und Limpurg, a title of the Holy Roman Empire 2. (probably the more likely one) Herman Ludwig Heinrich F?rst von P?ckler-Muskau, military officer and famous landscape gardener.

Hey, chefs and lounge lizards are important too! Somebody has to keep all those royals happy! Remember the guy that was posted awhile back with the huge chest-full of medals and he was the station master of the Berlin train station? Wow, what a service record, Garde du Corps, then palace kitchen master! That's exactly the type of guy I would have wanted to have been had I lived and served back then! Why thank you, your majesty, yes, yes, I did make the creme brulee myslef, and, oh, thank you for the grand collar to the Exalted Order of the Myopic Eagle of Pottsylvania! (Although I bet he wasn't a chef and did no cooking, he was just the administrator in charge of the kitchen!)

I do get down there occasionally on business about once a year or so, I may just give you a shout and take you up on your offer next time I'm in the area. But I probably couldn't carry enough kleenex with me 'cause I'd break down and cry over those beautiful uniforms you have!

Mark, That's quite okay! I think it's much more important for it to live with your uniform and medals than to be in a binder at my place!!

Beautiful stuff! I collect mostly postcards of royalty/nobility, in fact the photo you posted in item 3 was on eBay the other day and I tried to win it, but got outbid. I don't believe I have any from Saxe-Altenburg, but I could be mistaken. I can't afford the helmets, uniforms, medals, or swords, so I just collect photos and postcards! I believe this postcard from Saxe-Meiningen is the only Saxon duchy that I have right now.

I can post it for you in the WAF DDR Forum, if you wish.

Les, Thanks for the post! Being a pickelhaube fanatic I went and looked and totally ruined my self esteem seeing all of those beautiful 'haubes (and uniforms, and medals, and swords, and etc., etc.) that I can't possibly afford!! But they were nice to look at though, so really, thanks for the post.

Rather than the standard bell-shaped stiff top or soft-looking top, notice how the next-to-the-last guy on the right (wearing a leather coat) has already started with the Wehrmacht look on his hat!

David, You can try here - http://www.chivalricorders.org/royalty/hab...cany/joseph.htm It has some information about the order, the statutes, and a list of current members. Most of it is written in Italian.