Daniel Murphy

I have been thinking about doing the same thing for an officers headgear, uniform, etc. grouping I have. It is something I will keep as long as I live. His WW1 would be a 4 medal, but his WW2 would be a 7. Much harder to do. I am all for you doing this to honor him. If you are any good at metalworking, you may be able to make a very nice period backplate or have someone make it for you. I think that is you best bet, not too many loose backers around that size. Dan Murphy

That is a nice box, I have never seen one before. Don't ask me why, but I like it better than the fancy cases. Dan Murphy

Sorry, but that is a made up bar. Look at the prongs on the back, some are bright and some are grey. The ribbons, therefore, have come from at least two ribbon bars. The scratches on the back of the bar near the prongs were made when the ribbons were changed around. . If you have bid, I sugest you retract it. Dan Murphy

Not without an Honor Cross c. '34 or later. This looks like the type of bar where the ribbons are attached with bent prongs. Is there any indication it has had the ribbons changed? Can you show the back? Dan Murphy

Chip, The other thing it has going for it is that "Fritz" is of course, a nickname for Friedrich. It would also appear that Fritz is the same equivalent rank as Friedrich, but serving in a different capacity at the time. I do believe they are one and the same. Dan Murphy

The screwback should have an extra back plate which is missing. This is a unmarked Deutsche Offizier Verein EK1. That 12 Marked cross has another marking that looks like it could have been "IK" or "JK". All are very nice crosses. IMHO it is a shame they polished them, I like them with the patina intact. To each his own. Dan Murphy

Tony, That is a "We" maker mark. for some reason these are more often stamped there than on the ribbon ring. The "K" could be an assemblers mark. Dan Murphy

So does anyone have the spare filter with the carrier or the 1915 bag for a mask and spare filter? Dan Murphy

Paul, Iron Cross 2nd Class, Hessian medal for bravery or merit, Baden long service ,Kyffhauser Bund medal with swords, unknown for now, Flanders Cross. Since there is no other Baden decoration, The long service ribbon could have wrongly been used to represent a couple other awards with similar ribbons.

Heiko, Thank you for enlightening me on this award. I had no idea one was official and one was not. That explains the elephant order having "Afrika" emblazoned on it. So, could one wear both the Lion Order 1st Class and the Elephant Order as long as they were authorized and purchased the one, plus belonged to the veterans association? Dan Murphy

Beautiful badges gentlemen. I have seen more on this thread than in the last 20 years of collecting imperial and have never held one. I have a nice copy of the observers badge, but a real one (pilot or observer) has always eluded me. It would definitely be the pinnacle of my badge collection. Dan Murphy

Wow, I have never seen a German language document for a Turkish award. Best I can make out is that the recipient was a Beamten. Feldintendantur ________ _______ Friedrich Lederer. The date of the award is the same day that the Turkish bowed out of the war and asked for an armistice. The spelling does look odd, but I agree it it is for the Silver Imtiaz Medal with swords. I am not having any luck with exactly what type of Feldintendantur he was. Since Liman von Sanders was a Turkish army commander, he probably had the authority to award most of the lower ranking decorations without approval from above. Perhaps this one of a last group of medals awarded to people he thought were deserving individuals before it was all over. Dan Murphy

Jens, I am not the webmaster but he is a good friend of mine (and unit commander) and I do not see a problem with him doing it. Dan Murphy

I would say it is definitely from the barracks. If it got nailed heavily in the bombing someone might say, what's the harm? Lets take it. I know of a WW1 German officer who shipped home a huge bronze medusa's head that had been attached to a damaged Russian fort near Warsaw. In the 70's it was hanging on the outside wall of his grandson's home by the North Sea.

Absolutely beautiful. I love the symmetry. Dan Murphy

Vince, My understanding of these (and that may be wrong) is that the Lion Order was awarded to men who served in Africa and the Elephant Order was given to those who served in the various colonies elsewhere. The awards were probably available to all who served there for a specified time, not just Schutztruppen or See Batallion personel. I have also seen a photo of a Lion order in bronze worn on a ribbon, I have not seen an elephant order like this. Judging from the number I see for sale, I believe far fewer of the elephant order were awarded. If memory serves they were not authorized until the 20's. Dan Murphy

Beautiful cross, but are you sure it is a WS? It does not looks like the mark on my EK1. Maybe a We? Cab you post a more close up shot of the mark. Here is mine. Sorry it was taken before I learned to resize them.

Jens, Great site. I think I met some of you guys at the event in Ieper in May 2001. I was one of the two Germans from the U.S.. My next trip includes the panzer museum, mainly to see the A7V. Is it possible for the casual tourist to enter it and take some pics. Short of going to Canberra to see the real one (maybe someday) this will have to do. If you ever make it over to this side of the pond, I can give you a loaner Gew 98 and put you up with my unit at one of our events. We have sixty acres of trenches, shell holes, and underground bunkers. Check it out . For photos click on "Recreated" and then go to the bottom of the page for a link to the photos.8 Komp./ IR 459 Dan Murphy

It does seem iffy, but I have seen a genuine early steel buckle with a m95 style shank made from steel. It is possible it is a transitional piece. Made, probably 1915 when the last issue brass buckles were made. Basically, if the maker gets to a point where he has more old style buckle frames than old style shanks, at some point an older style buckle, is going to get a newer shank. Look closely at the stitching on the tab, if it old and worn and looks correct, it is probably good. However someone may have taken a tab from a trashed buckle and put it on this one. Never heard of it being done because the tabs are so hard to find on real buckles, but greed knows no bounds, so who knows. If the stitching looks new or it is obviously dyed or darkened after it was sewn, it is bad. If the wrapped shank is or was nickel plated, it is almost surely a fake. This would not have been done on a supposed issue buckle. I would definitely like to see the pics whenever you can get them.

Definitely a real one, sometimes they just jump up and scream it at you. This one is a screamer. Dan Murphy

Probably the latest manufacture of any of the crosses shown is 1830's and that one is identified as such. Sometimes the frame fits very close to the step on the core (as designed) and sometimes they are more worn and the frame pulls away from the step. The later are much easier to identify. If you look very closely you will see the step on these. Dan Murphy

All of the above. Plus, because the pin on the back is reversed. Say for a man who had lost an arm or an uhlan who wore it to the right. Dan Murphy

Richard, Great case, the red lining makes it very distinctive and beautiful. The cross is not so bad either. Glenn, It is a shame it is damaged, but I have been wanting one of these for years. I would buy one even if it was in poor condition. Great case as well. Dan Murphy

I agree, this is a very nice and hard to find original tschako. It is somewhat misshapen but that can be dealt with by reblocking it. The silk part of the liner attached to the top edge of the leather. Here a pic of another officers tschako lining. The cypher has been hidden. Notice there is no silk lining on the brims as on a spiked helmet. Normally the lining would be cream, yellow, green or brown. White linings were the sign of royalty, but not all royals had them. Dan Murphy

The lady on the right on the T34, is Kate Murphy. She (and her husband unfortunately) are friends of mine and also do WW1. She portrays a ww1 German Red Cross Nurse and renders aid to poor unfortunates who are hurt or hungry (or just want to be in the vicinity) . She is a lovely lady in every sense of the word and her cookies are to die for. I mean the ones she bakes. Dan Murphy (No we are not related)