Daniel Murphy

Luftmensch, Heres the next part of the story. The LZ 38 raided London on May 31, 1915. Isn't that the date on your Thor ehrenbecher? Nevermind, I just found the thread and it belonged to Volkmann Dan Murphy

Marshall, When he contacted me, the main piece he wanted me to look at was the silver-gilt piece. The gold piece was just added because he thought I would enjoy seeing it. He then stated that there were no markings and two vent holes in the 3 and 9 o'clock arms. I automatically assumed he was speaking of the gold one. Perhaps it is hollow and he did not know to look on the baroque loop for the markings. I will clarify this with him and get back to you. Dan Murphy

Here is a link to his service history. Artur Arz Freiherr von Straussen-Burg

Reverse. If you have any questions, I will forward them to my friend who wishes to remain anonymous. I do not have them in hand so it may take a day or two for an answer. Dan Murphy

Next up we have the hollow gold PLM with oakleaves of Generaloberst Artur Arz von Straussen-Burg awarded on 28 Aug. 1915. He was awarded the Oakleaves on 6 Aug. 1917. From March 1917 until the end of the war, he was Chief of the General Staff for the A-H Army. My friend attributes the immaculate condition of this piece is due to the owner being Austro-Hungarian and therefore he may not have worn it often. Whatever the reason, it is a magnificent piece. Dan Murphy

Here is a photo of Christiansen in 1936, then a Generalmajor of the Luftwaffe.

Here is the document for the crown awarded in 1967. The signature at the bottom is of Theo Osterkamp, himself a PLM winner and head of the Orders association in 1967. The crown on the above PLM is identical to one shown on the PLM of Arthur Laumann in "Prussian Blue". This one is just attached in a different way.

So you ask. Who is it identified to? Here is a photocopy of the original document for the above piece. Thats right, Oberleutnant der Matrosenartillerie Friedrich Christiansen. The only naval seaplane pilot to be awarded the Pour le Merite in WW1.

Reverse.

Gentlemen, I had a esteemed member of this forum send me the following photos of two PLMs in his collection. He was asking for my opinion on them and my reply was something like " OMFG!!! ". I am posting them for him since he wishes to remain anonymous. First up is one in silver gilt with a "god awful crown" (as he put it). Dan Murphy

I would imagine that, if the bar is real, that it is from the time of the Helgoland-Zanzibar treaty. The island of Witu (now Wituland) was part of Zanzibar and was a German protectorate . Since I do not know anything about orders from Zanzibar, I would say the colonial officer was awarded it pre 1890. In 1890 the above treaty was signed which made all of Zanzibar a British protectorate and gave the Germans the Island of Helgoland. At this time there was widespead rioting by the population of Witu against the Germans who they felt were abandoning them. I believe that the officer was then most likely awarded the RAOX for some action at this time. There was no campaign medal so it cannot be on the bar. Most likely the officer also retired before WW1. Well?.....Am I close? Dan Murphy

Dan , You have a very nice piece there, I also think the original ribbon should be put back on it. Somehow, an older one like that does not look right with a mint ribbon. I once asked someone in jest if there was a 12 step program for militaria addiction. If there was I would refer you. Dan Murphy

Paul, These were worn only with the 1870 EK2. They were authorized in 1895 for the 25th Anniversary of the victory during the Franco-Prussian War. My understand these were not issued, but had to be purchased. That would explain why the majority of 1870 EK2s do not have them. Ralph, you have been a busy guy. Dan Murphy

Ralph, Is that the one Weitze had for sale? It looks identical and is a great piece. I have lusted after that one many times. Dan Murphy

Yes, but since all of the house jewelers were otherwise occupied, he had the illustrious firm of Haesslich & Faelschung of Berlin N.E. make them Dan Murphy

Originally it was the Pattern 1913 and was designed to be chambered in .276 caliber. When the war came along, the arms manufacturers in Britain were occupied producing weapons at full capacity and to try to change production midstream in the middle of a war would have been disastrous. So they looked to the neutral U.S., who was not at war and had ample production capability, to produce them in .303 Mark VII caliber to supplement the SMLEs then in service. The P 14 was made, under contract, by Winchester, Remington and Eddystone, the last of which was a subsidiary of Remington I believe. Due to the tooling up time required when producing a new firearm, I doubt any P '14s got overseas and in the field until early 1915. When the United States entered the war in April 1917, the U. S. government ordered the above companies to cease production for Britain and ordered the production of the rifle in 30-06 caliber. This was a minor alteration and it was adopted as the U.S. Rifle, model of 1917. As far as I know the rifles already produced in .303 and sitting in the warehouse waiting for shipment, were shipped out to Britain as scheduled. Once the change over was made the shipments to the U.K. stopped entirely. Remington and Westinghouse (yes the electrical appliance guys) were also making Model 1891 Moisin-Nagant rifles for Imperial Russia. The earliest one I have seen is dated 1915. This is why I have given the same year for the P 14. I hope this helps Dan Murphy

OMG, he is wearing his silver wound badge superior to his EK1. I know he was an officer and should have known better, so how he got away with it is beyond me. As far as the document, this is consistent with an A-H Aviation officers documents I have. Dan Murphy

Ah yes, the MvR bars that were made up some years back Dan Murphy

Yes, there is. The Hamburg Hanseatic is on the wrong ribbon and from the looks of things, they buggered an original bar to make that monstrosity. Dan Murphy

Actually, FAA is the abbreviation for Flieger Abteilung Artillerie. These units directed artillery shoots on selected targets using wireless to report the fall of the shot. FFA would be for Feld Flieger Abteilung and FA would be for Flieger Abteilung. These last two are standard observation squadrons. Dan Murphy

I am not sure what they are (perhaps Polish ?), but they are not Prussian rank buttons. Sorry. Dan Murphy

KOs were made by or for the Royal Prussian Orders Chancellery and all are issue pieces. Since Iron Crosses were issued until 1924 (mostly late awards and a few for the unrest of the period). I believe these late awards would mostly have later plated frames or be two piece or one piece bronze strikes that are seen. Many jewelers after 1917 could no longer produce items from genuine silver. I do not know if this was due to a shortage of labor to mine it (since all of the young men were off to the war) or whether it was being used to purchase war materials from the neutrals. Many countries dealing with Germany would only accept gold in payment, and since there was only a limited gold reserve, silver may have been used for this as well. With inflation out of control in the 20's, silver would be extremely expensive at this time. Since all KOs I have seen have silver frames, I do not believe they were issued after the war. Dan Murphy

Nice classic KAG. Dan Murphy

You sure he's not a retired Field grade officer who needed a second job to supplement his pension. Its all about being in the right place at the right time. Is there any chance we can get a run down on the orders displayed? J Dan Murphy

Christophe, The problem is every order maker probably produced them, but they failed to mark them except on perhaps the rare occasion. Look at the screwback rayback badge in silver posted above. Not a finer quality badge was produced by anyone, yet the only mark is "Silber". We may never know who made which ones, so we just have to appreciate them for what they are and what they represent. Dan Murphy