webr55

I agree! The Ingolstadt museum is well worth visiting!

Thanks Paul. 

No I don't have them. A good idea.

Re: the top bar.

Sascha mentioned two years ago (see above) that this is a fake, maybe an older type of fake that came in a bunch from the same seller. I think Sascha may be right: Huesken is currently selling the bar below, which is a quite similar construction, odd combination of ribbons too:

Has anyone seen similar ones?

China Medals are listed in the DOA 1908/09. I know yes - some caution here (Rick, I remember!) - steel versions are not necessarily listed. Usually these went to Zahlmeister and similar types. But no one really fits here.
The other candidates, judging from their 1914 combinations, are:

KK Mündel (2.4.95)

KK Kahlert (2.4.95), had a RAO4mKr

KK Westerkamp (16.4.94), had a RAO4mKr

OStA Dr. Gersdorf (1.4.88)

All of these are in the DOA, with Centenary but without China Medal.

There is one other vague candidate: 
Stabszahlmeister Magnus Lange (29.3.78) had RAO and PKO, no LS award, but is not listed in the DOA at all. 

So yes, ID is not 100%, but quite good.

I've looked up that obituary you mentioned. It lists a brother Hans-Jürgen Ballas, which makes me believe that Dieter's original last name was just "Ballas" and that he maybe added his wife's name "von Rüdgisch" to it.

This Imperial Navy bar - which came from a seller in Alabama - seems common, but in fact it is not. It is a navy officer's bar, for the "monkey dress" jacket, pre-1914. 

Red Eagle Order (4th cl probably), Crown Order (4th cl probably), China Medal, Centenary. (but NO LS award!)

The combination seems common, but, ok assuming this is the last pre-war bar the wearer had, there is - surprisingly - only one candidate:

char. Marine-Generalarzt Dr. Heinrich Schmidt (1871-1945)

The combination of having NO long service award BUT still the 1897 Centenary medal AND the China Medal makes it ID'able.

Dr. Heinrich Schmidt entered Navy service 1.10.1896 (so just in time to get the 1897 medal)

Oberstabsarzt 27.3.1909

Generaloberarzt 24.5.1916

Char. Marine-Generalarzt 27.4.1921

Here is his entry in the 1918 ranklist, with wartime awards: 

He got 

PKO4 10.10.1901 as Marineoberassistenzarzt, Marinestation der Nordsee

RAO4 9.5.1909 as Marineoberstabsarzt, SMS Zähringen

But most important, his China medal is shown in the DOA 1908/09:

The Navy Ehrenrangliste has his final rank:

All other candidates either do not list a China medal or held a LS award. A particularly interesting case is Korvettenkapitän Hermann Buchholz, who holds the same awards as Schmidt in 1914 (without LS award) BUT his LS is listed in the 1918 RL.

By chance, I found Schmidt's death date on the internet: 

He died at the military hospital Bad Nenndorf in 1945:

Link: http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/dkm_deutschland/bad_nenndorf_frdh_wk2_ns.htm

Thanks, Rogi. I don't think we should take the width too seriously. It varies on Ehm's different bars, probably no one had much experience with it. The ribbon is certainly not a second Red Star, as it is clearly different from the Red Star ribbon that is used. Moreover, it is put in very different places, not always together with the Red Star.

Yes, but the one who was already Oberst a.D. in 1926 is unlikely to have been alive in the 60s. 

My thoughts on this: This grouping belonged to two different members of the same family. There is an EK 1939 as a single ribbon bar and an EK 1914 on the large bar, these must have been awarded to different individuals. The navy items probably belonged to one person, much younger than the other, who the large bar belonged to. 

The name you found in the Ehrenrangliste seems to be Oberst Bruno von Rüdgisch .

Found a third bar of Ehm's, on display on his uniform at the Hamburg Museum of Naval History. This one is shorter than the others, probably only with his most important awards. The last ribbon is the medal for 30 years Nationale Volksarmee (1986).

I found a third bar of Ehm's, on display at the Hamburg Museum of Naval History. Here again, the (supposed) Che Guevara Order is in correct width:

Any new ideas on this one? Does anyone know of GDR officers who got Cuban awards?

Hello Paul, I couldn't send a pm for some reason. I saw this thread too late. Any of Rick's bars still available?

Also, I have one row of one of Moritz von Gall's bars of which Rick, if I remember correctly, had the second part.

Best

Chris

You could have a point there, but what other ribbons bear a crown with crossed swords?

There are a number of possibilities, such as:

Albrechtsorden

Ernestiner Hausorden

Bavarian Military Merit Order

I wonder if that's really a Hohenzollern in the photo. The ribbon under the crown device doesn't look black.

A (yet) unidentified Luftwaffe Lt-Colonel

A (yet) unidentified Luftwaffe Lt-Colonel

Wow - that was close. I almost thought you found my (still unidentified) Luftwaffe officer:

Great to see that picture!

Any news on when the HHOX volume will come out?

Regards

Chris

THIS is really interesting! I bet there´s much more exciting stuff to come about this topic!!

Bornhausens date of the award was the 18.07.1907:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/28031/supplements/4171

Thanks for that!

Chris: I'm curious!

Well it was a pre-WW1 award, I bet the exact gazetting date could be traced.

In 1914, he was a career Hauptmann, Adjutant of 41. Infanterie-Brigade, holding a Royal Victorian Order, Knight.

As Rick might have said: An award from the days of early globalisation, before 20th century madness set in...

I'd say SS-Standartenführer Eduard Bornhausen's Royal Victorian Order on his SS uniform:

Fascinating. Those income guarantees were quite common it seems.

Btw, now I see I know the street where he lived.

Congratulations to the bar and photo!

My Hungarian bar:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/18673-hungarian-ww2-ribbon-bar/?hl=hungarian

My Slovakian bar with EK:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/29117-slovakian-ribbon-bar-with-iron-cross/

Maybe this is something for the Ribbon Bar Article? EK on a Slovakian bar.