GdC26

Wilhelm I, awarded in 1888 whilst von Seckendorf was serving as Flügeladjutant to Wilhelm I. At the time, he held the rank of Kspitän zur See. See the overview below, kindly reproduced from OuE issue 104, p 185

I agree, well done KM admiral. Kind regards, Sandro

Thanks for the correction on the number. So it must be murder then? The cause was established by the coronary, who described his findings, but just did not draw any final conclusions (which was not unusual in such circumstances involving royalty): he was found with a gunshot wound, and drowned. The prevailing view is he committed suicide. "Am 24. Februar nachmittags fand man dann die Leiche des Großherzoges mit einer Schussverletzung in der Brust im Kammerkanal bei Neustrelitz. Die Schusswaffe konnte trotz intensiver Suche nie gefunden werden. Als Todeszeitpunkt wird im Obduktionsbefund der Abend des 23. Februar 1918 angenommen, als Todesursache wurde „Ertrinken“ festgestellt, in der Annahme, dass der Schuss nicht sofort tödlich war. Im Obduktionsbefund des Amtsarztes Dr. Wilda heißt es, er sei „getroffen, vornüber ins Wasser gefallen und ertrunken“. (...) Aus seinem Umfeld wurde von depressiver Stimmung des Großherzoges berichtet, so auch später in den Memoiren der Daisy von Pless. " https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Friedrich_VI._(Mecklenburg) Kind regards, Sandro

And re the heading: Friedrich Franz IV was of course grandduke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, not of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (at least at the time of the pic, he was not - he ruled Mecklenburg-Strelitz only from February to November 1918, following the suicide of Adolf Friedrich IV). Kind regards, Sandro

Pleasure Bayern, that is what the forum should be about. There are more in the thread on the Kleindekoration des Schwarzen Adlerordens in the orders and decorations section.

Where is the Kleindekoration? He is wearing the breaststar.

Those are not particularly hard to find.

I think this may be fairly specific to the ranking individual concerned - one of the pics I posted shows what seems to be an adjutant to a unit or general with a sash, another shows Prinz Alfons with what appears to be a personal adjutant. At the same time, the pics I have of Wilhelm II of Württemberg show no adjutants with sash or aguilettes, and neither do the pics I have of Rupprecht. ?

But the pics I posted earlier today show plenty, and not just for Willi.

Correct. More pics below, 4 more for Willi, 4 for Bavaria, 4 for Saxony, 4 schowing Schärpen in wear 93x Prussia, 1 x Saxony). I have several pics from Württemberg, but none of them show aguilettes/Fangschnure or Schärpen in wear during ceremonies. Same for Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Baden. If any has pics of adjutants of those states, please feel free to share. The Prinz Alfons pic is postwar, but it is a nice illustration of the Schärpe in wear.

Possibly, although the pic is too blurry to be certain. Wilhelm is wearing Austrian (Oberst Inhaber) uniform, and the tree folds are most likely Austrian (the second decoration from the left appears to be the Kleindekoration for the GC of the St. Stephansorden. Some more pictures to follow over the weekend as time permits.

Navy on this occasion, army on others - he had a host of adjutants. I had difficulty posting further pics last night - will try again now.

Willy, of course, went all the way, and usually brought his own herald and standard bearer (presumably, because no one else would do it for him .....). I have more, but for some reason am unable to post them at the moment.

"Front" visit of King Ludwig III, with several adjutants wearing aguilettes in tow. Let me know if this is the type of pic you are looking for.

Sure, I’ll dig for Willy & his friends and relationship later tonight.

I've had a quick look at the 1918 Rangliste (not: Militär Handbuch), but could not find our man there.

All you say makes sense, so the man in the pic may not be von Malsen. but either way: if von Malsen was connected to Dutch nobility (as a quick websearsch seemed to suggest), then a protestant connection may exist and a Johanniter would not be out of the question.

The pic dates from after the introduction of the Bavarian Borte in March 1916. The 1916 Militär Handbuch (which reflects changes up to those announced in attachment 4 to Verordnungsblatt 18 of 1916) still has Malsen down as adjudant to Prinz Rupprecht. Malsen's decorations published in the 1916 Militär Hanbuch are given below (click on the .tiff file and it will open). It is not so clear to me that the Handbuch listed awards of the (Prussian) Johanitter order (I could not find it listed among the abbreviation lists at the outset of the Handbuch). Neither could I find "AFK" (which may stand for "Anhalt Friedrich Kreuz", but then placement would be odd, after the Jubileumsmedaille and before the DAK). As per the date of the Handbuch, based on the listing, Malsen had no EKI or similar Steckkreuz type awards. I should have the Militär Handbücher for 1917 and 1918, and will look for those later as time permits. 1916.pdf (BEVEILIGD).tiff

Ok, I've gone through my pictures. Based on that review, aguilettes/Fangschnure were worn on official duties, as you say, sashes were also occasionally worn but were less common. I did find the two pics shown that were part of a larger set (once in my collection, but now sold) taken on the occasion of a visit of crown prince Wilhelm and Archduke Albrecht to Rupprecht's headquarters. Could the man on the right, in the literka, be von Malsen? Did von Malsen have a Johanniter order (not too common for Bavarian officers)?

Possible, and that last bit may explain the missing button: but it seems to me that it is not fact, but merely a guess (however educated it may be). I'll dig through my pics in the coming days and see if I can find any of Rupprecht and his staff (plenty of Rupprecht, not sure about his staff, though). Can you post a pic of where the button used to be? And does the tunic have any tailor label (no name tag, that is clear, but perhaps a tailor label)?

Chris, Thanks. The descriptions below (Kraus and Knötel/Pietsch/Kollas, which in fact only deals with regs up to 1914) confirm that the adjutants to princes of the Bavarian royal house wore their regimental tunics with adjudant's sash and aguilettes. If the tunic indeed at some time had a button under the right shoulderboard that would support your theory that the tunic may have belonged to the personal adjudant of a Bavarian royal prince. The scans from Helm/Ströbel (Die feldgraue Friedens- und Kriegsbekleidung der k. Bayerischen Armee) confirms that Flügeladjutanten wore SB's matching those on your tunic. Problem is, though, that as per the above, the person you have in mind was not a Flügeladjutant, whilst the facing color of both the SB and the collar tabs suggest that the tunic in fact did belong to a Flügeladjutant. It might help things if you explain who you had in mind: is it Ludwig Freiherr von Malsen? And why can't it for example be Maximilian Freiherr von and zu Bodmann (Flügeladjutant in the 1916 Rangliste with no EK I)? Sandro Ps - the Bavarian Army museum book on Bavarian epaulettes and rank insignia gives the red underlay material for Flugeladjutanten-shoulderboards up to 1915 as velvet. Not sure whether that continued to apply post 1915, though.

Chris, Thanks. The descriptions below (Kraus and Knötel/Pietsch/Kollas, which in fact only deals with regs up to 1914) confirm that the adjutants to princes of the Bavarian royal house wore their regimental tunics with adjudant's sash and aguilettes. If the tunic indeed at some time had a button under the right shoulderboard that would support your theory that the tunic may have belonged to the personal adjudant of a Bavarian royal prince. The tunic is Leib-Regiment 1916 officer's tunic. The scans from Helm/Ströbel (Die feldgraue Friedens- und Kriegsbekleidung der k. Bayerischen Armee) confirm that Flügeladjutanten wore SB's matching those on your tunic. The problem then indeed seems to be that the person you have in mind apparently was not a Flügeladjutant. It might help the discussion if you gave us the name of the major you thought the tunic might have belonged to, so someone may source a picture if they have one. Is your candidate Ludwig Freiherr von Malsen? Kind regards, Sandro

Chris, Flügeladjutanten in Bavaria wore collar tabs with red velvet underlays - does your tunic have those? And is there a button for an aguilette under the right side shoulderboard? If so, that may confirm your theory, if not, that would be a strong counter indication. I reinster here the pages from Pietsch/Knötel/Collas on Generaladjutanten and Flügeladjutanten that I posted in the Castell-Castell thread some time ago. Hope of use. Sandro

For my own education (and perhaps that of others), can I solicit views please on the Oakleaves mappe currently for sale at Weitze (any issues and price etc.)? Eagle looks a bit worse for wear than the Burmeister maple, but any red flags? Many thanks in advance, and kind regards, Sandro https://www.weitze.net/militaria/82/...l?t=1577350796