Herbert

This may be of help - trodel on a sabre rather than a bayonet, but could be mounted in the same way.

Herbert

Gentlemen, Andy has recently suggested that my father may be wearing the uniform of a Dragoner Regiment and, specifically, of Nr.16.

I had posted that he was born and lived in Hamburg - some 35 mules from Luneberg - and because a)the "overall" trousers fastened under the boot indicated a cavalry unit, b)his cap appears to have a light coloured band. In addition, I believe I can identify in the pic the "permanent" type spurs (screwed to the sides of the boot heel and with a nail/spike into the back of the heel) that I retained along with a pair of calibrated lensed field glasses. He died when I was still young and never mentioned his service in the Prussian army during WW1.

I believe the photo was taken in 1914. Any help with unit, rank etc would be greatly appreciated.

Herbert

Gentlemen,

In my search for information on my father's unit, Andy has recently suggested that he may be wearing the uniform of a Dragoner Regiment and, specifically, of Nr.16.

This came about because I posted that he was born and lived in Hamburg - some 35 mules from Luneberg - and because a)the "overall" trousers fastened under the boot indicated a cavalry unit, b)his cap appears to have a light coloured band. In addition, I believe I can identify in the pic the "permanent" type spurs (screwed to the sides of the boot heel and with a nail/spike into the back of the heel) that I retained along with a pair of calibrated lensed fieldglasses, as his only military souvenirs.

He died when I was still young and, perhaps because he felt it might be somewhat heavy baggage for a British schoolboy to carry in the early 1950's, never mentioned his service in the Prussian army during WW1.

I believe the photo was taken in 1914. Any help with unit, rank etc would be greatly appreciated.

Herbert

Gentlemen (& Lady),

Here is another photo of Dad aged 19 / 20, almost certainly taken in Hamburg (1914/15).

With the first photo I posted in June 2009, I reported that I have a pair of his binoculars - calibrated lenses and exploding grenade by the left eyepiece (artillery?) . I also have (somewhere..) the spurs I believe I can see him wearing in the accompanying shot. They were ceremonial, of the "permanently fixed" type, i.e. with a nail to drive them into the heel of the boot and screw holes at the end of each branch to attach them to the side of the heel; freely revolving wheels at the spur tips. I think his trousers have a strap or elastic under the boots - what in British cavalry terminology are known as "overalls".

In this photo, I can see what look like some kind of studs below that stiff collar high on his chest from shoulder board to shoulder board.

I hope the photo is good enough for me to get some ID help.

Best wishes

Herbert

Chip, still struggling with my new Mac - apologies.

I hope this is clearer.

Herbert

Hello Chip, Bob and other uniform connaisseurs;

2 more pieces of the jig-saw in my search:

1) I found a pair of chromed spurs, of the "permanently fixed" variety i.e. a spike/nail designed to be driven into the boot heel and screw holes at the end of each "arm" of the spur, again, to fasten into the boot, and

2) Another photograph, in which I imagine that I can see those very spurs.

The original posting of my father's 1916 portrait drew a hypothesis that the uniform (NCO but without collar buttons) might indicate Faehnrich rank. Could the new photo attached - taken somewhat earlier - be that of an officer cadet??

Your thoughts on this appreciated.

Herbert

Many thanks. As has been pointed out,on this blog, Harrisson may not have been a particularly convenient surname at the time, so I wonder whether he may not have used his mother's maiden name of Ahrens.

The only information I ever got from my mother was that he ended the war in Rotterdam - or close by. She gave no explanation, but the location is intriguing given that it is 45miles from Doorn...... Are you aware of any records of the Kaiser's staff when he went into exile there?

Either a F?hnrich or Unteroffizier-Offizieraspirant. I'd suspect the former from the sword knot and no collar rank buttons. But too small to tell.

Was he an officer or not?

If commissioned, his date of rank and unit will be retrievable as Glenn slogs through the hundreds of thousands of names in the Milit?r Wochenbl?tter indexing them all so we CAN find obscure wartime Leutnants der Reserve.

What's his name?

Rick,

How can I persuade Glenn to keep an eye open for Pa's name as he "slogs" through eh Wochenblaetter??

Herbert

PS Photos on the original thread ref Herbert (not sure how to do this!)

Yes, I also would like to see the shoulder straps more clearly; but I don't know if that's possible even with a better scan.

Are your sure about the name; Henry would be Heinrich in German. And Harrisson doesn't seem very German either.

Rick,

I'm afraid I can't improve on the scan. The quality of the picture is the problem – unsurprisingly since it dates from 1916. I like to think the boards are piped in white, which fits with the Prussian army. It's impossible to see what may be on the top of them. However, as you may have picked up from the thread, I have a pair of field glasses with artillery scales on the lenses and an exploding grenade motif engraved next to the left eyepiece

He was indeed christened in Hamburg on 1/08/1895: Henry Martin Frederick Kurt Harrisson and certainly used Kurt as his first name in Germany. His grandfather arrived in Hamburg in 1832 from Cork, Ireland, so he was of British descent, but with 100% German mother and grandmother.

Any ideas on his rank would be much appreciated (contrary to some of the thread comments, I believe one ca detect a porte-epee wrapped around the saber hilt)

Herbert

Herbert;

If he had become an officer pre-war he cound be found in Ranglisten, but the vast majority of officers created during the war were some sort of reserve officer, and are generally not found in published references. Some but not all units published unit histories after the war and typically an officer can usually be found in them. Unfortunately the Prussian Archives were burned in a fire raid in 1944 or 1945. You might want to give us his full name (did you?), someone might have a useful source.

Chip is an outstanding expert and collector on uniforms and especially shoulder straps from various units and hopefully he can figure something more out.

My paternal grand-mother lived in Hamburg and I have her address (there were family problems that made her not too active in family life), and I made a "cold call" (actually an e-mail) to the Hamburg City Archives and they were extremely helpful and looked up useful information I did not know. But their records from, I think, 1926 to 1944 were destroyed in the great Hamburg fire bombing. There was an annual city directory and possibly it might mention something about his military service; possible, not likely, like the 1917 edition mentioning his unit or rank.

Bob Lembke

Bob,

Thank you for your suggestion. I will certainly have a go at the Hamburg City Archives.

Herbert

Herbert,

Any idea when this photo was taken? Do you know which state's army he served with (i.e. Prussia, Saxony, etc.)? With this combination of lace and the Portepee, he has to be a Fähnrich. A Sergeant would have had an NCO Troddel and the large Wappenknöpfe on the collar.

This is a privately purchased Waffenrock. That makes it a bit more difficult to positively identify the Schulterklappen. The piping appears to be white. So we can guess that if he was in the field artillery that is was from an army corps that had white as the corps strap color. If you have any more clues, we might be able to narrow it down a bit more.

Chip

Chip,

Many thanks for picking up on this so quickly.

The photo was taken in 1916 - in Hamburg where he lived. The Schulterklappen piping indeed appears/is white, which ties in with his Hamburg residence to suggest the Prussian army. A privately purchased Waffenrock?? such vanity...... although I guess that by 1916, they were issuing all kinds of unattractive stuff and Dad was always a bit of a sharp dresser.

So glad you came down on the Faehnrich option. (he just looks to me more like a wet-behind-the-ears officer cadet than a seasoned NCO).

Looking at likely feldartillerie regiments brought up FAR 9 [General-Feldmarschall Graf Waldersee (Schleswigsches)] as probably the closest to Hamburg being quartered in Itzehoe. That would have put him in the 18th Division. Alternatives may be FAR 45 (Lauenburgisches) based in Altona/Rendburg and the Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 45 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 45) <LI>Feldartillerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr. 60 (Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 60) of the 33 Gemischte Ersatz-Birgade that I understand was drawn from Hamburg and Bremen.

I guess I need to explore army lists of these units. If he was indded an officer cadet and he survived the war, then he was probably commisiioned and should appear in records somewhere. Do you have any idea as to how I can get access to such docs?

In any event, I am taking up too much of your time and I just want to thank you for your explanation of his uniform as his rank was a real puzzle to me!

Best wishes

Herbert

Have no idea what this is/was..... but at least it amuses the infantry!

Looking at the guy on the left, I can't help noting the similarity of his uniform with that of my father in the attached 1916 photo- swedish cuffs, belt - and I have the field glasses with the exploding grenade engraved on the top! I am trying to discover in which unit he served and working hypothesis no.1 at this time is Feldartillerie. I know the litzen suggest he was an NCO, but could this uniform not have been that of a Faehnrich? He was just 20 and, in my view, mor likely to have been a (rather amatuer) officer cadert than a (tough, experienced) sergeant.....

Any comments greatly appreciated.

Herbert

Sorry fellows, but I am not sure if I see a Portepee in this picture.

Might you do a bigger scan of the sword-knot ?

And of the shoulder-boards, please.

Regards

jaeger7-de

Guten Abend Jaeger,

Herewith an attempted enlargement of sword knot and shoulder boards. The quality of the photo is evidently v. poor. If too blurred I can try again.

Mit freundlichen Gruessen

Herbert

Hi Herbert,

I'm not as knowledgeable about Imperial German uniforms as I'd like to be but I think you may be correct that he could have been an officer candidate. The buckle is the type that I believe was worn by NCO's... brass with the nickel/silver center emblem. Hope this is correct but have to wait for more expert voices to be heard.

Good luck! And welcome aboard!

Dan

Thanks for thr comments Dan - and also for the welcome.

I plan to keep trying!!

Rgards

Herbert

Sorry fellows, but I am not sure if I see a Portepee in this picture.

Might you do a bigger scan of the sword-knot ?

And of the shoulder-boards, please.

Regards

jaeger7-de

Thanks Jaeger - I'll try to improve the scans as you suggets during next weekend

Regards

Herbert

Either a F?hnrich or Unteroffizier-Offizieraspirant. I'd suspect the former from the sword knot and no collar rank buttons. But too small to tell.

Was he an officer or not?

If commissioned, his date of rank and unit will be retrievable as Glenn slogs through the hundreds of thousands of names in the Milit?r Wochenbl?tter indexing them all so we CAN find obscure wartime Leutnants der Reserve.

What's his name?

Dont know his rank Rick, but if he was indeed an aspirant/cadet, he hopefully got a commission. Perhaps Glenn can track him down. His name was:

HENRY MARTIN FRIEDRICH KURT HARRISSON

BORN HAMBURG 1895

Fingers crossed!

Regards

Herbert

The attached photo of my father was taken in 1916 when he was 20. The uniform is a puzzle:

Swedish cuffs were pretty much out by then, other than heavy cavalry perhaps (Dragonen, Kuirassier). Officer style cap, portepee suggest officer rank, but collar lace is unrecognizable. Shoulder boards are indecypherable, but prehaps more like NCO insignia.

In my view it is highly unlikely that such a youngster would be a sergeant (typically experienced soldiers). Could he be an officer cadet perhaps?

Any ideas gratefully received.

Herbert