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    Group of medal bars w lifesaving Prussia and Italian medal Valore al Marina


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    The newest kids in my collection:

    Medal group with 3 medal bars, one in regular pattern, one Frackspange and one medal bar without medals, no hooks on the back just the pin. Both with maker tag of Godet. One crown order marked ?W?, the other ?JG&S?. One Italian medal marked FERRARIS, the other unmarked. With big case of Godet plus the cases for the Prussian live savings medal and the Italian medal Al Valore Marina. Both Italian medals engraved:

    A

    Kopp Heinrich

    Ingegnere

    SIRACUSA

    27. Agosto 1905.

    As I have absolutely no reference book about Italian medals I have some questions:

    -Was the medal Al Valore Marina kind of Coastguard medal or Navy?

    -How many were awarded in which time period and how many German recepients existed?

    -What was going on August 27th in1905 in or near Syracuse?

    -Is there an archive where I can find information about german live savings medal winners?

    Many thxs in advance!

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    Very nice indeed! Simple but just beautiful and with an name!!! :jumping::beer::love::love::love:

    The ribbon of the medaglia al valore (bronzo) is for Navy. Still today it's still the same ribbon used for that medal (http://www.medals.lava.pl/it/it_chkmain.htm). Marina is in Italian the word for Navy.

    Ciao,

    Claudio

    Edited by Claudio
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    Heinrich Kopp was a CIVIL engineer, not a member of the navy. He is listed in the DOA 1908/09 as living in Berlin, born in Berlin 16.8. (but no year listed!), with PrKO4, Prussian lifesaving medal and - Italian livesaving medal.

    Regards

    Chris

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    Guest Rick Research

    Interesting. That may be the wrong ribbon for the Italian Lifesaving Medal though because he was not a NAVAL engineer, but a CIVIL one.

    His entry in the 1908/09 Orders Almanac has him as

    Ingenieur, Hansaufer 7, Berlin NW, born Berlin 16 August (no year :banger: ) with ?, KO4 and Italian ?.

    I suppose you'll have to hunt him through the annual Berlin city directories for more clues:

    http://adressbuch.zlb.de/

    :cheers:

    Kopp is not listed in 1937 in the directory of the German Lifeaving award recipients' association--at least not in Berlin. (There is no index.)

    "Availability" is usually the other way around-- far more returns than duplicates!

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    Guest Rick Research

    His entry from the Orders Almanac:

    I wandered around in the Berlin directories a bit-- NOT listed in 1908, at the Orders Almanac address in 1909 (adding IIIrd floor and Telephone number II 1232), but not listed in 1914. he must have moved around in whatever business he was actually in. American city directories of that period list home and work addresses, so then we can look in the business street listings to see what the person's place of employment was-- but with a metropolis as huge as Berlin, no such double listing, alas.

    Looks like he'll be a tough one to find. can't even check Berlin records for his birth, since he omitted the YEAR. :banger:

    BTW, are BOTH Italian medals engraved, or only the issued one?

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    Thanks for all the good information!

    What I do not understand so far, is the medal Al Valore Marina the lifesavings medal of Italy or of the Navy or is it another Italian lifesavings medal which is listed in the Ordensalmanach?

    Rick, both medals are engraved.

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    Guest Rick Research

    Assuming that the two lifesaving medals were awarded for the same deed (which may not be true at all), it would be interesting if there was aany way to find a newspaper account of his receipt of it/them.

    From Eric Ludvigsen's statistical masterwork, there were 218 awards of the Prussian ? in 1905.

    The Italian NAVAL version is a puzzle, since he was NOT a naval engineer. I wonder if that was used for sea rescues rather than land rescues?

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    PLEASE forgive my ignorance :blush: , but which is the Prussian Lifesaving Medal and which is the Italien?

    :beer: Doc

    The beauty with orange and white ribbon i the Prussian and you'll figure out the rest.

    Edited by RaZpuTiN
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    The Italian NAVAL version is a puzzle, since he was NOT a naval engineer. I wonder if that was used for sea rescues rather than land rescues?

    Exactly - for a water rescue the Al Valore di Marina would have been awarded regardless of his service. I believe that there are published rolls for all Italian Navy recipients, but I don't know if they include foreigners. The medal, the engraving and the case all indicate that this is his awarded original.

    Tim

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