azyeoman Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 I found this the other day and would like very much to know what rank and nationality the naval officer is. Any and all help would be appreciated. The photo studio reads "Ebner" and it has "La Haye" in the lower right with "reproductie" in smaller letters above. My guess is it was taken in France, but I am not sure. Thank you in advance.
army historian Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Need close up to see sleeve and awards. Possible British.
Guest talltom Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 la haye i think is what the french call the hague in the netherlands there was a photographer who took a lot of military/royal photos called ebner in 1898
azyeoman Posted February 4, 2012 Author Posted February 4, 2012 Need close up to see sleeve and awards. Possible British. I'll do my best to get a close up, but I know the medals are not British.
Odulf Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) This is a portrait of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Heinrich von Mecklenburg. He held an honorary rank as Admiral of the Rear in the Royal Dutch Navy. He became a Rear-Admiral in 1901 and was promoted Vice-Admiral in 1904. La Haye is the posh name for The Hague. Dutch Naval officers' uniforms can be easily recognised by the branch badges on the collar (in gold: anchor for executive, crossed torch and arrows for engineers, aesculapis for medial; in silver: anchor for administrative, silver aesculapis for chemists). Edited February 5, 2012 by Odulf 1
azyeoman Posted February 5, 2012 Author Posted February 5, 2012 This is a portrait of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Heinrich von Mecklenburg. He held an honorary rank as Admiral of the Rear in the Royal Dutch Navy. He became a Rear-Admiral in 1901 and was promoted Vice-Admiral in 1904. La Haye is the posh name for The Hague. Dutch Naval officers' uniforms can be easily recognised by the branch badges on the collar (in gold: anchor for executive, crossed torch and arrows for engineers, aesculapis for medial; in silver: anchor for administrative, silver aesculapis for chemists). Thank you very much! This is wonderful information.
Odulf Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 Here are 2 photos of him at a later age, to give a better view of the uniform and his decorations.
azyeoman Posted February 5, 2012 Author Posted February 5, 2012 Thank you. I see that on the photos you've posted, he has three stars whereas on the earlier one he has two. He also has several more decorations and it's good to see them up close. Thank you again.
Odulf Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 Thank you. I see that on the photos you've posted, he has three stars whereas on the earlier one he has two. He also has several more decorations and it's good to see them up close. Thank you again. As a Rear-Admiral he wore two silver stars, after promotion to Vice-Admiral he added a third star, thus the photo with Queen Wilhelmina dates between 1901 and 1904.
azyeoman Posted February 5, 2012 Author Posted February 5, 2012 As a Rear-Admiral he wore two silver stars, after promotion to Vice-Admiral he added a third star, thus the photo with Queen Wilhelmina dates between 1901 and 1904. Thank you again Odulf. I'll write this info very very lightly on the back of the CDV in pencil.
azyeoman Posted February 5, 2012 Author Posted February 5, 2012 It's interesting that he has so many "red cross" medals. I believe the last one is the British League of Mercy so his medal bar appears to be very international. I assume he did a lot for charity etc. as the royals do now.
Odulf Posted February 6, 2012 Posted February 6, 2012 Indeed, he was the president of the Dutch Red Cross and had many high decorations of international Red Cross societies. Below an outline of his orders and decorations (in Dutch) in 1933, shortly before he died, and don't forget that he was also a Duke of Mecklenburg... Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw Grootkruis Orde van Oranje Nassau Grootkruis Huisorde van Oranje Grootkruis Ereteken voor langd. Ned. Dienst als off. XXV Nederlandse Rode Kruis Medaille Nederlandse Rode Kruis Kruis van Verdienste De Ruijter-medaille in goud Watersnoodmedaille in zilver Mecklenburg: Huisorde van de Wendische Kroon met keten Mecklenburg: Orde van de Griffioen Pruisen: Orde van de Zwarte Adelaar met de keten Pruisen: Orde van de Rode Adelaar Grootkruis Oldenburg: Huisorde van Hertog Peter Frederik Lodewijk Grootkruis met kroon en keten Saksen Weimar Eisenach: Orde van de Witte Valk Grootkruis Saksen: Orde van de Ruitenkroon Ridder Bulgarije: Orde van St. Alexander Grootkruis Turkije: Orde van Osmanië Grootkruis Siam: Orde van de Witte Olifant Grootkruis België: Leopoldsorde Grootkruis Luxemburg: Huisorde van de Gouden Leeuw van Nassau Ridder Roemenië: Orde van de Ster Grootkruis Württemberg: Orde van de Kroon Grootkruis Zweden: Seraphynen Orde Ridder Portugal: Orde van de Toren en het Zwaard Grootkruis Siam: Orde van Maha-Chakkri Ridder 1e klasse met keten Japan: Chrysantemum-orde Bezitter Perzië: Timsah-Homayoeni (portret van de Sjah) Bezitter 1e klasse met briljanten Orde van St. Jan Commendator Gr.-Brittannië: Bath-orde Grootkruis met keten Souvereine Orde van Malta Grootkruis Frankrijk: Legioen van Eer Grootkruis Denemarken: Olifants-Orde Grootkruis Noorwegen: St. Olafsorde Grootkruis met keten Waldeck: Erekruis 1e klasse Saksische Hertogdommen: Ernestinische Huisorde Grootkruis Beieren: St. Hubertusorde Grootkruis Baden: Orde van Getrouwheid Grootkruis Lippe-Detmold en Lippe-schaumburg: Erekruis 1e klasse Hessen: Ludwigs-orde Grootkruis Brunswijk: Orde van Hendrik de Leeuw Grootkruis Reuss: Erekruis Hongarije: St. Stephanus-orde Grootkruis Rusland: St. Anderas-orde Grootkruis Oostenrijk: Rode Kruis Grootkruis Rusland: Rode Kruis Grootkruis Duitsland: Rode Kruis Onderscheiding 1e klasse Italië: Rode Kruis Gouden Medaille Servië: Rode Kruis Kruis van Verdienste Spanje: Rode Kruis Grootkruis Portugal: Rode Kruis Grootkruis Cuba: Rode Kruis Grootkruis Italië: Rode Kruis Grootkruis Gr. Brittannië: “Royal Humane Society” Gouden medaille Pruissen: Reddingsmedaille Mecklenburg-Schwerin: Reddingsmedaille Venezuela: Medaille van Openbaar Onderwijs Polen: Orde van de Witte Adelaar Grootkruis
azyeoman Posted February 19, 2012 Author Posted February 19, 2012 That's amazing. Thank you so much for all the information!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now