alan_g Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Here is a nice post 1939 ribbon bar which belonged to a Hesse veteran of WWI who fought in Turkey and gained the Liyakat medal and Iron Halfmoon. Somewhere in his career he managed to tie in service with Austria and Bulgaria. After WWI he joined the Freikorps and was awarded the Silesian Eagle medal. In WWII he was awarded the KVK X, sadly the swords have fallen from this piece. Probably an NCO ribbon bar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Based on the Liakat Medal (very very weird to NOT see the "pirate cutlasses" date bar device there!) probably a late WW1 Lt dR. The Austrian generic bravery awards ribbon without any device suggests a Bravery Medal, so at least then not commissioned yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_g Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Would they have had ample stocks of Turkish WWI devices so late on as 1939? I would imagine tailor shops would have stopped stocking these after the mid 1930s. Specialist military out fitters would possibly have had the stocks of correct devices available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 (edited) Usually--that was a fairly "common" device--and a memorable one! The minis were, atter all, German-made devices, not Ottoman issue. How about the screw-up on that bottom one? It was obviously supposed to be Xs on the Hindenburg and a gold wreath on the Austrian for ÖM3K. I can't even imagine what a bronze wreath with crossed swords could possibly have ever been used on!!!! Edited September 14, 2013 by Rick Research Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Danner Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Wasn't it used on one of those unofficial veterans awards? Or am I half-remembering some other wreath-like device? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_g Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 Hi Dave, are you thinking of the wreath device with one sword running through it? German Honorary World War Commemorative Medal of the German Legion of Honour? Rick Your bar could be a great example of a "make do and mend" approach to German ribbon bars and their manufacture. If it isn't in stock well use the next best thing. Unusual device, yet still characteristic of the medal itself... maybes it was deliberate? There was a 20 year gap between the end of WWI and the start of WWII, and Turkish devices most certainly would be a specialist purchase at that point in time, from say a small town tailors shop who would only stock the basics for German state awards and would be geared towards catering for the "modern soldier" etc. I would imagine in some cases devices would also be stripped from older ribbon bars to adorn new longer ribbon bars of the 1940's, as officers upgraded. Here is a nice simple little example I came across. Some tailor ran out of Eastern Front ribbon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 That's quite clever, actually! The Soviets made "composite" ribbons quite a bit too for exotic out of stock items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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