One of the shortest ID'able bars ever

[webr55]

This Imperial Navy bar - which came from a seller in Alabama - seems common, but in fact it is not. It is a navy officer's bar, for the "monkey dress" jacket, pre-1914. 

Red Eagle Order (4th cl probably), Crown Order (4th cl probably), China Medal, Centenary. (but NO LS award!)

The combination seems common, but, ok assuming this is the last pre-war bar the wearer had, there is - surprisingly - only one candidate:

char. Marine-Generalarzt Dr. Heinrich Schmidt (1871-1945)

 

The combination of having NO long service award BUT still the 1897 Centenary medal AND the China Medal makes it ID'able.

Dr. Heinrich Schmidt entered Navy service 1.10.1896 (so just in time to get the 1897 medal)

Oberstabsarzt 27.3.1909

Generaloberarzt 24.5.1916

Char. Marine-Generalarzt 27.4.1921

Here is his entry in the 1918 ranklist, with wartime awards: 

 

He got 

PKO4 10.10.1901 as Marineoberassistenzarzt, Marinestation der Nordsee

RAO4 9.5.1909 as Marineoberstabsarzt, SMS Zähringen

But most important, his China medal is shown in the DOA 1908/09:

 

The Navy Ehrenrangliste has his final rank:

All other candidates either do not list a China medal or held a LS award. A particularly interesting case is Korvettenkapitän Hermann Buchholz, who holds the same awards as Schmidt in 1914 (without LS award) BUT his LS is listed in the 1918 RL.

By chance, I found Schmidt's death date on the internet: 

He died at the military hospital Bad Nenndorf in 1945:

 

Marine-General, Arzt a.D., Medizinalrat

SCHMIDT, DR. MED.

Heinrich

25.07.1871, Homburg v.d.Höhe

05.12.1945, Bad Nenndorf

Link: http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/dkm_deutschland/bad_nenndorf_frdh_wk2_ns.htm

 

 

Edited October 2, 2015 by webr55

[Chris Boonzaier]

Would never have believed a simple 4er bar was identifyable!

[Paul C]

The China medal is not listed in the ranklist. What source did you use?

[webr55]

China Medals are listed in the DOA 1908/09. I know yes - some caution here (Rick, I remember!) - steel versions are not necessarily listed. Usually these went to Zahlmeister and similar types. But no one really fits here.
The other candidates, judging from their 1914 combinations, are:

KK Mündel (2.4.95)

KK Kahlert (2.4.95), had a RAO4mKr

KK Westerkamp (16.4.94), had a RAO4mKr

OStA Dr. Gersdorf (1.4.88)

All of these are in the DOA, with Centenary but without China Medal.

There is one other vague candidate: 
Stabszahlmeister Magnus Lange (29.3.78) had RAO and PKO, no LS award, but is not listed in the DOA at all. 

So yes, ID is not 100%, but quite good.

Edited October 2, 2015 by webr55

[Paul C]

Agreed. The DOA is not all inclusive. Did you check the DOA 1902/03 and the 06 for Lange?

[webr55]

No I don't have them. A good idea.

[Paul C]

I checked an he is not listed.

[webr55]

Thanks Paul. 

[Dave Danner]

One thing I have found frustrating is that campaign, commemorative and jubilee medals are often not even listed in the full personnel files.  If they were actually in China or Southwest Africa, that would not be a problem, but for the steel ones ... 

I think the shortest I ID'd was a three-medal bar, but that was a medal bar rather than a ribbon bar, so I had the advantage of knowing exactly which classes of the decorations I was dealing with.

[webr55]

Five years later, checking the other possible candidates in more detail, one fits also very well:

Kapitän zS Siegfried Westerkamp (1874-1970), he had a RAO4mKr, China Medal not listed in DOA, but he was in China as Oberlt on SMS Bussard. Chairman of the MOV in 1919. Was in the industry later, and on the Vorstand of the Hafen-Dampfschiffahrts-AG Hamburg around 1941 (http://www.bundesarchiv.de/aktenreichskanzlei/1919-1933/0pa/adr/adrsz/kap1_5/para2_117.html)

 

Couldn't find out much about:

- Stabszahlmeister Magnus Lange, he is not in the DOA, got the RAO (17.1.1909, Marinestation Ostsee, Abw. Büro als Marine-Stabszahlm.) and PKO (19.1.1902, Marinestation Ostsee als Marine-Oberzahlm.). No DA listed, and China Steel version cannot be ruled out.

 

The other suspects are much less likely:

- char. Konteradmiral Harry Mündel (1876-1946) was not in China in 1901 and not in rear service, so a Steel version is improbable

- Vizeadmiral Wilhelm Kahlert (1877-1932), same as above

- OStA Dr. Gersdorf, no evidence of China 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by webr55