About the Wedding Medal of the Duchy of Hannover-Brunswick

[1812 Overture]

Gentlemen, allow me to show you the two medals I got by chance, the wedding medals for father and son. They are all very small! And there are no ribbons, can anyone tell me their ribbons? I think since they're on sale, they're bound to be in the medal bar, has anyone seen that? Any help is greatly appreciated!
The Brunswick wedding medal used to get lost in the mail, but I got it back a month after I filed my claim, baby!

I happened to see the Brunswick wedding medal in the bar at Emedal, is it right?

Allow me to call the Guelph family, the Hanoverian order experts help me   @BlackcowboyBS

[BlackcowboyBS]

Hi 1812 Overture,

The wedding medal of Brunswick as such is an interessting subject in itself, it was minted in 3 variants by order of Ernst August Duke of Cumberland (the father of the groom):

 

1. In gold with a diameter of 56 mm and a weight of 146 grams. This version was reserved for the princes and royal highnesses who took part in the wedding festivities. This medal has no ribbon ring.
2. In silver with the same diameter of 56 mm but much lighter, the weight is between 75 and 80 grams. This medal is likely to have been given to the rest of the guests and dignitaries. This medal has no band ring.
3. In silver with a diameter of 23 mm and a weight of about 12 grams. This medal has a ribbon ring. I can't say anything about the ribbon shown in the link above, blue and yellow are more the colors of the city of Brunswick, those of the Guelphs are red and yellow! I have seen this medal on a red yellow ribbon that looks very similar to that of the HdL and also on yellow and blue like the non fighting war merit cross of Brunswick. Whether this small medal couldn't be bought also as souvenir or was distributed to participants who where not directly at the wedding is not known to me. I have not found a list about this untill now. 

But I am sure, that it wasn't allowed to wear these medals on the grand medal bar before end of 1918, so I doubt that the medal bar from e-medals is origin regarding this wedding medal. 

 

The other wedding medal is for the 25th anniversery of EA II the father. It was not official as well, I never have seen it on a medal bar of the Guelphs and they do wear some other anniversary medals on their bars. I guess this one was also handed out as a gift to the servants in Gmund, where the family lived in austrian exile after 1866. 

Edited July 27, 2022 by BlackcowboyBS

[Dave Danner]

The medal bar is post-1934, where Imperial-era regulations were not always followed.

 

I actually have a handful of names, with one strong possibility, to go with it. I wonder where it ended up.

Edited July 27, 2022 by Dave Danner

[Nicolas7507]

36 minutes ago, Dave Danner said:

The medal bar is post-1934, where Imperial-era regulations were not always followed.

 

I actually have a handful of names, with one strong possibility, to go with it. I wonder where it ended up.

May I ask which names you got for it? I don't own the medal bar, but this miniature chain.

 

Like the bar, the chain is from Godet. I think they could have belonged together once, even though the wedding medal is missing.

 

Later Generalveterinär Dr. med. vet. Paul Kämper had this combination (plus DA25).

 

Best regards

Nicolas

Edited July 27, 2022 by Nicolas7507

[Dave Danner]

Nicolas,

 

Kämper can be ruled out because of the DA. Below are the known (to me) recipients of the AK and the SLK who cannot be ruled out because of other decorations. Wedelstädt, as a Generalstabsoffizier, probably had other decorations we don't know about, so he might be ruled out as well. Polysius and Zach are unlikely - they received the SLK because of their units, and the AK because of their Anhalt citizenship, but had no connection to Oldenburg.

 

Since there are no rolls for the Oldenburg Friedrich-August-Kreuz, we cannot say for certain whether any of them had that cross. However, Gerlach, Gersdorff and Mannlich-Lehmann were 1.GDR officers. Both the Großherzog von Oldenburg and the Herzog von Anhalt were à la suite to 1.GDR, and both made numerous awards of their crosses to that regiment.  So each of the three is a likely candidate for your chain and/or the medal bar. Mannlich-Lehmann was a cadet or Fahnenjunker in Berlin at the time of the wedding, so he might have participated, but been too junior to receive a Braunschweig decoration. Gersdorff was also in Berlin, so he might have participated in the wedding as a civilian.

 

Gerlach, Karl August Bogislav Bernd Hermann Jakob v.

*2.12.1883 in Köslin, †11.10.1945 in Friedenshütte, O./S. (verschleppt)
5.Fkherr auf Parsow u. Schwemmin, Kr. Köslin, Herr auf Stadtgut Körlin a.P., Trienke u. Drosedow, Kr. Kolberg, Ref.a.D.; Lt.d.R. (Belgard) d. 1.GDR, OLt.d.R., Rittm.d.R.a.D.
EK1, AK (31.1.16), SLK (19.10.16)

 

Gersdorff, Wolfgang v.

*20.9.1878 in Kloster Jerichow, Jerichow II
Dr.phil., Dramaturg d. Kgl. Schauspiele Berlin; Lt.d.R., 4./1.GDR
EK2, AK (30.11.17), SLK (28.8.17)

 

Mannlich-Lehmann, Max Erdmann Felix v.

*14.1.1894 in Berlin
Fhj., 1.GDR, 18.12.13 Fähnr., 6.8.14 Lt. (Pat. 2.9.14), nach d. 1.WK wohnhaft als OLt.a.D. in Dresden
EK2, AK (30.11.17), SLK (7.6.16)

 

Polysius, Otto
*22.1.1895 in Dessau
Sohn d. Hzgl. Kommerzienrats Dr.Ing. Otto Polysius; 18.9.15 Fähnr., JB 7, Stab XXXIX.RK, 30.7.16 Lt., vorl. ohne Pat., 31.10.17 mit Pat. v. 30.7.16 z.d. Res.Offze. d. JB 7 vers., 1.11.17 verletzt, Lt.a.D.
EK2, AK (16.12.15), SLK (18.2.16)

 

Rath, Egon Anton Constantin Richard v.

*4.12.1890 in Magdeburg
Lt., IR 53, 27.1.16 OLt., Hptm.a.D.
EK2, AK (20.5.15), SLK (30.6.16)

Wedelstädt, Ludwig Erich Theodor Adolf Wilhelm Martin v.

*1.8.1882 in Clötze, Gardelegen, †1954
OLt., kdrt. z. Gen.St. (22.3.02-26.12.14 im IR 26), 19.10.14 Hptm.i.G. (Pat. 8.10.14), Hptm.i.G., Gen.St. VII.RK, Gen.St. AOK 2, Maj.a.D.
EK1, AK (3.12.15), SLK (29.12.16)

 

Zach, Karl

*5.10.1888 in Coesfeld
20.12.11 Dr.phil. (Berlin), Chemiker in Dessau; Lt.d.R. (Dessau) d. HR 7, 7.Art.Mun.Kol. d. XVI.AK, OLt.d.R., Adj. d. Kdr. d. Mun.Kol.u.Tr. d. XV.RK
EK2, AK (29.2.16), SLK (26.4.15)

[Nicolas7507]

Thank you very much, really great info.

 

Wolfgang Freiherr von Gersdorff died in 1936.

 

I think Mannlich-Lehmann is my favorite, but no way to be sure.

 

Best regards

Nicolas

[saxcob]

This set was awarded to Baron George Carl Otto Louis Von Scheffler-Knox:

 

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by saxcob

[Komtur]

Possibly the inofficial medal, remembering the silver wedding of the grandfather (resp. father), is in this context of some interest too:

[saxcob]

On 27/07/2022 at 13:25, BlackcowboyBS said:

I can't say anything about the ribbon shown in the link above, blue and yellow are more the colors of the city of Brunswick, those of the Guelphs are red and yellow! I have seen this medal on a red yellow ribbon that looks very similar to that of the HdL and also on yellow and blue like the non fighting war merit cross of Brunswick.

 

Whether this small medal couldn't be bought also as souvenir or was distributed to participants who where not directly at the wedding is not known to me. I have not found a list about this untill now. 

 

 

Assuming that Scheffler-Knox' notes are correct, we can proceed from the thesis that

1. there was no ribbon and that

2. both the smal and the large silver medal were (at least also) handed out to persons in an official function.