Traceable eBay Group?

[VerKuilen Ager]

This one's weird enough that Rick should be able to put a name on it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1089581468

[Rick Research]

This is a very nice group, but really, really odd. If this guy did not stay in the Reichswehr, it will be untraceable, since there is nothing pre-war to "hook" him to.

My first thought was that it was a naval group, since the medal bar is in "Reichs" and not Bavarian-native precedence. But--the Jubilee medal is the 1905 "long text" type given ONLY to Bavarian army personnel, not the 1911/12 version (which oddly enough has a crowned shield with date 1905 on reverse) given to Bavarians in the navy and those who had missed out earlier.

So what was this Bavarian doing that he didn't mount his awards the way a Bavarian should have? How did he end up with Prussian and Meiningen awards on that ribbon bar, BEFORE getting the basic (and in his case ONLY) award a wartime Bavarian officer got?

The group itself looks absolutely fine and unaltered to me. Just cannot imagine WHY it is mounted in this way.i

[Dave Danner]

OK, pure speculation:

A staff officer assigned to a Saxe-Meiningen regiment, so he got their cross first. Very little time with his own kingdom's army, leading to his being slighted and only getting a lowly MVO IV. Spent the rest of the war as a staff officer assigned to the Bulgarian Army, getting an unusually high grade of the Order of Military Merit, maybe after whining too much how his own countrymen didn't value his contribution to the war effort. His Austrian colleagues in Sofia felt his pain, and threw in their MVK to shut him up.

Dave

[Rick Research]

Ah--but how did that get him the BAVARIAN army 1905 Jubilee Medal?

he had to have then been

1) an officer or retired officer, regulars or reserves/Landwehr, in or ex-Bavarian Army, or

2) a "Kapitulant" re-enlisted career NCO.

Possibly the 1905 medal was given to personnel from "Chef" regiments or visiting guest of honor "suites" (I'm not sure about this), but then... who/what/where?

Oddly enough, I have never seen as many Meiningen/Bavarian combinations as this last year I have been on the internet. I am not and do not mean to cast doubt on these--they've all been good, and I've added some myself, but I have yet to be able to caccount for a Bavarian-Meiningen "connection."

We need some DOCUMENTS to shed light on these!

[Daniel Krause]

Hi,

this guy must be a bavarian, if he would be a Sachsen- Meiningen- citizen he should wear his own countrys- award directly after the iron cross.

Best greetings

Daniel