War Honor Decoration in Iron - St&L

[Alex W.]

Here is the St&L made War Honor Decoration in Iron as the imperial post war replacement.

It was the highest award of the Hessian Grand Duchy for exceptional frontline bravery.
The frontline soldiers named this decoration "Bloody Ludwig" as the award criteria were very strict.
Contenders were required to be a frontline soldier for at least 2 years and be a holder of the Iron Cross 2nd class and Hessian Silver Bravery Medal. Most importantly the contender should have been wounded during frontline operations.

It's made using a two piece construction. The "E" and "L" attachment along with the crown and the "25" bearing number has a beautiful highly polished finish which is a wonderful contrast to the blackened laurel wreath.
The hardware is typical early style with the small c-clasp style.

Not a very common badge to find as a St&L replacement, in fact it's the first one I came across.

Best regards,
Alex

[Alex W.]

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[Alex W.]

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[Borzadow]

Bloody hell !!! Amazing find !!!

It's the first time I've see this too !!!

[Nigel N]

Great piece Alex, must be pretty rare, as I have not seen a post WW2 version before either!!!
I didn't know much about the original award, but I have read a little about it since you posted it!!!
I think I read there were approx. 2 thousand awarded, and it was obviously a highly regarded award!!
So, to find that S&L made it alongside their other Imperial replacement pieces is really interesting!!!
Great find!!!!!!!!!!!
-Nigel

[Skyhawk]

Wow!!

Super nice and excellent condition, first I have ever seen.

Best,

Jeff

[Alex W.]

Thanks guys. Nice to see, that you share my enthusiasm for this decoration. It's another wonderful addition for my collection of imperial replacements.

Nigel, your info is correct. It was considered a very high award and about 2000 pieces were awarded in total. It's strange that WW1 awarded pieces can be had relatively cheap nowadays. If period WW1 pieces would be my collection interest I would definitely get one of these. There certainly was a lot of grief involved earning this award.

Something I forgot to mention earlier; The "E" and "L" attachment has the typical o-mark that so many St&L made pieces carry.

[xmember]

Hi Alex,

You amaze me with the things that you post. Very nice piece with fantastic history. Thanks for sharing that.

Regards,
Rudy