Ribbon ID

[hatleyj]

Hello,

I have been having this one laying around for awhile and do not know what awards it represents. I am guessing nothing special. Thanks in advance.

[byterock]

Hmm interesting. I am going to take a guess and go with the 'Bavaria Militär-Dienstauszeichnung' The order is not correct though as it should be at the end but. H

[luftkrieg]

It's for the Bavarian Red Cross.

[hatleyj]

Thank you gentleman very much.

[Gardereiter]

It's very likely that the middle ribbon is the Bavarian Merit Cross for Healthcare Volunteer Service, just like luftkrieg said.

However, your question reminds me of a ribbon bar I had in my collection years ago that fooled me. Its ribbons were mounted in the well-known southern German-style, a.k.a "Bavarian Style" just like your ribbons are. I also believed that the ribbon identical to yours was the Bavarian Healthcare Volunteers' Cross.

This Bavarian award had two versions: a cross awarded WITHOUT a Spange device (for peacetime service) and a cross WITH a 1914 Spange device (for wartime service.) I was always puzzled about why my ribbon (mounted alongside the wartime awards like yours) did not have a miniature Spange. So I started gently and carefully inspecting the middle part of the ribbon underneath the folds and much to my surprise, I discovered a 3rd thin white stripe! In other words, the ribbon actually belonged to the Schaumburg Lippe War Merit Cross.

This kind of confusion was the major reason the Wehrmacht's regs banned soldiers from wearing ribbon bars in the southern German style. Many soldiers ignored the regs and continued wearing these kinds of bars anyway.

[hatleyj]

I just messed with it as much as I feel comfortable doing and I am pretty sure the middle ribbon only has two white stripes. Thank you for the information, which I found very informative. Does it have any value? Thank you again.

[Gardereiter]

In this hobby, ribbon bar collectors become excited about awards and combinations of awards that are rare. I will tell you frankly, that in all the years I have been collecting (a number I don't care to reveal) I have very rarely seen the wartime variation of the Bavarian Red Cross' Merit Cross for Volunteer Healthcare Service on a military bar. Your bar definitely falls into the "Uncommon" category.

[hatleyj]

Thank you again for the information. I picked up a large lot that was brought back by my friends Grand Father during WWII probably 15 years ago. He had been long deceased and this was one of the items at the bottom of a bag so I have no back story to it.