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The South West Africa Campaign Medal, issued in
bronze to combatants during the Herero Rebellion 1904-06. |
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The reverse of the South West Africa
combatants medal. |
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The South West Africa medal, issued in
white metal to non-combatants during the Herero Rebellion. |
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The reverse of the South West Africa
non-combatants medal. |
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A South West African Medal with
campaign bars on the ribbon. The bearer of this medal was clearly a
very experienced fighter having received bars for 14 campaigns in all: Oranje, Omaruru, Gross-Namaland, Hereroland, Nossob, Allob, Gross-Nabas,
Waterberg, Ongajira, Omaheke, Toasis, Káras-Berge, Nurudas and
Fahlgras.
(Imperial War Museum Collection) |
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A ribbon with bars of the German
Colonial Medal. This medal was issued to all combatants and
non-combatants in German Colonial campaigns. The medal itself was
similar in appearance to the South West African medal and was also
issued in bronze for combatants and white metal for non-combatants.
The ribbon differs only in that the centre red bars are vertical
stripes rather than horizontal chevrons. Brass bars have been added to
this ribbon for additional campaigns, in this case for the risings in
Cameroon (or Kamerun in German as here) in 1884 and 1891, and the
rebellion of the Sokehs people on Pohnpei (or Ponape in German) in New
Guinea 1910-11.
(Imperial War Museum Collection) |
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The China Campaign Medal awarded to
all those who
served in the Boxer Rebellion 1900-01. The medal depicts a German
eagle victorious over a Chinese dragon. This medal is being worn with
the ribbon doubled as worn on parade but as with the other medals on
this page could be worn in any of the styles shown here. |
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The reverse of the China campaign medal.
This medal is in bronze for a combatant, the China medal also had a
white metal version for non-combatants. |
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The same South West Africa combatants
medal as shown above, this time with the ribbon doubled as worn on
parade. |
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The Iron Cross Second Class worn in
the buttonhole of a naval rating's jacket. This was a common way of
wearing medals in the field.
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Although a very common award by the end
of the war in European and Ottoman theatres, the Iron Cross was very
rarely seen in the colonial campaigns. Unlike most medals it was only
instituted in wartime (the last time prior to 1914 that it was issued
was in 1870/71 for the Franco-Prussian War) so no troops in the
colonies in 1914 would have worn the medal, nor would any medals have been
available for issue later in the campaigns.
There are two exceptions to this rule.
The first of which is that in 1915 one of the Danish crewed supply vessels that got
through to East Africa carried a small supply of Iron Cross medals
along with its more valuable cargo of arms and ammunition. There were
three first class crosses for von Lettow-Vorbeck, Dr. von Schnee (the Governor of the colony) and
Capt von Loof (the commander of the SMS Königsberg)
along with some second class awards for the crew of the Königsberg.
Even then von Lettow-Vorbeck appears from photos not to have worn his
in the field and many officers would probably have done the same for fear of
attracting sniper fire. |
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Another way of wearing medals was as a
miniature ribbon bar as seen here, worn on the upper left breast.
Medals were worn in order of seniority starting from the Iron Cross on
the left (which in this case was earned in the European theatre during the First
World war serving in the 25th Württemberg Dragoons). The second medal
from the left is the Württemberg Order of Military Merit. The third
from left is the South West African Campaign medal won while serving
with the Schutztruppe. The fourth medal is the Württemberg long service
medal issued in white metal for nine years service or gilt for twelve. |
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The second exception is the Hildegard Order (so nick-named after Frau
Hildegard Seitz, the South West African Governor's wife). This was a temporary Iron
Cross (in actual fact a cross of back cloth edged with white stitching worn on the left breast)
awarded by the South West African Schutztruppe in 1914-15. In all 45
were awarded. When the recipients finally returned to Germany they
were awarded 2nd Class Iron Crosses in their place. A book about this
order by Gordon McGregor is soon to be published by the Namibia
Scientific Society. Similar temporary awards were made in Cameroon
1914-16.
Austro-Hungarian forces (such as the crew
of the SMS Elisabeth in Tsingtao) often wore their medals with the
ribbon curiously folded into a point down triangle. |
