GERMAN 1920’s MARINE BRIGADE EHRHARDT GROUPING.

A highly unusual grouping of a tunic to a paymaster in the Marine Brigade Ehrhardt accompanied by a Identified Marine Brigade Ehrhardt photograph album. The tunic is a WWI Freidensrock field grey tunic worn by an army paymaster. Apple green collar, which is black piped, pink piped to the front skirt of the tunic, black piped to the Swedish style model 1910 cuffs, pink piped to the Prussian style rear skirt. All Prussian buttons fitted. The shoulder boards are the paymaster style, black underlay, silver and blue fleck with paymasters motifs of a Prussian eagle surmounted by a crown. One rank pip indicating the rank of Oberleutnant. The collar patches are standard field grey officers quality but with beautifully attached Marine Brigade Ehrhardt overlay star with the steel helmet to the centre with an oak leaf wreath below. All of the buttons match being in officers style, solid back. To the upper right breast are three loops for a medal ribbon bar with three individual set of loops below for various awards. To the middle of the left sleeve a very good example of the Brigade Ehrhardt sleeve badge showing a Viking ship over Wilhelmshafen. To the interior pocket a Herrmann Hoffmann tailor’s label with a hand applied but indistinct name with a clear date of ‘1916’. One moth nip close to the fourth button from the top another small nip close to the second button from the bottom and a small area of moth damage to the lower front skirt. The tunic appears to be an upper medium size. Within the group is a superb photograph album, which we are not claiming belongs to the wearer of the tunic, as they are both Marine Brigade Ehrhardt, any collectors of Freikorps would be interested in both pieces. The album measures 36cm x 26cm, nice canvas cover. On opening the album the name ‘Gustav Strempel Crew 1915’ in German ‘MY SERVICE IN THE MARINE 1915 TO 1945’. The album contains a total of 225 photographs. The first section of the album has many images of his life in the Marine School Flensburg, at sea with various ships in October 17, various types of naval ships, ships sinking, excellent close-up shots of the damage on the warship Slava, motor torpedo boats and mine laying, in fact all aspects of life at sea in the WWI Reich Marine. Groups of WWI Russian prisoners, land based heavy artillery, dead Russian soldiers from WWI. The album then moves on to what appears to be his involvement in the land based Naval Marine Corps with many pictures of his comrades, including one of himself annotated Leutnant Strempel. Images dated September 18 with family and friends. Then follows the Freikorps Brigade Ehrhardt series of images with a full length image of Captain Ehrhardt in his field grey uniform wearing the identical insignia as on the tunic we have previously described. More pictures of now Korvettenkapitan Ehrhardt, General Luttwitz at a parade of the 2nd Marine Brigade in Doberitz 1st March 1920. The Brigade Ehrhardt band marching in March 1920 highlighting officers taking the salute. A series of pictures under the heading Gegenrevolution in Berlin. Damaged buildings, buildings on fire, Freikorps troops with their stacked rifles. The Brandberg Gate. Terrific pictures of armoured cars of the 2nd Marine Brigade with the reverse swastika on the side of one of the trucks. Vehicles handmade into armoured cars. High ranking officers of the Freikorps and Marine Brigade Ehrhardt. A pen signed three-quarter bust image of Ludendorff. The Brigade marching with officers on horseback. A series of images on the 30th April 1920 at Munsterlager with Captain Ehrhardt taking the salute. More close-up images of Naval Marine Brigade colleagues wearing the Brigade insignia. Munsterlager 1920, the owner of the album Leutnant Strempel with his horse and other colleagues. The album then moves onto WWII with Strempel standing wearing a winter sheepskin cap and naval officers cap. Various other images at sea. Naval service in Russian waters. Mine laying. Torpedo boats. A naval funeral. Many more images of naval warfare probably in Russian waters. It then appears that Strempel is awarded the German Cross in Gold, a small paper clipping is posted into the album. Images of naval troops in Sevastopol. February 1944 images of Bergen in Norway and Tromsoe in July 44 to May 1945, at that point the war ends. The last two pictures are headed ‘LAGER SANDEFJORD JULY 45, we must assume that Lager means prison camp. A very historic album. Two items from the well-known Marine Brigade Ehrhardt.

Code: 91967