This is a tunic made in the 1920s
for Wilhelm Mutschke, a veteran of the South West African
Landespolizei. It is privately tailored to the same
specifications as the standard 1907 Landespolizei uniform but
with the most noticeable exception of not having the authorised
green stand and fall collar but rather a sewn standing collar of
the same dark khaki as the rest of the tunic. It is missing its
shoulder straps and their buttons. The rest of the tunic is
exactly as worn in Africa before the First World War- the shade
of dark khaki, the pleated pockets with pointed flaps, the
yellow metal buttons bearing the Imperial crown and the rank
pips on the collar. Although Wilhelm Mutschke held the rank of
Polizei-Sergeant, his two collar pips indicate the rank of
Wachtmeister. It appears that retiring servicemen were sometimes
promoted by one rank on leaving the service as is customary in
many armies and police forces around the world.
Many German veterans wore their
Imperial uniforms on ceremonial or official occasions in the
1920s and 30s. There were a multitude of veterans societies
across Germany including those for former overseas and colonial
soldiers such as the "Verein ehemaliger Kolonial- und
Auslandstruppen". There were more groups for specific units
or theatres of conflict such as the "Vereinigung ehemaliger
Kamerunkämpfer" for those who fought in Cameroon, "Bund
der Asienkämpfer" for veterans of the Palestine Front and
even the "Deutscher Frauenverein für Krankenpflege in den
Kolonien" for female nurses who had served in the colonies.
Wilhelm Mutschke himself was a member of the "Verband der
Polizeibeamten für die deutschen Kolonien" for former
colonial police officers.
It was quite common for veterans
to get new "Imperial" uniforms made. This was especially true in
the case of the colonial veterans as few of their original
uniforms had survived intact after four years spent either in
Prisoner of War Camps or trekking around the jungles of East
Africa. For the modern militaria collector these uniforms can be
very confusing as it is often impossible to tell them from the
pre-war uniforms. On the one hand they are not strictly
"original" yet on the other hand they are "historical" and they
were certainly not cheap forgeries like many modern crude
copies. They were privately tailored to the same regulations as
previously used, often by the same craftsmen who had worked
before 1914. As such these new uniforms are still worthy of
collection and study as a benefit to understanding the uniforms
originally worn in the colonies.
Although there is no tailor's
label inside this particular tunic, it may have been made by
Gustav Damm who it seems was the tailor of choice for post-war
Landespolizei tunics. In the February 1919 issue of the Former
Landespolizei Officers Journal ("Nachrichtenblatt der
Verbandes der ehemaligen Angehörigen der Landespolizei Deutsch-Südwestafrika"
Nr. 3) there is an advertisement for his firm making new
Landespolizei insignia, medals and clothing. Then in the
October-December 1933 issue of the former Colonial Police
Officer's Journal ("Nachrichtenblatt des Verbandes der
Polizeibeamten für die deutschen Kolonien e.V." Nr. 10-12)
it was recorded that Gustav Damm's tailoring business had closed
and that Felix Heine of Halberstadt was now the recommended
tailor.
Wilhelm Mutschke (1876-1937)
was born in Grünberg, Silesia (now known as Zielona Góra in Poland)
and trained as a locksmith before joining the 153rd Thuringian
Infantry Regt ("8. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regt. Nr.153") in 1898.
He transferred to the South West African Schutztruppe from 1900 to
1903, then again from 1904 as an Unteroffizier at Karibib. He joined
the Landespolizei in 1905 serving at Onjossa and Erora, both in the
Karibib District. He married in 1908 and had two children. During
the First World War he remained in Karibib, returning to Germany
with his family in 1919 to work in the prison service where he was
later prompted to "Gefangenenoberwachtmeister".
List
of Polizei-Sergeant Mutschke's Medals and Awards
1904-08 South West Africa Campaign Medal
for Combatants with a clasp for "Hereroland" -
Südwestafrika-Denkmünze
Prussian 9 Year Long Service Award -
Dienstauszeichnung III. Klasse
Landwehr Long Service Award, Second Class -
Landwehr-Dienstauszeichnung II. Klasse
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