Seesoldaten of the 1st Kompanie, III. Seebataillon

 
     
 

 
 

Photo © Freddy Rudolf and Zylgwyn Heckenbücker
     


Close up of the same photograph
showing the sign they display

Close up of the same photograph
showing NCO buttons worn on the collar

 

This is a photograph taken in Kurume Prisoner of War camp in Japan, showing some of the 1. Kompanie, III. Seebataillon after their capture at Tsingtao in 1914.

Most of the soldiers wear their 1900 Grey Litewka. Some have the white collar patches and Litzen, some do not. Their shoulder straps have mostly been removed.

At least one soldier has buttons on his collar to show his NCO rank (see NCO Rank Insignia Page). One figure just above the sign on the left of centre clearly wears musicians swallows nests, as does another near the top right of the group (see Specialist Insignia Page). The figure on the far left, mostly hidden by damage to the photograph is wearing his Dark Blue Home Uniform. Another figure on the far right wears an officers' khaki tunic with two breast pockets.

Most of the soldiers wear their khaki peaked caps, although a couple wear dark blue peakless caps with white piping and hatbands. Both styles of cap have small imperial cockades on the front.

Their trousers are for the most part from their home uniforms and are dark blue with white piping.

One of the men in this grouping (possibly the one marked with an X lying down on the left) is Jacob Heckenbücker (see Seesoldat Heckenbücker for biographical details). 


Close up of the same photograph
 showing the figure on the left has collar Litzen. The one on the right has no Litzen but does have musicians swallow's nests.

Close up of the same photograph
showing what is perhaps a junior officer wearing a khaki uniform, unusually for the Seebataillon with two breast pockets.

     

Please respect the generosity of Jacob Heckenbücker's grandson and great-grandson, Freddy Rudolf and Zylgwyn Heckenbücker, respectively in sharing this photograph with us by not reproducing it without prior permission. 

     

 
 
Please contact me here if you have other photographs of the German colonies or the soldiers and sailors that served there. I am especially keen to hear from people with family photograph collections and am always happy to try to assist in identifying uniforms, units, places and dates for family history research.

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