The medals on this bar in order of
seniority from left to right are-
Prussian General Honour Decoration, second class
Colonial Service Medal, with clasp for
“TOGO 1894/95”
Prussian Wilhelm I Centenary Medal
Portuguese Military Merit Order of St. Bento d´Avis, Knights
Cross
Judging from the lack of combat
awards and the foreign medal it might well be that the original
owner of this bar was an official or administrative officer. The
German colonies of South West Africa and East Africa both shared
common borders with Portuguese colonies and until the First World
War relations between them were cooperative. It is possible that the
original owner earned his Portuguese award in one of these colonies.
The Colonial Medal with
“TOGO 1894/95” clasp
was earned during the German campaign to pacify tribes in the
interior of the colony. This particular clasp was probably made in
the 1920s.
Recipients of the Colonial Medal
had to buy their own clasps. The
majority of the original clasps were made following strict rules on
size and appearance. In the years following the First World War
jewellers made clasps for recipients that had either lost or not
purchased their original clasp. Some of these later clasps (as seen
here) were more ornate and larger than the earlier versions.