The original owner of this medal bar was a veteran of the First World War where he served alongside the Ottoman army and also in the German Caucasian Expedition to Georgia in 1918.

The bar dates from after 1934 when the Honour Cross was instituted. The Zähringer Lion hints that the owner may have been from the Grand Duchy of Baden (although no Baden units served on the Ottoman fronts or in Georgia so he may have been on secondment to another unit there). According to the 1935 regulations the Zähringer Lion should be worn ahead of the Honour Cross.

The Ottoman Liyakat is missing its silver or gold medal and clasp. Against regulations, the Turkish War Medal has its breast star worn on the bar. The medal's clasp reads "Kanal" for the Suez Campaign. The German Pascha I Expedition fought in this action and the original owner of this bar may well have been part of that expedition.

The Georgian Order of St Tamara was a rare medal, with only two or three thousand ever being awarded, almost all to members of the German Caucasian Expedition who occupied the Georgian capital of Tiflis and protected the new Georgian Republic from Bolshevik and Ottoman threats. The medal was always worn as a breast star rather than on the bar, hence this Tamara ribbon having no medal.