UBB.threads Forums Uniform & Accessories Imperial German Uniforms, Orders, and Decorations Ehrenbecher of Oblt. Richard Falke

I purchased over two decades ago from a well-known German auction house this Ehrenbecher that was awarded to Oberleutnant Richard Falke to celebrate his first aerial victory in combat in WWI. Though he had extensive air service in Palestine after transferring from land forces where he served since earlier in WWI, as an observer he never scored a victory in combat. After his transfer to the Western Front in August 1917 as commander of Kampfstaffel 24, he finally scored his first victory in combat on September 23, 1917. This is well documented. He continued in command and combat, being transferred to BG4, until he and his pilot were shot down and captured in June 1918. He survived both wars. This is his Sanke card photo.



He received numerous awards and honors. Among these was this Ehrenpokal.



At the top is the inscription of the date and location of his first (and only) combat victory.



It is inscribed with his name and command at the bottom of the chalice.



And finally on the bottom is the seal of the Commander of the German Air Services.



On the upcoming December Thies Auction, there is offered at a considerable minimum a grouping of Falke material, including the transmittal letter of the Falke Ehrenbecher and an unnamed silver Ehrenbecher purported to be the one awarded to Falke. It appears to be a correct silver Ehrenbecher, but it is without inscription as are others that have been offered in the past with an without attribution to specific flyers. It is believed that Ehrenbechers conferred later in the war were of iron/steel as silver supplies were exhausted. My Falke Ehrenbecher is steel/iron composition. Included also is the notice of his award of the Imperial Austrian Flyer's badge.

Earlier this year or last year, another piece of Falke material was sold on the Zeige Auktion. It is obvious that Falke's estate was disbursed to many places, documents and respective awards separated. It would do well for a potential bidder to apprise himself of all facts before the auction.

Joe,

Thanks for sharing part of your imperial collection with us, both the Ehrenbecher and the Pickelhaube are exceptional examples. I consider myself lucky to have a chance to see pieces of this quality.

Best regards!

Bill Warda

Thanks for the kind comments Bill. I was beginning to wonder if anyone participated on this section of the forum. Falke led a fascinating career. He fought in WWII on the staff of a unit on the Russian front.

Joe,

Participation here can be lethargic at best, possibly due to the heavy edged weapon influence? It's a shame that so many intelligent people frequent these forums and couldn't be bothered to perhaps add a question, some further insight or even a few words of encouragement ... soon people might stop bothering to share from their great collections with us altogether, nicht war? Whatever the case only time will tell.

On the other hand, most of those who do take a moment to comment make it worth taking the time and effort to share our interests. I guess there's nothing left to do but remain optimistic and stay the course. aye, skipper!

Bill

Joe,

I'm back with the living now so thankfully I can respond, but I for one really appreciate you taking the time to share. I simply enjoy seeing any type of presentation cup. Are there other marks besides the one shown? Thanks much and don't be discouraged.

It's strange, sometimes depending on where I post, I recieve good feed back with hardly many views and at other times maybe one or two responses, which is fine but with lots of views. For example I recently posted a SS TK ring, hardly any response and a eeriness to it I can't put my finger on really, but lots of viewers and emails to purchase. Go figure right!

It was easier for me to keep up with threads before the last forum software up date, so maybe that's part of it.

Hi Russian,

Hope you saw these nice photos..?

Maybe you could find some references in the older Hermann and other auction catalogs, might be worth a try?

Best!

Bill

Joe

Thanks for sharing! A beautiful item!

PVON