Orders, Decorations and Medals

The Great War Iron Cross group of twelve awarded to Fregattenkapitän Johannes Paul Georg Reymann, Imperial German Navy

Prussia, Iron Cross 1914, 1st Class, pin-backed; Iron Cross 1914, 2nd Class; Hohenzollern House Order, Knight’s breast badge with swords, silver-gilt and enamel, edge of lower limb stamped, ‘938’ and inscribed, ‘W’; Order of the Red Eagle, 4th type, 4th Class breast badge with crown, silver and enamel; Officer’s Long Service Cross, for 25 Years, bronze-gilt; Saxony, Order of Albert, Knight 1st Class with swords, silver-gilt and enamel, edge of lower limb stamped, ‘R’; Bavaria, Order of Military Merit, 4th Class with crown and swords, silver, gold and enamel; Oldenburg, Friedrich August Cross 1914, 2nd Class; Brunswick, War Cross 1914, 2nd Class, combatants; Hamburg, Hanseatic Cross, enamelled; Bavaria, Order of Military Merit, 4th Class, silver, gold and enamel, severe enamel damage; Romania, Order of the Star, 1st type, Officer’s breast badge with swords on ring, silver-gilt and enamel; all but first mounted German style as worn (Iron Cross 2nd Class loose); together with the recipient’s riband bar for eleven awards complete with emblems, very fine and better except where stated; an impressive naval officer’s group (13) £3000-3500

Johannes Paul Georg Reymann was born on 18 September 1879, the son of Johannes Paul Maximilian Friedrich Reymann and Auguste Antoinette Reymann, nee Vitzthum. Entering the Imperial German Navy, he was appointed a Seekadetten on 27 April 1898. Reymann was promoted to Leutnant zur See in November 1900; Oberleutnant zur See on the battleship S.M.S. Kaisar Wilhelm II in March 1902; Kapitänleutnant in March 1907, and Korvettenkapitän in March 1914. He served at the Marine Academy, October 1910-June 1912.

Reymann held the post of the Admiral’s Staff Officer for torpedo and U-boats during Admiral Hugo von Pohl’s tenure as Commander-in-Chief of the High Seas Fleet. He was in his position in January 1916 when Admiral Reinhard Scheer was appointed C-in-C. in his place. Reymann is mentioned as such in the book, Germany’s High Sea Fleet in the World War by Reinhard Scheer.

For his services during peacetime he was awarded the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class in January 1908; the Bavarian Order of Military Merit 4th Class in September 1908; the Romanian Order of the Star, Officer’s badge with swords in 1909; and the crown to the Order of the Red Eagle in October 1910.

For his services during the Great War he was awarded the Saxon Order of Albert Knight 1st Class with swords in June 1916; the Hamburg Hanseatic Cross in September 1916; the Bavarian Order of Military Merit 4th Class with crown and swords in February 1917; and the Prussian Hohenzollern House Order Knight’s badge with swords in May 1917. As a Fregattenkapitän he was awarded the Officer’s Long Service Cross in March 1920. Latterly employed as a Dockyard Director, Reymann died on 13 June 1933.

With a folder containing 22 original documents, including: his parents marriage certificate; and his birth and death certificates;
commission documents of appointment to Seekadetten; Leutnant zur See; Oberleutnant zur See; Kapitänleutnant; and Korvettenkapitän; award documents for the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class, and another for the 4th Class with crown; Prussian Hohenzollern Order; Prussian Officer’s Long Service Cross; Bavarian Order of Military Merit, 4th Class, and another for the 4th Class with crown and swords; Hamburg Hanseatic Cross; Oldenburg, Friedrich August Cross, 2nd Class (2); Saxon Order of Albert; and Romanian Order of the Star; together with other papers relating to his naval service. Also with (unconnected?) photocopied research relating to Kapitän Max Reymann - commander of the armed merchant cruiser Kaisar Wilhelm der Grosse at the battle of the Rio de Oro, August 1914.