(U-Bootwaffe Verleihungsurkunden, Ausweispapiere, und Bilder). A rare and fascinating lot of documents and photographs from the estate of Hermann Schicke, a sailor and later Officer in the U-Boat service of both the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) and the Kriegsmarine, consisting of:
1. A Reichsmarine-issue Militärpaß, constructed of a card stock binding with 48 paginated interior pages, bearing extensive handwritten entries documented Schicke’s military service from its commencement on 2 December 1907 through to a final service entry dated 30 November 1919, issued on 21 February 1920 as Schickle remained in postwar military service in a German Navy stripped of its U-Boat forces, measuring 85 mm (w) x 140 mm (h), with age-appropriate material fatigue evident, in very fine condition.
2. An award document for a German Honour Medal of the World War, constructed of off-white paper with multi-coloured ink, named to Schicke as a resident of Kiel-Wik, the reverse bearing a stamp with a handwritten issue number of “811712” and a date of “5. 2. 24.”, measuring 236 mm (w) x 163 mm (h), with a central folding crease visible, in near extremely fine condition.
3. A preliminary award document listing Schicke’s honours, constructed of off-white paper with multi-coloured ink, issued to Schicke as a Kapitänleutnant, indicated that he has received the 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross II Class (25 April 1940, the 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross I Class (3 December 1940), the Minesweeper War Badge (8 January 1941), the German Cross in Gold (14 January 1943), with the reverse bearing an additional record for a War Merit Cross II Class with Swords (20 April 1945), initially issued in den Helder on 27 January 1941 and certified by an adjutant of 11.U-Boot-Jagd-Flottille, measuring 212 mm (w) x 152 mm (h), with folding creases evident, in very fine condition.
4. A Marschbefel (marching order) special pass issued to Schicke on 23 July 1943, authorizing him to travel to Kiel for a conference between 24 and 26 July, measuring 210 mm (w) x 148 mm (h), in extremely fine condition.
5. A travel pass issued to Schike on 23 July 1943 authorizing him to travel via train between Neustadt and Kiel for the conference specified in his Marschbefehl, measuring 210 mm (w) x 152 mm (h), with a small tear evident to the top, in very fine condition.
6. An award document for a War Merit Cross II Class with Swords, constructed of off-white paper with black ink, named to Schicke as a Korvettenkapitän, issued at Kiel on 20 April 1945, featuring the handwritten signature of an unidentified Korvettenkapitän, measuring 150 mm (w) x 210 mm (h), with minor creasing and wear evident, in near extremely fine condition.
7. A group of three photos, including a large photo depicting U-Boat U-5 at sea, printed on unmarked period photo paper, measuring 276 mm (w) x 180 mm (h), in near extremely fine condition; a photo depicting a group of Kaiserliche Marine personnel surrounding the sail of a U-Boat, printed on unmarked period photo paper, measuring 92 mm (w) x 150 mm (h), in extremely fine condition, and; a photo depicting a lone Kaiserliche Marine Officer seated on the deck of a U-Boat at sea, printed on unmarked period photo paper, measuring 92 mm (w) x 148 mm (h), in near extremely fine condition.
Footnote: Hermann Schicke was born on 22 December 1888 in Vienenburg, near Halberstadt. He entered military service on 2 December 1907, and by 1911 had entered the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) as part of Germany’s fledgling U-Boat service. Between 16 December 1911 and 22 November 1918, Schicke served on a number of notable vessels, Type 1, Type U-5, and Type UB I U-Boats, notably amassing a total of 915 days of active U-Boat duty in the immediate prewar and wartime period. He remained in military service after the armistice of 11 November 1918, although with his career rendered obsolete owing to the Allies’ prohibition of German submarine use and production. He was the recipient of a number of service awards, including the 1914 Iron Cross II Class (8 May 1916), as well as the 1914 Iron Cross I Class, although this an other First World War decorations are not recorded in his replacement Militärpaß, nor is his Reichsmarine service subsequent to 1919. Schicke’s recorded military exploits resume during the Second World War, where he has once again returned to U-Boat duties with the Kriegsmarine, but in the capacity of anti-submarine warfare. Serving as commander of UJ-115 (a “Submarine Chaser”) under 11. Ubootsjagdflottille (11th Submarine Hunter Flotilla), Schicke rose to the rank of Kapitänleutnant and was the recipient of numerous distinctions, including the 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross II Class (25 April 1940), the 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross I Class (3 December 1940), the Minesweeper War Badge (8 January 1941), the German Cross in Gold (14 January 1943), and the War Merit Cross II Class with Swords (20 April 1945).