A very interesting collection has just gone up for sale on the online auction site eBay. I haven’t put the link here because in a few months time it will be taken down, but you should be able to find it by searching for the title “Zeppelin Cased WW1 German Medal Set And Watch With Descriptive Inscription”, if you are interested in purchasing for the “buy it now” price of £1,435.

I don’t think I could own this kind of souvenir, nice as it is, because I would be constantly reminded of the poor airman who died when his Zeppelin was the first one to be shot down over the United Kingdom. The Lot description follows:

Here we have a very interesting set of awards and belongings from a German WW1 Airman taken by a Hertfordshire Police officer. This is actually a very special find because this set was taken off the body of an airman from the first ever zeppelin to be shot down over the United Kingdom. The set is comprised of a wound medal, an Iron Cross Second Class, the Austrian Patriotic Badge 1914 and an engraved pocket watch. The inscription on the pocket watch reads ‘Taken from German airman by PC Green, Cuffley, 4th September 1914’. The Iron Cross is the screw on variant and has no factory markings. The Austrian Patriotic Badge is marked with a six pointed star and the makers mark ‘H.S.’. The wound medal is unmarked and has a bar clasp. The watch has a brushed steel face with Arabic numerals in gold, a secondary seconds dial and gold hands. The watch’s serial number is 1485360 and was made by Doxa of Switzerland.

Dimensions: The box is 8 inches (20.5 cm) wide by 4.75 inches (12 cm) deep and 1.5 inches (4 cm) high.

Condition: The set is in good condition for its age. The wound medal has had some of the blackening wear off. The Iron Cross is in brilliant condition. The brass of the Patriotic Badge has aged and has a nice deep finish. The watch and its engravings are in good condition for their age, it only runs a little bit.