MvR's Oxford connection?

[Trebrys]

I recently started a thread concerning the possiblity of MvR attending a college at Oxford and whether or not he could speak English. The response was interesting, and witty, sometimes, but the consensus was that he could not have attended Oxford and that it was unlikely that he could speak English.

The suggestion that both points were true was given to me by the relative of one of the Baron's victims, who was quite forceful in affirming that the family had received a letter (recently destroyed!) from the Silesian commiserating with their loss. I expressed my doubts at the family history, but at the same time I didn't want to make out that the victim's mother, the recipient of the letter, and the grandmother of my acquaintance, was incorrect in her assertion.

Another source that gave credence to her view in her opinion was an article written in the "Daily Telegraph" written by Jenny Rees on February 28 1989. I include the article below for your perusal:

Red Baron's debt written off

AN OUTSTANDING debt for 10s 9d for a pair of beagling shoes ordered in Oxford by the young Baron Manfred von Richthofen has been written off after 75 years.
The Red Baron ordered the shoes before returning to Germany to become a flying ace during the 1914-18 War.
As a result of a practical joke his great-nephew, the German Ambassador Baron Hermann von Richthofen, was lured into Duckers, the 101-year-old bootmaker in Turl Street, Oxford, where he was confronted with the unpaid debt in a leather-bound ledger.
The trick was played by the Baron's friend and diplomatic colleague, Sir Julian Bullard, 60, who retired last year as Ambassador to Bonn.
Sir Julian entertained the Baron and his family in Oxford over the weekend. "On Saturday morning, I told him that we had an appointment at the Bodleian Library and we had to stop off somewhere on the way," he said.
" I had briefed the local newspaper and a television station to come along to the shop and the Baron was absolutely delighted with the joke.
"He offered to pay the bill, which we worked out would be 54p, but was told this was out of the question. But he took a copy of the bill away with him as a souvenir. All in all, it was a very satisfactory joke."
Mr. George Purves, 43, who owns the shop with his brother Stephen,47. and Mr. Frank Ducker, 92, said it had been quite easy to find the unpaid bill in ledgers which have been kept since 1902.
"The Red Baron, who was then an undergraduate at Lincoln College, ordered his beagling shoes, which have spikes to grip the mud of the riverbanks, on Feb. 21, 1914," said Mr. Purves.
"It is an entry in the ledger that is not easy to forget. One does not get many barons up at the university."

Well? My gut feeling is that there must be some sort of mix-up.......but I am yet to find any conclusive evidence in any book that pinpoints MvR with his regiment at that time other than a few general comments that he was patrolling the Polish border at that time and was participating in some equestrian races. Or am I wrong?

I'm not saying that he was not with his regiment.....but what do all the experts out there think of this???

Regards,
Trebrys.

[mikec]

Hi Trebrys
Have to confess I didn't read the original thread but another site on the net states as follows:

"The Lincoln von Richthofen was Baron Wilhelm Friedrich Adam Lothar Max von Richthofen (1888-1962). He was no more than a distant relation of the famous Baron Manfred - a seventh cousin, in fact. He matriculated in 1913, so only spent one year in Oxford; interestingly, his battels bill was the highest for that year".

As I say I haven't read your original thread and so don't know if this repeats what someone else has posted there. If so, my apologies.

Best wishes. MikeC.

[Trebrys]

Many thanks for that, Mikec!

It would explain part of the mystery. I'll get back after the relative in question now!

Thanks for that!
Trebrys.

[karrart]

Originally Posted by Trebrys

an article written in the "Daily Telegraph" written by Jenny Rees on February 28 1989. I include the article below for your perusal:

Red Baron's debt written off

AN OUTSTANDING debt for 10s 9d for a pair of beagling shoes ordered in Oxford by the young Baron Manfred von Richthofen has been written off after 75 years.
many barons up at the university."

This was reamed out by one of the major WW I Av journals ( can't remember which one now!)after the Telegraph article appeared, and yeah, it was a complete mix up. It was one of the many distant cousins. The magazine said who...but I can't remember! But it was most emphatically NOT the "Red Baron".
Robert Karr
OLD BIRDS STAYING ALIVE - THE AVIATION ART OF ROBERT KARR

[Trebrys]

Thanks for the confirmation Robert!

Trebrys.