Megan

Tears hair out.... OK, I think I have it now. Watch out for howlers on those pages on my website! And please do tell me if I have it wrong (same goes for everything else).

Thanks, Marco! Archie, do you agree? Head of the parliamentary mace is it? Well, parliamentary maces - as ceremonial objects denoting authority - developed out of the sort of mace mediaeval warriors swong around, only the fancy 'head' end of a ceremonial mace is actually the butt of a fighting mace, where you might have your lord's arms if you fought in his service, rather than the bit you bashed your enemies with! The traditional police tipstaff has a related heritage...

Battling with the Transkei Police Faithful Service Medal... so this should be a set of 3 medals (gold/silver/bronze) in a Type 1 (1976-1987) and Type 2 (1987-1994). Getting a bit confused with the ribbons. Do all the Type 1 medals come on a blue ribbon with a white central stripe? Or does the 30-year one have multiple white stripes? What changes (if any) were there in the medals themselves? Obverse seems to be the arms of the Republic of Transkei, reverse an aloe with the trilingual inscription VIR TROUE DIENS - FOR FAITHFUL SERVICE - YENKONZO ETHOBEKILEYO, with just the metal (and maybe ribbon) changing to reflect which one it is...

Indeed a good-looking bunch... Орден "Народна Република България" - instituted on 18 June 1947 and awarded to Bulgarians and foreigners for services connected with the defence, freedom and independence of the Republic, and in wartime to officers of the Bulgarian People's Army for outstanding leadership and operational planning. The ssecond and third classes are identical in appearance, the difference is only in the size - the second class is 44x42mm, the third class 40x38mm. There are actually 2 types, the difference is in the layout of the state arms on the obverse: Type 1: 3 bands connecting the ears of wheat with the inscription 9.IX.1944 on the bottom band. Type 2: 4 bands, 2 to each side, with dates on the bottom ones, 681 to the left and 1944 to the right. Not sure when they changed it, though. Yours are all Type 2. The first award, on the very day it was created, was to Georgi Dimitrov. Here's a First Class Type 1 for comparison:

What else are you after, Greg? Here''s the decree establishing them (in Hungarian, of course!): https://www.abparancsok.hu/sites/default/files/parancsok/10_21_41_64.pdf

Handsome beastie... one hopes the recipient was more pleased with it than their treatment of the box would suggest! Institued on 21 April 1957 and awarded to those involved in suppressing the uprising against Communist rule in 1956, or as the government put it, "in recognition of the activities performed in suppressing the counter-revolution and consolidating the order of the country". Hungarian name is Munkás-paraszt Hatalomért emlékérem...

Don't fret, Greg. As I tell my students, the only stupid question is the one that you do not ask! Now that the marking monster has been slain I shall have more time for medals so shall see about getting my Huhgarian section into better shape. Found some sources for images of this lot, so maybe I'll start with them.

Good to hear that you are sorted. Lukasz has a ribbon chart which shows them nicely: https://www.medals.pl/hu/hu4.htm The Defence Service Medal is awarded for years of service/flight hours/parachute jumps: 40 years/3500 flight hours/3500 jumps - pale blue 35/3000/3000 - green 30/2500/2500 - purple 25/2000/2000 - white 20/1500/1500 - mid-blue 15/1000/1000 - light brown 10/500/500 - yellow All with red edges and a white stripe next to the edge with narrow red and green stripes on it. So plenty for you to collect 🤓

Probably boils down to something as simple as some clerk just shipping the first medals that come to hand each time an order comes in from an individual police service!

Lithuania: Lithuanian Armed Forces Medal for Injuries - Kariuomenės medalis „Sužeistajam” - instituted 1 July 2004 (I think - but Ilya gives 13 June 2012) and awarded for injures experienced while conducting service in international operations, protecting sovereignty of state, inviolability of its territory, airspace and territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, defending the state from aggression or other armed assault. Still trying to find a decent image, though. The medal is bronze, 32mm in diameter. The obverse depicts a heart with a red-enamelled wound on a circle of rays with three arrow-shaped pieces pointing inwards, all surrounded by a wreath formed of oak to the left and laurel to the right. No idea of the reverse... The ribbon is dark red with a lighter red white-edged central stripe and light red and white edges. Marking almost done. Will have more time for poking around 🤓

Great, thank you Archie. And I've almost finished my marking!!!

You mention firefighter and correctional services medals: did those use the "police" ribbon or did they have their own colours?

Most South African medals appear to be 38mm in diameter (or if not round, fit in a circle of that diameter).

Silver grades seem to be like hen's teeth - I'm struggling to even find images of them! But another nice addition to your hoard, well done!

What is the diameter of the various medals? The Centenary one looks markedly smaller in the medal bar shown above.

A handsome beast, the Tanácsköztársasági Emlékérem - very dynamic image. A nice addition to your collection.

Thank you, both. Archie, here is the link you requested: http://wawards.org/en/south-africa/kwazulu/department-of-prisons-establishment-medal.html Ilya runs an extensive site, it's well worth a poke around.

So we need to document both the "real" medals and the "copy" ones thoroughly now... we cannot guarantee that future generations of collectors will actually read the records, but if we don't bother to make them they certainly won't be able to 🤓

Do you know the correct ribbon? You say that the one in your sketch is incorrect. Ilya Repetski (wawards.org) has an image of one but with the same ribbon as in your sketch!

Looking for a good image of the KwaZulu Department of Prisons Establishment Medal.

Nice... your collection of former Communist state awards is coming along well. Always liked the Cyril & Methodius.

Lovely.... thank you, Archie!

Thank you. Put up that page last night. Will make corrections and add the correct medal shortly.

You are, as always, a darling and a perfect gentleman.

Archie, which is the correct date for the establshment of the KwaNdebele Police? 1986 or 1987?