Megan

I've offered Dave free hosting on my server, the offer still stands...

Be wonderful when you do, Dave. I used to refer to it a lot...

Good to see such courage in the line of duty rewarded, thanks Jean-Paul. Incidently, have you given up your website? Your newshound activities seem to be here these days.

I most certainly did: thank you very much for sharing!

Oddly enough, there is also a fair bit of Boxer Rebellion stuff in the latest Morton & Eden catalogue, which crawled through my letterbox on Saturday!

Another picture from John, Meganised... John says "different photo of Haile Selassie's 14 rows of 56 Ribbons, this is the most I have ever seen him wear. The photo must have been taken in or after 1973."

And the third (as I ran out of upload space...):

And here is Megan to do as she is bid First one (I think a version of it was earlier in the thread...) and the next:

John D, McMeekin sent me this & asked that I share it with you all: Obwakabaka bwa Buganda Statutes of The Order of the Shield and Spears of Buganda Kingdom, 26th October 1937 Proclamation: Whereas it is expedient that an Order of Honour should be instituted and established in the Kingdom of Buganda to be conferred upon the Native Subjects of His Highness the Kabaka of Buganda for meritorious and distinguished services and loyalty rendered to his country and his person in their official or private capacities. Now therefore I Sir Daudi Chwa, Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda, with the advice of my Lukiko or Native Council of the Kingdom of Buganda do hereby proclaim and declare that an ORDER called “THE ORDER OF THE SHIELD AND SPEARS OF BUGANDA KINGDOM” is hereby established and instituted in my Kingdom of Buganda subject to the conditions hereinafter prescribed, that is to say: (i) The Order shall be divided into two classes:- Class I; The members of this Class shall be styled “THE OFFICERS OF THE SHIELD AND SPEARS”, and shall not exceed 10 in number. Class II; The members of this Class shall be styled “THE MEMBERS OF THE SHIELD AND SPEARS”, and shall not be more than 50 in number. (ii) The Members of Class I of the ORDER shall be entitled to wear, on ceremonial occasions, the Cross and Star appropriate thereto; and The Members of Class II of the ORDER shall be entitled to wear, on ceremonial occasions, the Star appropriate thereto; as may be specified hereafter. (iii) The Cross shall be of silver gilt and shall consist of an eight pointed Cross of Malta enameled white edged gold in front of a wreath of laurel enameled proper tied with a blue riband; in the centre of the cross a gold shield with a silver boss edged with red enamel surmounting two spears in saltire with hears and butts gold; below the shield a lion couchant gold. The whole suspended through a ring attached to a miniature shield and spears in saltire and worn pendant from the neck by a ribbon of a width of 2 inches and a length of not less than two feet six inches consisting of three stripes of equal width, yellow, blue and yellow, there being also a narrow stripe of blue on each of the yellow portions. (iv) The Star shall be of silver of eight points with, in the centre, a gold shield with a silver boss edged with red enamel surmounting two spears in saltire with heads and butts gold and below the shield a lion couchant gold. The Star shall be worn on the right breast. (Para (v) to (x) omitted from my original) (xi) On the death of an Officer or Member of the ORDER his insignia shall immediately be returned to His Highness the Kabaka. (xii) There shall also be a Medal of this ORDER which shall be awarded to Native subjects of His Highness the Kabaka who render meritorious service warranting such mark of His Highness’s appreciation. Such Medal shall not be awarded to Members of either of the two classes of the ORDER, but recipient of the Medal who may subsequently be appointed a member of either of the two Classes of the ORDER may continue to wear the Medal in addition to the Insignia of the ORDER. (xiii) The Medal of THE ORDER OF THE SHIELD AND SPEARS OF BUGANDA KINGDOM shall consist of a circular medal in silver, having on the obverse a representation of a bust of His Highness the Kabaka encircled with the name, style and title of His Highness, and on the reverse a Buganda shield surmounting two Buganda spears in saltire and below the shield a lion couchant, and shall be worn on the right breast suspended by a ring to a riband of one inch and one quarter of an inch in width and consisting of three equal stripes of equal width, yellow, blue and yellow, there being also a narrow stripe of blue in each of the yellow portions. The Proclamation of the 31st January, 1931, is hereby revoked. GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND SEAL OF THE KINGDOM OF BUGANDA AT MENGO this 26th day of October 1937 (Signed) Sir Daudi Chwa II, K.C.M.G., K.B.E., Kabaka of Buganda Source: O.M.R.S. Newsletter No. 66 (dated 1st January 1957) by Lionel F. Guille (Secretary & Editor) I have ammended this Proclamation by adding the “old English” letters here & there, and adding the name at the top. The 2½ inches = 51mm, the 1¼ inches = 32mm. John D. McMeekin

No matter - I'm interested in past & present of any country :)

Do you have a copy of the Statutes, Sune? I'm slowly collecting ODM statutes & regulations from around the world... Some of them I can even read! (French, Russian - OK, Arabic - not a chance, yet!)

Ha! Found the site Emmanuel was quoting: http://www.congo-site.com/La-grande-chancellerie-des-ordres-nationaux-organise-des-journees-a-Brazzaville_a6549.html - unfortunately no more than he's already said and no links to follow up :(

From my archives, Samoan regulations as of 1999: - SAMOA Honours and Awards 1999, No.20 Arrangement of Provisions 1. Short title and commencement 2. Interpretation 3. Administration of Act 4. Conferring of awards 5. General qualification for awards 6. Description of awards 7. Grant Order of Samoa- Special Class 8. Order of Samoa- Poloaiga Sili a Samoa 9. Order of Samoa- First Class 10. Companion of the Order of Samoa- Second Class 11. Order of Merit 12. Officer of the Order of Samoa- Third Class 13. Member of the Order of Samoa- Fourth Class 14. Head of State’s Service Order 15. Head of State’s Service Medal 16. Malietoa Cross 17. Samoa Cross 18. Samoa Medal of Honour 19. Head of State’s Medal of Valour 20. Posthumous awards 21. Meaning of “field of endeavour” 22. Privileges attaching to awards 23. Honours Committee 24. Functions of the Committee 25. Recommendations for awards 26. Style and costs of award 27. Monetary payments 28. Honorary awards 29. Lost awards 30. Revocation of awards for misconduct 31. Offences 32. Regulations 33. Repeal and savings ---------------------------------------------------------------- AN ACT to repeal the Merit Act 1992/1993, No.3 and to consolidate the system for the conferring of awards in recognition of meritorious service to Samoa or acts of bravery. [25th August 1999] BE IT ENACTED by the Legislative Assembly of Samoa in Parliament assembled as follows:- 1. Short title and commencement-(1) This Act may be cited as the Honours and Awards Act 1999. (2) This Act shall come into force on the date it is assented to by the Head of State. 2. Interpretation - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires: "Awards" means an award described in section 6 of this Act: "Civil Service" means service of Samoa in any capacity, and includes service in the private and religious sectors: "Committee" means the Honours Committee established under section 23 of this Act: "Department" means the Prime Minister's Department. 3. Administration of Act - This Act shall be administered in the Prime Minister's Department and that Department shall provide the administrative, executive and secretarial services for the Committee. 4. Conferring of awards - The Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet, may by Order confer or grant awards in accordance with the provisions of this Act. 5. General qualification for awards-(1) Subject to subsection (2) and to section 10(1)(b), no person shall be eligible to receive an award unless at the time of the conferring of that award he is a citizen of Samoa. (2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to honorary awards made under section 28. 6. Description of awards-(1) Awards shall be classified as follows - (a) Awards for civil service; and (b) Awards for bravery and gallantry. (2) The awards for civil service, in order of precedence, shall be - (a) Grand Order of Samoa - Special Class (G.O.S.); (b) Order of Samoa - Poloaiga Sili a Samoa; © Order of Samoa-First Class (O.S.); (d) Companion to the Order of Samoa - Second Class (C.O.S.); (e) Order of Merit (O.M.); (f) Officer of the Order of Samoa - Third Class (O.S.); (g) Member of the Order of Samoa - Fourth Class (M.S.); (h) Head of State's Service Order (H.S.S.O.); (i) Head of State's Service Medal (H.S.S.M.). (3) The awards for bravery and gallantry, in order of precedence, shall be – (a) Malietoa Cross (M.C.); (b) Samoa Cross (S.C.); © Samoa Medal of Honour (S.M.H.); (d) Head of State's Medal for Valour (H.S.M.V.). (4) The letters in parentheses in subsections (2) and (3) do not form part of the names of the awards, but where an award is expressed in written form it may be described by the appropriate letters as they appear in those subsections. 7. Grand Order of Samoa - Special Class-(1) The Grand Order of Samoa - Special Class, shall be the state badge of office, symbolizing the tenure of the highest public office in Samoa. (2) Subject to subsection (3), the Head of State shall by virtue of his office and during his tenure be the only holder of this Order, and upon his death while in office or upon his retirement, it shall be handed down to his successor. (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2), His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, Head of State of the Independent State of Samoa, shall be the only recipient who shall retain this Order forever, as a tribute to his long and dedicated service to the State and to the people of Samoa. 8. Order of Samoa - Poloaiga Sili a Samoa-(1) The Order of Samoa - Poloaiga Sili a Samoa shall be the nation's highest meritorious award, and may be conferred on persons who have made a paramount contribution to the State and to the People, life and culture of Samoa on the national or international level, and which deserves the highest recognition of the people of Samoa. (2) Subject to section 28, at no time shall more than 2 living persons be the holders of the Order of Samoa - Poloaiga Sili a Samoa. 9. Order of Samoa - First Class-(1) The Order of Samoa - First Class may be conferred on-persons who have made an outstanding contribution to the State and to the people, life and culture of Samoa on the national or international level. (2) Subject to section 28, at no time shall more than 10 living persons be the holders of the Order of Samoa - First Class. 10. Companion of the Order of Samoa - Second Class-(1) The Companion of the Order of Samoa - Second Class may be conferred on - (a) Persons who have made an exceptionally important contribution to the State and to the people, life and culture of Samoa, on the national or international level; and (b) Those persons who are or have been leaders of corporations (whether foreign or domestic), or who are or have been leaders of foreign states or organisations, in recognition of lengthy and valuable service help and friendship afforded to Samoa by those corporations, states or organisations, or by those leaders. (2) Subject to section 28, at no time shall more than 10 living persons be holders of the Companion of the Order of Samoa - Second Class. 11. Order of Merit-(1) The Order of Merit may be conferred on - (a) Persons who have rendered outstanding meritorious service for Samoa in the domestic or international spheres; and (b) Persons who have made exceptional contributions towards the advancement of any field of endeavour, but with particular emphasis on the arts, learning, literature, science and religion, in the domestic or international spheres, and which is of benefit directly or indirectly to Samoa. (2) Subject to section 28, at no time shall more than fifteen (15) living persons be holders of the Order of Merit. 12. Officer of the Order of Samoa - Third Class-(1) The Officer of the Order of Samoa - Third Class may be conferred on - (a) Persons who have made highly significant and meritorious contributions to Samoa; and (b) Persons who have excelled in any field of endeavour, domestically and internationally, and which is of benefit, directly or indirectly to Samoa or which brings credit to Samoa. (2) Subject to section 28, at no time shall more than fifteen (15) living persons be holders of the Officer of the Order of Samoa - Third Class. 13. Member of the Order of Samoa - Fourth Class-(1) The Member of the Order of Samoa - Fourth Class may be conferred on - (a) Persons who have made meritorious contributions to Samoa; and (b) Persons who have excelled in any field of endeavour domestically, and which is of benefit directly or indirectly to Samoa, or which brings credit to Samoa. (2) Subject to section 28 at no time shall more than fifteen (15) living persons be holders of the Member of the Order of Samoa. 14. Head of State's Service Order-(1) There shall be two (2) divisions of the Head of State's Service Order as follows – (a) For Community Service; and (b) For Public Services. (2) The Head of State's Service Order for Community Service may be conferred on persons in recognition of their unique and valuable contributions to their village, district or township, or for their high achievement in any field of endeavour. (3) The Head of State's Service Order for Public Services may be conferred on persons who have made meritorious contributions, or given long service with exemplary conduct to the Government of Samoa. (4) Subject to section 28, at no time shall more than twenty (20) living persons be holders of the Head of State's Service Order. 15 . Head of State's Service Medal-(1) There shall be two (2), divisions of the Head of States Service Medal as follows – (a) For Community Service; and (b) For Public Services. (2) While the criteria for the grant of the Head of State's Service Medal in either division are similar to those set out in subsections (2) and (3) of section 14, a Medal awarded under this section may be granted to those persons who in the opinion of the Honours Committee have achieved a highly valuable accomplishment in any field of endeavour, or who have provided long service to Samoa with good conduct. (3) Subject to section 28, at no time shall more than twenty (20), Head of State's Service Medals be awarded in any calendar year. 16. Malietoa Cross - The Malietoa Cross may be awarded only for acts of the greatest heroism and of supreme bravery in the face of the enemy, or for some daring and pre-eminent act of valour and self-sacrifice in circumstances of extreme danger. 17. Samoa Cross - The Samoa Cross may be awarded for acts of the greatest valour entailing the display of exceptional courage in circumstances of extraordinary danger, where there is a total disregard for personal loss of life and limb. 18. Samoa Medal of Honour - The Samoa Medal of Honour may be awarded for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extraordinary danger involving potential loss of life or limb. 19. Head of State's Medal for Valour - The Head of State's Medal for Valour may be awarded for acts of extraordinary courage in circumstances of very great danger. 20. Posthumous awards - The awards described in sections 8, 16 and 17 of this Act may be made posthumously. 21. Meaning of "Field of endeavour" - For the purposes of this Act, "Field of endeavour" includes - (a) Work in the service of Samoa; (b) Service as a Member of Parliament or as a Minister of State; © Service as a member of an organisation dedicated to the welfare of Samoa or Samoans; (d) Service as a member of an ecclesiastical or religious body; (e) Work as a self-employed person; (f) Work as an employee; (g) Work as a volunteer; (h) Participation in any academic activity; (i) Engaging in any literary activity; (j) Participation in fine arts, visual arts or performing arts; (k) Engaging in any craft; (l) Performance as a sports representative; and (m) Any other activity prescribed by regulation as a field of endeavour. 22. Privileges attaching to awards-(1) Every holder of an award shall have the right to be invited to attend all Government functions, and to wear his ribbon and medal on every such occasion, and may at any other time wear a miniature replica of the medal or ribbon. (2) Every holder of an award may, after any printed or written form of his name, add the appropriate letters denoting the award which he holds. (3) Holders of awards shall have such other entitlements and privileges as may be prescribed by regulation. (4) For the purposes of this section, "award" includes an honorary award. 23. Honours Committee-(1) There is hereby constituted a Committee to be known as the Honours Committee. (2) The Committee shall consist of six (6) members as follows - (a) The Secretary to Cabinet, who shall be Chairman; (b) The Secretary to the Prime Minister's Department; © The Secretary for Internal Affairs; (d) Three persons appointed by the Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet, one of whom shall represent - (i) the private sector; (ii) the ecclesiastical and religious denominations; and (iii) the chiefs and orators of Samoa. (3) Members appointed under subsection (2)(d) shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years and are eligible for reappointment for a further term or terms. (4) The Committee shall determine its own procedure in all matters. (5) Members of the Committee may be paid such remuneration and allowances as Cabinet may from time to time determine. 24. Functions of the Committee - The functions of the Honours Committee shall be to - (a) Consider persons from all areas of Samoa and overseas who may be eligible for awards or honorary awards, and to recommend to Cabinet the granting of an award to any of such persons where it considers that an award is justified; and (b) Continuously review the suitability, where appropriate of persons who have received awards previously for the purpose of recommending to Cabinet the granting to them of higher or other awards, as the case may be. 25. Recommendations for awards - Recommendations for ,awards shall be made in writing by the Committee to Cabinet. 26. Style and cost of awards-(1) Each award shall comprise - (a) A certificate given under the hand of the Head of State and sealed with the Public Seal of Samoa; (b) A medal with or without a ribbon as the Honours Committee may determine; and © A miniature of the medal and ribbon, as the case may be. (2) Medals, ribbons, certificates and miniature replicas shall be of such design as shall be approved by the Head of State by Order, acting on the advice of Cabinet. (3) The cost of the design, fabrication and conferring of the awards and all costs incidental thereto (including remuneration and allowances made pursuant to section 23 together with the monetary payments made in accordance with section 27) shall be statutory expenditure and shall be paid out of the Treasury Fund without further appropriation. 27. Monetary payments - The following monetary payments shall accompany the granting of an award - (a) To a person who has been awarded the Malietoa Cross, the sum of $2,000.00. (b) To a person who has been awarded the Samoa Cross, the sum of $2,000.00. 28. Honorary awards-(1) Subject to section 5, where the Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet, is satisfied that a person merits the receipt of an award under this Act, and that person is not a citizen of Samoa, he may by Order confer an honorary award on that person. (2) Honorary awards may be made for all awards under this Act other than the Grand Order of Samoa, and there shall be no limitations as to the number of honorary awards that may be granted or conferred under this section. 29. Lost awards - Where the holder of an award has lost his medal, ribbon, miniature replica or certificate, he may obtain a duplicate from the Prime Minister's Department upon paying the reasonable cost, which shall be fixed by the Secretary to the Prime Minister's Department. 30. Revocation of awards for misconduct - The Head of State acting on the advice of Cabinet, may by Order revoke an award conferred or granted under this Act on the ground that the holder has committed an act or acts of gross or serious misconduct such as to bring into disrepute the dignity and honour of the award. 31. Offences - Any person who wears any medal, ribbon or miniature replica to which he is not entitled, or who in any way holds himself out, or permits or suffers himself to be held out as the holder of an award which he does not hold, commits an offence and upon conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding ten (10) penalty units, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve (12) months. 32. Regulations - The Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet, may make such regulations as may in his opinion be necessary or expedient for giving full effect to the provisions of this Act. 33. Repeal and savings-(1) The Merit Act 1992/1993 is repealed. (2) Upon the commencement of this Act, any Order, award or certificate (including any honorary award) conferred or granted under the Merit Act 1992/1993 shall continue to retain its validity, status and recognition under the laws of Samoa. (3) Any Order, honour or award (including any honorary award,) other than those referred to in subsection (2), that may have been conferred or granted by the Government of Samoa shall continue to retain its validity, status and recognition under the laws of Samoa.

Apparently the British Empire Medal is to be awarded again beginning next year, to the 'unsung heroes' who work within local communities. As you may recall, it was dropped in 1993 amidst John Major's efforts to make honours more democratic... which seemed to mean that a lot of people got left out as their work might not be significant enough for a higher award, but worthy of recognition. BBC article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15507026

Nice, if rather small images and a very clunky magnifier that's like peering through a keyhole!

Aargh!!!! I had just found where the Russian Ministry of Defence had hidden their medal regulations, and you wave this treasure trove under my nose!!!! So do I spend the rest of today translating Russian or Malay?

A beautiful piece, thank you for sharing Jeff.

Alexander Davison, Nelson's prize agent, distributed a medal for the Battle of the Nile which was usually worn on a blue ribbon (but of course quite unofficial)... and not as spectacular! It was made by Matthew Boulton, http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_10_2011/post-1530-0-24731800-1319541217.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_10_2011/post-1530-0-08955100-1319541252.jpg It came in several varieties, this is a gold one as awarded to Captains, there was a silver one for other officers, a copper-gilt one for petty officers and a bronzed-copper version for seamen and marines. Examples of the latter two featured in Morton & Eden's auction of the collection of the American Numismatical Society (Part 1).

Glorious as ever, thank you for sharing! Emmanuel, do you have the URL of the website with the details of all the orders that you mentioned earlier on the thread, please?

PM sent, you kind soul :)

Fascinating - and frustrating! - isn't it. I have a spate of job interviews this coming week, but will settle down and post a translation of the law regarding this Order which might help us in our quest.

It is one I haven't seen before, Richard - I was working from my translations of the relevant laws which describe the design of the medals - is there any chance you'd be willing to permit me to use that picture on my site?

I think it's the Medal for the Gravely Wounded, Invalids of War (Médaille de grand blessé, mutilé de guerre).

Finally, here is the Dignity for Foreign Heads of State (Athir): Again, many thanks to Heinke Holsten-Stephan for sharing these!

Pretty much identical to the Presidential insignia, except for having white enamel instead of red. I don't have a picture of the Star, but here is the Sash & Badge - look closely and you can see a crescent and star woven into the material of the sash.