Megan

As information, a lady (unless in uniform) ALWAYS wears a CBE on a bow, even if other medals are worn. In uniform, it is worn as a neck badge in the same manner as a male recipient would wear it - although when a lady receives even a military CBE she will be presented with the insignia on a bow... and then expected to wear it around her neck when in uniform!

There is an error on the Europe page in the link to the Commonwealth rackbuilder, it ought to be http://www.medals.pl/bc/ It's there and working fine once you get to the beast!

It's now available - some nice stuff but the picture quality is poor :(

The Elizabeth Cross is bestowed upon the next-of-kin of service personnel killed on active service. Unlike the various 'Memorial Crosses' bestowed by Canada, NZ, etc., it is not automatically given to the mother and/or wife of the individual killed, each service member can nominate which family members they wish. Hence a recipient may be themselves serving, and so have a uniform on which to pin the Elizabeth Cross.

It has just been announced that Her Majesty The Queen has authorised the wearing of the Elizabeth Cross in uniform. It may be pinned on the wearer's right side above the breast pocket. (Source: October 2010 issue of Soldier magazine)

Interesting... may have been mis-ribboned, then, as that's the 2nd class ribbon (4 white stripes).

Reverse:

Liberation Decoration Obverse:

And the reverse:

Independence Medal, Silver, Obverse:

(Makes long arm to bookcase behind me...) I have a reprint of the Dress Regulations for Officers of the British Army (including the Militia) 1900 which includes a lot of black & white plates. It was published by Arms & Armour Press in 1969, reprinted 1980 and the ISBN is 0-85368-044-2. I think I bought it sometime about 1989, there's a A&AP sticker in it for £15 which has been crossed out and a price of £7.50 pencilled in. If memory serves, it came from the National Army Museum gift shop in London.

I think that it's correct. Here is a picture which George Beldecos, an authority on Greek ODM, gave me (it's in his book, Hellenic Orders, Decorations and Medals 1991, & he's given me permission to use it, although it has been 'poached' and reproduced on the internet elsewhere!): The disparity of design between collar badge and star is the same as in the eBay offering. It seems to be that the star that you get with the collar is of a completely different design to everything else in the order - the badges of other classes are of similar design to the collar badge, and the centres of the Grand Cross and Knight Commander stars are again like the badges.

Thank you, Antonio.

Officer:

Commander (Reverse):

Commander (Obverse):

Orden al Mérito Aeronáutico Instituted: October 1946. Awarded: For particular achievements in aeronautical and military activies. Grades: 5 (Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, and Knight). Grand Cross: Star

Hello again, Alex. Like most nations' medal systems, the UK one breaks down into: * Awards for bravery - in combat or in everyday life * Awards for meritorious service or achievement * Awards for 'just being there' - campaign service medals * Awards for long service * Awards marking general occasions - such as Royal coronations/anniversaries Being a monarchy, there is a subset of meritorious service awards for service rendered directly to the sovereign. In the UK, there are 'Orders of Knighthood' which are almost exclusively awarded for meritorious service/achievement. Decorations are generally awarded for acts of bravery, a few can be awarded for other achievements. Medals are given for participation in military actions, or for long service - mainly in a 'uniformed service,' that is the armed forces, police, and emergency services (ambulance and fire). It just looks complex, as there are things like different branches of the armed services having their own award for doing a thing, a different award based on the rank of the recipient rather than what he's done (something that was reduced considerably during the 1990s), and the like. You might care to visit my site to get an overview of the whole system.

Hello, Alexander, and welcome! I expect you've found http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/ which is quite a comprehensive site. They have an extensive book list at http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/aabooks.htm - should give you a starting point. Other useful sites are the Victoria Cross Society - http://www.victoriacrosssociety.com/ - and one at http://www.victoriacross.co.uk/ which is more of a personal quest to document award stories and research recipients. You will find another book list here - http://www.war-art.com/books_on_vc's.htm - along with comments on each book so you can decide which will be most useful. This is quite interesting - http://www.victoriacrossheroes.com/index.html - as you may have heard, in the UK there is a very wealthy and enthusiastic collectors of VCs called Lord Ashcroft, and this site is mostly about his collection. Anything else you need, just ask.

And the reverse:

Orden del Sol del Perú - Instituted: 8 October 1821, discontinued: 1825, re-established: 1921. Awarded for exceptional achievements in civilian and military activities, in SIX classes (there was a 'with diamonds' version of the Grand Cross). The one you have, Linas, is indeed the Knight class. Knight, Obverse:

Unfortunately, with all due respect to our American cousins, it's the wrong part of the SVA that has been challenged. Like most of us here, I thoroughly disapprove of people pretending - for glory or for gain - to have been awarded medals that they are not entitled to claim, and don't hold truck with the idea that 'freedom of speech' means 'freedom to lie through your teeth'! Where the SVA went astray was making it illegal to SELL certain medals, which has made trade in, for example, the Medal of Honor virtually impossible unless you are a recipient or descendant of one wanting to sell it to a museum. They ought to have swiped the relevant text from the UK Army Act 1955 which made it illegal to wear or claim to have been awarded any medal that you had not earned, and for a SERVING member of the armed forces to sell his medals. That handled the matter of fake claimants far better, and made it absolutely clear that the collecting trade was not included. Alas that bit not make it into the most recent version of military legislation here.

Thank you. Always trying to get these things correct...

Was it issued in more than one class then?

Reverse: