Megan

M?daille de la R?sistance Does anyone know the precise terms of award, or the difference between the one with rosette & the one without?

The 'little epaulettes' are collar tabs - originally intended to indicate that the wearer had passed Staff College but now generally worn by everyone of about Colonel or above rank. The dark red on dark blue colouration would fit with your man being a medical officer rather than a line one.

M?daille de la Gendarmerie Nationale:

This is all quite interesting. There seem to be 2 sorts of 'shoulder ornaments' going around, those which are used to denote a unit distinction of some kind and those which are regimental in nature. In the British Army, some regiments have one as a regimental distinction. It's just part of the uniform - for example, sergeants and above in the Cheshire Regiment wore a dull red one on the left shoulder. This was a single loop right around the arm with a little noose, the loose end being attached to the button on the left breast pocket... a bit of a problem for me as in those days the female No.2 Dress tunic didn't have breast pockets! Just to confuse things, as an internal and more unofficial thing, Cheshire soldiers who had passed the Regular Radio User course wore a white lanyard on the right shoulder, a bit more fancy, braided thing. Unit distinctions come as Battle Honours (borne on the Colours & the Drums) or very rarely as specific badges, but it is rare for a medal to be awarded to a unit rather than an individual - a George Cross to the Royal Irish Regiment is the only one which comes to mind right now. I cannot recall any UK regiment wearing a foreign... er, I think there's an Orange Lanyard knocking around in the ancestry of what was the Queen's Regiment but I do not think it is still worn by the current regiment. And a couple of US Presidential Unit Citations, which are worn as a sleeve badge rather than in US fashion over the right breast pocket.

Does indeed, thank you Hendrik. I only recently learned that the official wound award was 'ribbon only' as it happens.

I don't actually have a collection! At least not of 'things' - having got interested very early, by about 13-14 I had purchased just about everything that pocket money would stretch to... and then made the discovery that for the same sort of expenditure I could get a book about a whole lot of medals, rather than a single item. So I switched to information-gathering, and the results are now on the Internet! As for my father - conscripted 1940 into the Royal Artillery, then they realised he'd just gained a 1st class honours (summa cum laude) degree in German & transferred him to the Intelligence Corps, and after various exploits in North Africa he ended up in an Anglo-American intelligence unit which went up Italy about a day behind the front line, analysing German radio traffic intercepted by the Enigma decoders at Bletchly Park. He got a US Bronze Star, the chap he shared a desk with - an American who remained a lifelong friend - received the UK MBE. In 1947, my father joined the Civil Service - having taken the entrance examinations while still in uniform in Rome - and he rose to be the head - 'Permanent Secretary' - of the Welsh Office, for which service he received a CB (1972) and then the KCB (1976). He departed this life in 1989.

I know that the wound ribbon is the official version (and the medals have been added by various enterprising folks), but do you know how you are supposed to wear a wound ribbon? Is it worn as part of your ribbon bar, or is the way someone has attached one to his Croix de Guerre, as shown in your picture, correct usage? I know about the fourragere being a unit award, and worn - when in uniform - on your shoulder; and that the miniature ones on medals are an unofficial way of showing your entitlement when in civilian dress.

Way back in the mists of time... or at least the early 1970s... a UK petrol distributor did one on UK campaign medals. The collector was solid cardstock, with some detail about the medals, but the actual 'give-aways' - they were free if you bought so much petrol - were a) random and wrapped in opaque material so you often ended up with handfuls of the same one and b) the 'disk' of the medal only, uniface reverse, which fitted into a circular hole in the cardstock, the ribbon was printed on in the appropriate place. I got lucky - at the end of the promotion a petrol station gave me a complete set they'd made up. (Indeed it was an extremely lucky day, I was on the way home from visiting a distant relative who, on hearing that I was interested - aged 11 - in medals, gave me a CBE Military awarded to said relative's Dad!).

You are most kind, Hendrik! What do you all think is the best way to handle things like the fourageres (no I cannot remember how to spell it!) & the wound ribbon - a bit at the bottom for 'Unofficial attachments' perhaps?

Commander & Knight of the National Order of Merit (The Officer wears the same badge as the Grand Officer, but without the star).

Grand Officer, National Order of Merit

Guess it is time I put up some of my pictures... Grand Cross, National Order of Merit

Thank you Hendrik - I take it you are OK with my using them? Acknowledged, of course, although you already feature large in the Contributors' List!

At the moment, Paddy, I am looking at the Croix de Guerre 1914-18 which came with 4 different reverses (1914-15, 1914-16, 1914-17 & 1914-18 - as they discovered that the war wasn't over as fast as expected!), and with 4 different emblems that could appear on the ribbon. The Croix de Guerre 1939-45 and the TOE will come as separate entries. I guess the Vichy stuff will have its own section, as you are not allowed to wear them in France.

Thank you all... Just added the French Croix de Guerre 1914-18 - don't have pictures of all the variants, alas... anyone got pictures they'd be willing to share? (Yeah, I can be quite shameless asking - the whole site is made with pictures people give me... I don't actually collect 'things' just information!)

Searches for a gobsmacked smilie... Why thank you all for such a nice welcome! Maybe I need to become an honorary 'Gentleman' to be here...

These are all fascinating, particularly as I'm doing some much needed work on the French section of my website. Please do pop over & comment (especially if you can help me out where I don't know something!). (I actually came here because Ed Haynes wanted to give me some Afghan pictures for said website & the easiest way was to point me to where he'd posted them here... but the rest of the forum is so fascinating I shall be staying )