Megan

These are lovely pictures, thank you so much for sharing them. Of course it's the medal pictures that interest me! Please bob round to http://www.medals.org.uk/singapore/singapore.htm - I'd appreciate your comments, advice & assistance.

For the text under your medal pictures to remain legible, I've had to chop that sheet up.

More appointment & qualification badges

Appointments & Qualification Badges

This the sort of thing you have in mind?

Have you tried asking him?

Thank you, that's very clear...

I am now working on the Estonia 1920-40 section of my site. Pluribus (or for that matter anyone else) - how should I structure the part about the Order of the Red Cross? If I read what you said here aright, it started off as a privately-organised Commemorative Decoration of the Estonian Red Cross, then in 1936 it became an official state order with the title Order of the Estonian Red Cross in 5 classes with 3 medals (gold, silver, bronze). Do you know what the structure of the Commemorative Decoration of the Estonian Red Cross, & did it use the same ribbon?

The heritage of this order dates back to an order formed by S. Dominic in 1216... at least in name, S. Dominic's one was not an order of chivalry & didn't last long anyway. In 1870 a bunch of former Papal soldiers decided to form a group to fight for the Holy See and protect it against all comers, and chose the name "Milizia di Cristo, crociata di preghiera e di azione." Their organisation admitted both men & women, and came under the spiritual guidance of the Dominicans. Their insignia was a silver cross with a medallion at the centre (sorry, I don't have a picture of it). The instigator of this group, one Comte de Beaumont, was very low-key and didn't give himself fancy titles or badges... but after he retired a fellow called Domenico Piccoli took over and he was of a far more flamboyant nature. He claimed that the organisation was "a religious and chivalric order founded by Innocent III and Saint Dominic, and Pius IX had appointed the comte de Beaumont as Grand Master of the Order in France" - a complete surprise to all involved (at least, those around to be asked) and not supported by any documentary evidence. Piccoli styled himself "Lieutenant General and Grand Prior of the Cross of Paris of the Order" (de Beaumont had contented himself with the title 'Organiser'!), renamed it "Ordine religioso cavalleresco della Milizia di N.S. Gesu Cristo" and referred to the membership as knights and commanders. They adopted a uniform of white coats, and changed the insignia to the black & white cross flory as shown above. As it's a Dominican symbol, the Dominicans were not best pleased and asked them to stop wearing it. Having been rebuffed by the Dominicans, who completely disowned them by the late 1880s, Piccoli asked the Melkite Catholic patriarch of Antioch to be Grand Master... which he accepted in 1900, but died 2 years later. The office was offered to his successor, who asked the Holy Father for permission to accept. He was advised that the Order had no official standing or approval from the Holy See and so declined. Piccoli, undaunted, took on the role of Grand Master himself until he died in 1916. Surviving members continued to use the title & insignia, but with little attempt at organisation or attempts to seek approval or legitimacy. Sometime between 1959 & 1973 the order was transformed into an association of the faithful, aimed at supporting lay people who were following the teachings of the 2nd Vatican Council about lay apostolate. On 21 November, 1981, the Pontifical Council for the Laity granted recognition of the "Milice de Jesus Christ" as an international association of the faithful. Membership is open to lay people who wish to commit themselves individually and as an association to fostering the spirit of faith and Christian values in the world. This organisation, still using the black & whte cross flory, has a website at http://www.militia-christi.org/ and recognise most of the above (apart from Piccoli's self-aggrandisment - they jump straight from the 1870 group to being an association of the faithful) as their heritage & history. A black mantle bearing the cross on the left shoulder is worn, but they don't seem to go in for insignia of the sort we lot are interested in.

And this: Executive Order 13363 of November 29, 2004 Establishing the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including my authority as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States and Public Law 108?234, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Afghanistan Campaign Medal. There is hereby established the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with suitable appurtenances. Except as limited in section 3 of this order, and under uniform regulations to be prescribed by the Secretaries of the military departments and approved by the Secretary of Defense, or under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal shall be awarded to members of the uniformed services of the United States who serve or have served in Afghanistan or contiguous air space, as defined by such regulations, on or after October 24, 2001, and before a terminal date to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. Sec. 2. Iraq Campaign Medal. There is hereby established the Iraq Campaign Medal with suitable appurtenances. Except as limited in section 3 of this order, and under uniform regulations to be prescribed by the Secretaries of the military departments and approved by the Secretary of Defense, or under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, the Iraq Campaign Medal shall be awarded to members of the uniformed services of the United States who serve or have served in Iraq or contiguous waters or air space, as defined by such regulations, on or after March 19, 2003, and before a terminal date to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

Here's the relevant Executive Order: Executive Order 13289 of March 12, 2003 Establishing the Global War on Terrorism Medals By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including my authority as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. There is hereby established the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal with suitable appurtenances. Except as limited in section 3 of this order, and under uniform regulations to be prescribed by the Secretaries of the military departments and approved by the Secretary of Defense, or under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal shall be awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who serve or have served in military expeditions to combat terrorism, as defined by such regulations, on or after September 11, 2001, and before a terminal date to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. Sec. 2. Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. There is hereby established the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal with suitable appurtenances. Except as limited in section 3 of this order, and under uniform regulations to be prescribed by the Secretaries of the military departments and approved by the Secretary of Defense, or under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal shall be awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who serve or have served in military operations to combat terrorism, as defined by such regulations, on or after September 11, 2001, and before a terminal date to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

I collect information rather than items... The picture came from a Spink's auction about a year ago. They very kindly allow me to use their pictures in return for credit & a bit of free advertising on my website!

This thread, and the modern Estonian one, make fascinating reading. I do hope, 'Pluribus,' that you will be willing to assist when I update that section of my site. The connections between the 1920-40 Estonian decorations and the contemporary ones are fascinating - while many 'formerly communist' countries have turned to their heritage in establishing new orders, the Estonians give the impression that they are carrying on with a gap 1940-90s with the same orders.

The main advantage of a monarchy is that you don't have a politician as your head of state! But we've strayed a bit far from 'gongs'...