Megan

From Belgium, the Military Decoration (Décoration militaire, Militair Ereteken) on the ribbon for long service, Type 2 - as shown by the central medallion on the reverse, which bears the LII cypher of Leopold II and the inverted chevron of the Class 1 award for 15 years of service.

From Jamaica, the Order of Jamaica, which was instituted on 18 July 1969 and is awarded in a single class to any Jamaican citizen of outstanding distinction or upon any distinguished citizen of a country other than Jamaica (as an honorary member). The odd thing is that awardees receive the badge on a plain green neck ribbon but also wear - at the same time - a sash which is green with a yellow edged black central stripe over the right should, this has no badge attached. Several Jamaican orders have a similar arrangement. Here's the neck badge:

From Argentina, the Rio Negro and Patagonia Campaign Medal, 1878-1881 (Medalla por la campana del Rio Negro y Patagonia). It was instituted on 27 October 1881 and awarded the following year for participation in the expedition to Rio Negro and Patagonia, dislodging Indians, and getting control of the region in three classes awarded on the basis of the recipient's rank. Here's the gold medal for Generals.

From Canada, the Order of Military Merit (Ordre du Mérite Militaire), which was instituted on 1 July 1972 and is awarded in three classes for conspicuous merit and exceptional service by members of the Canadian Armed Forces. The badge on a bow is that of the Sovereign of the Order, as worn by the late Queen Elizabeth II. It's likely that King Charles III would wear the same badge on a neck ribbon.... but probably a bit larger, the Queen's badge was the size of an Officer's badge! The badge on a neck ribbon is the Commander class. The Officer is the gold one on a chest ribbon, the silver is the Member.

From the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the National Order for Military Merit(Орден За военна заслуга). This was instituted on 18 May 1900 - but intended as a military branch of the existing National Order of Civil Merit hence its reverse bears the institution date of that order, 2 August 1891! Over time a range of variations were brought in, but for tonight, the Grand Cross Star and the Class 2 (or Grand Officer) badge and star of the first type. The sharp-eyed amonst you may wonder why I'm not calling the Grand Cross "Class 1" when I'm using Class 2 for the Grand Officer... there is madness in my method. You see, they added an extra class, the Grand Cross, above the original Class 1, which got renamed as the Great Cross and looked like a Grand Cross to anyone not looking closely. The new Grand Cross class has a sash and badge virtually identical to the Class 1, but its star had the additional gold pieces you can see here. The badge for the Grand Officer is an Urdy cross enamelled crimson with a circular centre and crossed swords between the arms of the cross. On the obverse, the centre is enamelled crimson and bears the cypher of the founder, Ferdinand I, in white, surrounded by a green ring which bears the inscription ЗА ВОЕННА ЗАСЛУГА [FOR MILITARY MERIT]. The reverse has a crimson centre on which there is a gold lion rampant with a Saxon shield on its chest, surrounded by a green ring inscribed 2 АВГУСТЪ 1891 [2 AUGUST 1891].The star is silver, a rayed star of four points bearing the obverse of the badge described above.

From the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the National Order for Civil Merit (Орден За гражданска заслуга), instituted on 2 August 1891 and awarded to civil servants, clergymen, diplomats, foreign nationals and others for services to the nation and the Monarch. Here is the Class 2 and Class 3 insignia of the Type 2 (1909-1937) of the order.

From Cuba, the Interallied Victory Medal (Medalla Conmemorativa de la Guerra), instituted on 15 July 1921 and awarded to Cuban military personnel who participated in the war in Europe (WWI)... yes, I know it was a world war, but the actual decrees establishing it spoke of "the war in Europe" 🤓

From Denmark, the Order of the Dannebrog (Dannebrogordenen), instituted on 12 October 1671. Here are the badge and star of thegra d Christian X (1912-1947) version... once the modern style was established in the middle of the 19th century, all that changed was the monarch's cypher - initial and regnal number.

From the Kingdom of Egypt, the Order of Muhammad Ali, which was instituted on 14 April 1915 and awarded for the highest standards of civil and military service - with the collar mostly going to Heads of State. The design was amended in 1919, and from this Type 2 here are the Commander class and the Silver Medal - the order included gold and silver medals, mostly awarded for courage on the battlefield.

Correct: the Belgian Political Prisoner's Cross 1940-45 (Croix du Prisonnier Politique 1940-1945/Het Politieke Gevangenkruis 1940-1945), instituted on 13 November 1947 and awarded to Belgian citizens arrested and interned by the Germans as political prisoners during the Second World War.

I think that it is either a civilian medal or an unofficial one. But I do not have any hard evidence to support this assertion! There's a quite different medal that was awarded to all serving members of the Ciskei Defence Force on 4 December 1981 to commemorate the independence of the Republic of Ciskei. (Sorry, images on t'other computer!).

Great work. I was just about to have a root around this morning... still will, seeing as it's information that I would find useful myself!

Very nice... pity about the wrong ribbon for the gold medal. Will you be able to find a length of the correct one?

I'll try the university library once it reopens on 2 January...

Welcome, Nurullah, lovely to hear from you. Unfortunately I cannot open your images, some odd format. Most people use something like .jpg or .png Try converting your images to that, then look at the bottom of the posting window... there's a paperclip symbol where you can either drag files in or click on 'choose files' and find them on your computer. Then we can enjoy them and talk to you about them.

Just spent a happy afternoon writing a review: https://medals.org.uk/reviews/review018.htm

Thank you, appreciated.

Thank you. Time to brush up my Yugoslavian... 🤓

Do you have copies of the laws that you can share (or links to point to if they are available online)?

As I understand it, Carter was offered promotion but refused it - at least in part so as to be able to retain the long service stripes, which could not be worn above the rank of lance corporal.

Impressive, but not the most awarded - a LCpl. Edward Pearce (1846-1925) achieved 12! This picture shows a Private Arthur Carter of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry, who enlisted in 1901 and served until 1951. He earned 10 stripes. The picture was taken in 1948 on the occasion of him being awarded a second bar to his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. The other people in the photo are the Earl of Powis (Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire), Major General Grover (who was Colonel of the Regiment), and Lieutenant Colonel Shaw-Ball (Commanding Officer, KSLI).

Does life revolve around food? Just put lunch on. So, the Military Order of the Black Panther (Ordre militaire de la Panthère noire) was instituted in 2010. It has the standard five classes and is said to take the second place in Gabon's order of precedence... I think this means, after the Order of the Equatorial Star. Here is the Grand Cross badge: And the Knight (with ribbon):

And now I have found another Gabonese order, the Military Order of the Black Panther... but I'll write about that tomorrow because it is time to cook my dearly beloved's dinner!

I've spent a happy afternoon reviewing the new order, and this is what I have managed to piece together... It is called the National Order of Liberation (l'Ordre national de la Libération) and was instituted on 31 July 2024 by Decree No. 294 / PT-PR / GCONA dated July 31, 2024, with the aim to reward individuals or military and civilian communities who distinguished themselves in the action of the coup to liberate Gabon on 30 August 2023 and in the conduct of the transition in three classes (Grand Cross, Commander, and Knight). Holders of all classes are termed Companions of the Liberation. The collar is the insignia of the Grand Master of the Order. The collar is gold. The suspension link bears the arms of the Gabonese Republic in coloured enamels. This is flanked by links composed of the initials RG in ornate gold letters which alternate with links carrying the arms of the nine regions of the country. The badge of the order is a nine-pointed gold star. A central gold disk depicts a soldier wielding a torch and a citizen wrapped in the flag of Gabon in coloured enamels surrounded by a broken chain, with a green wreath behind the arms of the star. The Grand Cross star is gold, consisting of the badge of the order mounted on a gold rayed disk, and it is worn on the left side. It seems that the Gabonse wear stars very low down, just above the belt. The sash is green with a yellow central stripe and blue edges, worn over the right shoulder. Oddly, even when collars are not being worn, it appears that the Gabonese don't wear badges on the sash... but this is not certain. Thank you, OCS Redleg, for bringing this to my attention.

My copy arrived yesterday. Busy day, didn't have time to do more than flick through, but it looks glorious and all that archical material! Fortunately I have some leave coming up... review will be forthcoming and will be posted here in due course.