Megan

Thanks... I think I've got them sorted now Until the next one...

Thank you, Frank... more Russian goodies But where do they go in the order of precedence of Russian Ministry of Defence awards?

Came across this: ... then found this thread when trying to figure out what it was. Any thoughts?

Common with Zimbabwe!

Just the silver medal.

I have a few pictures here: http://medals.org.uk/sweden/sweden004.htm There are also some here: http://www.omsa.org/images/?parent=881 Dealers you could try include eMedals - see https://www.emedals.com/europe/sweden/orders/order-of-vasa Examples quite often show up at auction too...

Beautiful images, but as Paja says, identifying them would be helpful - I know most of them, but Albanian ODM are fairly obscure...

Grrrrr!

In UK Churches, it is common to observe a 2-minute silence at 11am on the Sunday next after 11 November (unless 11 November is a Sunday, when that will do). There is a growing tendency to observe a 2-minute silence at 11am on 11 November whatever day it falls upon (in the University where I work they sound the fire alarm, having pre-announced that they will do so). As for poppies, they seem to appear earlier and earlier every year. The BBC mandates that presenters wear them from mid-October, which is a bit ridiculous. I used to wear them only on 11 November and the following Sunday, but of late I have switched to small enamel pins which are worn year-round on my coat collar. That's quite separate from putting money in a collecting tin, which of course I do every year.

To which French medal do you refer? (There are 2 on the bar.) I take it you mean the last one, which is probably one of the quasi-official ones the French are very fond of, the wording of which suggests an organisation working with prisoners of war providing education/welfare services. The other, on the white ribbon with tricolour edge, is the Médaille de la Reconnaissance Française in silver (Medal of French Recognition) awarded for services to war casualties.

Best ribbon resources online are Lukasz Gaszewski's Ribbons of Orders and Decorations of the World and Antonio Prieto Barrio's Cintas de Condecoraciones

Sahil, as I am a friend of Ed Haynes, I've told him about what you have been writing here. He can be a bit erratic in his responsiveness but hopefully he'll surface soon and talk to you.

All I know about this one is that it was instituted on 25 November 1901 with the name of Medalla de la guardia nacional in three classes (gold, silver, and bronze).

Fascinating stuff, thank you for sharing Emmanuel. Nice day out for the Sultan and his mates

That's the style awarded during WW2.

Rats! That's a shame...

Tasty!

Excellent.... many congratulations on netting the elusive beastie!

Nice, Ilya - but it ought to be on a dark blue ribbon with white edges, the dark red ribbon is for army awards. This one was awarded during the presidencey of Joyce Banda (no relation to H.K. Banda!) who held office 2012-2014. First one I've seen with her picture on it.

Thank you, Nick, that's appreciated. Something to keep me busy

Very nice, Nick, thank you for sharing. May I be cheeky and ask if you'd permit me to use these images (with acknowledgement, of course) on my website?

Here's a recent picture of King Toupu VI, who was giving a speech to the Tongan parliament this week.

I do hope the courage of ordinary people in the face of mindless criminality will be marked by awards - there are several stories worthy of at least a George Medal. However, I think we should consider the establishment of a terrorism-specific award on the lines of the Spanish Royal Order for Civil Recognition of the Victims of Terrorism (Real Orden de Reconocimiento Civil a las Víctimas del Terrorismo). Oddly enough a Spanish man who demonstrated great bravery by taking on one of the criminals with a skateboard and sadly lost his life has been awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit by his home nation instead.

Nice! Thank you for sharing, Frank...

Thanks for the information, Frank. Never mind the CIA, I'm interested