Megan

List amended as suggested, but we've had an... ahem... more social evening tonight so that will be it for now! Thanks for the help, I'll be back for more...

You are correct - it is the State Security Department - 'Departamento de Seguridad del Estado' in Spanish. Their remit is 'internal security' although their activities seem to spread quite widely at times...

Not a great deal...

2nd Class Iron Cross - October 1870.

Order of the Black Eagle - some say 1910, others c.1916.

Pour le Merite - 1914.

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross - 1917.

Picture on German Wikipedia - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:AugustvonMackensen.jpg

Well, as a starting point we have what has already been published, and then we need to correct & improve on that. Sparrows on the shoulders of giants or whatever!

So 'Order of the Polar Star' isn't the right name for the beast? So after 'Order of Combat Valour' goes ? 'Order of the Golden Pole'?

All I want is to get it right, she says plaintively!

I'll take a look at your suggestion for a revised sequence when I get home tonight...

Raoirain Rakan te Mwukuri

Ana Kaibangkai Ninikoria Kiribati

Thank you.

What comes next?

Well I have put up my first attempt at this... comments/corrections/additions welcome!

Beautiful!

Ed, when the original 3 class Ashoka Chakra was changed in 1967 to 3 separate awards, did the design change? If so, which one is the one depicted here?

So probably best as a single page showing how names & designs have changed with time?

OK, Ed, I have read the 3 threads you recommended and the relevant page on Yuri's site and now I'm even more confused than usual!

Do we have 3 different orders, or one that keeps having radical changes of name & design?

How ought I to present it in a logical yet accurate manner on my site?

Knight 2nd Class:

Knight 1st Class:

Honour Cross 2nd Class:

Honour Cross 1st Class

Grand Commander with Turquoise: Badge

Honour Cross, Civil:

Commander 1st Class Military: Badge & Star

Commander 1st Class Civil: Star

Grand Cross Star:

Collar of the Order:

Yuri has been out of circulation since the end of 2003. Whether he got caught up in business - the 'Netdialogue' site he was hosted on is an automatic translation/ISP/hosting service that's quite big in Russia - or lost interest for some other reason I don't know: we used to talk a lot and long before he dropped out he gave me blanket permission to use anything from his site. Really ought to try and track him down - did a bit of Googlefu this afternoon as it happens, got 2 or 3 business news stories about the company and a lot of links/credits to the medals site.

As for information, I'm happy to stick with here - as you and some others are busy figuring it all out - and of course to throw in at least pictures that I can contribute.

I shall go and amend what I've just posted in the light of your further information, for which I thank you, and then I suppose I need to start rooting around for stuff on the Order of Civil Valour... I think that comes next unless someone can tell me different.

Please keep the information coming, folks. It's much appreciated and can only go to make my site even better!

And then the 1970 version:

Would appreciate some help to sort this lot out, please...