Easty

That's great information and a good read thanks Odulf and all the more valuable coming from someone with your personal insight. Nice also to see the photgraph of your Grandfather set in with the medals and he certainly had an impressive career. Being English it's very hard for us to imagine being 'occupied' as it's not happened here since the Normans in 1066. For all of the hardships of war Britain experienced at home there can't be anything worse than having the enemy within and knowing that neighbours were being encouraged to report neighbours. The indignity of having to comply with the German demands 'or else' pretty much sums up those dark days of the Fascists as they spared no-one and the leaders of the countries who caved in to the Nazis have much to answer for... but happily most paid for their treachery in the end. I will endeavor to try to collect these medals as a group when the opportunity arises. I've a feeling that the Resistance Cross will be a tough one though. Now having seen the badge for the first time it's also a 'must have', perhaps more important being so immediate after the war ended? If you see any...................

Tasty medal designs again from the French. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks again Gordon. As Hunyadi's 'parachute' example (1.1) earlier in this thread then. As I'm way down on the pecking order I don't think I should expect to come across one any time soon then.

Thanks for helping to clarify this area and so by wishing to collect only war or immediately post war Partisan items the field is actually very small. It seems that all of the Partisan/Resistance groups (or their Governments) produced medals and badges to 'commemorate' activities so it is very hard to decipher which is which when it comes to date? For Poland, France, Holland etc. we have good dating evidence such as the Home Army Cross etc. but where the post-war Communist blanket covered individual national identity what came out was basically a Communist (or Russian) award and so more a celebration of Communist control than to mark the defeat of Fascism? It still leaves me wondering exactly which badges are Hungarian/Yugoslavian/Czechoslovakian etc. and which are simply Russian propaganda bling!

Thanks for posting these medals for us new arrivals to salivate over! Which are the 'basic' medals' which Partisan fighters would recieve for actions against the Nazi occupiers? Not ready to go for bravery awards just yet. Also, is there a recognised insignia worn by the anti fascist underground movement?

Thanks for clearing that up Gordon! I was struggling to link it with my period of interest but it's a steep learning curve when moving into a new area of collecting. Now... the WW1 fishing industry is another matter altogether.

Just found my way here thanks to Ulsterman.... and if I wasn't confused enough already I am now in need of a total lie down! Just trying to concentrate on the WW2 Partisan period myself and can't really work out if these are all communist era awards or late issues?

Hi Ulsterman. Thanks for your reply. It really is an engrossing subject and it all started when I came across a King's Medal for Courage In The Cause Of Freedom and it's led me on from there. Previously I'd been solely a WW1 bore covering a small area regarding the RNR (T) Trawler section and the North Sea fishing industry in general at war. Brilliant subject especially as both of my Grandfathers owned boats back then and were involved in the submarine chasing and minesweeping operations. As you say, it is not a widely covered subject in the UK but I have made contact with some amazing people since starting especially relating to the Polish Resistance. Got a list of books which should help me understand more and reckon it's going to be a seriously emotional journey! What they went through doesn't bear thinking about. Not too many medals to collect (which is a good thing) but some are very scarce and should keep me going for a while! Understanding for me first though.... then collecting! I've looked at the Czech/Hungarian etc items online but don't really understand them yet. Language is an issue of course but I'm getting there. Will try to locate Stogieman's badges and thanks for the advice. It gets more complicated when you move to the countries which were swallowed up by the Russians post-war as the communist influence masks their war time anti fascist involvement. It's a steep learning curve but I've have found the whole subject amazing. I note the Ulster username.... spent three wonderful years in Bangor when I was a kid back in the 1960s. Somewhat different when I went back a few years ago!!!!

Ahhhhhhhhh..... Thanks for that Odulf and you must be very proud of your Grandfather. It's a beautiful medal and the ribbon is especially striking. I found the following via Google which sort of answers my confusion re the award of a Resistance Medal in Holland........... It should not to be confused with the rarer and more prestigious Dutch Cross of Resistance (Dutch: Verzetskruis), the second highest decoration for valour in the Netherlands, which was instituted in 1946 and awarded to only 95 people. There was a belief after the War that awarding medals would make distinctions between different acts of resistance, all of which would have been punishable by death. After a first round of awards were made of the Dutch Cross of Resistance in 1946, it became politically difficult to agree a list of further recipients. It seems that the Government quite rightly decided to reward the Resisters with a medal, but took their time doing so! Do you know what other medals he was given at the time of the war (or just after)? I know what I am looking for now and am glad that I can have a represtative medal for the Netherlands in my Resiters/Partisans group. They were a remarkable band of men and women and really suffered at the hands of the German occupiers. Thanks for taking the trouble to post the image. Much appreciated.

Thanks guys. I was just trying to put a humorous spin on things as I realise it's a bit of a fringe subject. My French is sadly pretty non existant but I've managed to work my way through a few sites and a couple of dealers lists have proved interesting and informative. No comments found re the 'types' but if it's a genuine item then that's all that matters really. The Netherlands medals had proved hard to make out when it came to the Resistance. Just the Cross (replicas abound) which is very rare and out of reach price wise and from what I can understand it was deliberate policy by the Dutch Government not to issue a medal as it may cause 'division' in the post war population. Thanks for the tips Odulf and I will make a search for those mentioned. It's an amazing subject to study and covers numerous countries so plenty to go on! Thanks again.

I guess I'll just get my coat then.......

Good day all. New to the forum so please be gentle with me, I recently acquired a Kings Medal For Courage given to those overseas who helped the allied cause in WW2. Resistance fighters and partisans have always interested me and I'd like to put together a small representative group of medals given by the respective governments specifically for their efforts in fighting the German occupiers. There are a lot of copies and late issues around so I know I've got to be wary. So far I just have the médaille de la résistance (Gaunt issue) and am now looking at the médaille des services militaires volontaires de la France Libre. Such is the minefield that there appears to be the bubble finish type and the smooth finish cross, but which is 'right' and which is a later issue? Not so concerned about 'gallantry' issues rather than the standard general issue type. If there is a reference book on these I could be directed to or a collection online to study I would be very grateful for a heads up. Got an idea on the Greek and Belgian issues out there but the Polish resistance award seems a bit vague (late issues) and Norway, Holland etc. seem ultra scarce for the real thing. Any help would be gratefully recieved. Regards. Easty.