Ulsterman

Well, I wondered because I saw 'regulations pertaining to the Wehrmacht and active police" somewhere recently....

Interesting stuff. So a navy Anschluss medal is considered 'rarer'? Did the Wehrmacht rules apply to Heer, Kreigsmarine and Luftwaffe and/or police? Thanks.

Ah-thanks. So Kriegsmarine and SS units, allegedly the majority of the Memel recipients, could have had all three?

Christian, perchance do you have a listing or Brezhnev's awards? Not long ago, his enormous ribbon bar was the subject of much discussion when it was on a JOMSA cover.

Nope-not an election medal despite what it says on the front. This little silver medal is actually a campaign medal, awarded to the Guatemalan soldiers-probably all of 5,000 or so of them, who repulsed the El Salvadoran invasion of 1906. Reading contemporary Guatemalan accounts, this campaign rivaled the Trojan War for epic heroism. The reality was much more squalid...a foreign attempt to reinstate a rapacious Caudillo/Presidente. Still, it's a rare and nice little piece and represents one of the few Guatemalan combat awards not given for massacring Mayan Indians-armed or otherwise, or for staging a coup. Now if I could just find a ribbon.....

I have seen a grand total of two of these in the past 5 years. Information regarding all Ethiopian awards is somewhat scant and cries out for additional research to be done, but one knowledgeable Frenchman has told me that this little star is a very special victory star. Unlike it larger brother, manufactured in the UK (as was this probably), this has a different back. Purportedly it was awarded to females only for resistance and efforts to aid Ethiopia during the Italian occupation and participation in the Imperial anti-fascist resistance. Many royal ladies received it as did a few British nurses and others, but many recipients were village partisans.

wow-

This is my newest addition...a lovely little medal. It has "Heves 1925" on the back-engraved. Typical Austrian coinage design, really good. Is this a long service award (I assume so) or was it awarded also for merit or bravery? Anyone know?

Did British troops get the Iraqi WW2 service medal as well or was this only for Iraqi troops?

Helen: Try here: http://swordforum.com/ I know for certain that sword ownership in the Saxon era and medieval era was the purvue of the knightly/ higher warrior class, primarily because of a swords cost (VERY expensive). Ownership seems to have relaxed somewhat in the later Middle Ages, but I believe that in the Elizabethian era sword ownership was still the right of a gentleman and certainly a symbol of higher social status. Soldiers of course always got them-shorter versions anyway, as arms issued. The Highland Scots, Irish tribes/clans and Welsh also seem to have used them and seem to have seen their right to carry a sword as their symbol of the social status of freeman. With the collapse of feudalism and serfdom following the great Plagues, restrictions on serfs evaporated, again making sword ownership probably tied to cost. Given that 60% of the population was at a subsistence level of existence most of the time, saving up to buy a sword which you'd never use when a handy cudgel was available wasn't very smart for the average farm laborer. By the 1700s I doubt there were any restrictions other than cost and the ability to use one. "The Gentlemans' Magazine" (St. John's , London) is filled with articles about swordsmanship-who, what where and how to use them etc. etc. and of course-dueling. The quality of a sword also denotes status and did up until recently. Military issue general's swords are vastly different weapons than the troopers weapons. Note also that the 1821 pattern British cavalry saber is designed to "whack" someone-like a Chartist, and break bones etc, but not to kill by slashing. To kill with that weapon requires a concentrated effort and a swift, hard thrust. Thus, its the late Georgian version of a riot control weapon and shows the military's concern with domestic unrest. This is a very different weapon than say a claymore, which is designed to cut you in half with a hard blow. Cheers, Vivat Cantabrigia!

Oooh- a hard core Communist. Nice bar. What's the third medal from the left?

If he was in Sachsenhausen then his file should be available. I read that the KZL archives have been opened and it's now possible to research individual prisoners.

In reading the ribbon bar article two things jumped out at me: 1. Was it permitted to wear three flower wars campaign medals on a bar ( I have seen Himmlers' bar and he's got thm all, but never anywhere else have i seen all three-except on fake bars)- and 2. What are the LAH specifics (for those with SS long service) that allow us to know that the wearer was a member of the LAH and not just like everyone else?

The "2" on the tab button- was that his Ersatz regiment when he mustered into the army?

Ooooohhhh nice! What do the documents say??

Uh- I am at a loss here. Do you mean the Order of Peoples' Liberty? (white enameled star set within gold rayes, with hristo Botev in the middle?)

Magnificent! Encore! Encore!

Fantastic information!! The truth is out there..... By the way, was/is there a "Whos Who" of Socialist Hungary?

Palestine???? It must be very early PLO (e.g. 1960s-1970s) by the construction. I can't wait to see what owain says.

Neat! Sounds articlish to me (hint hint) I'll bet Hunyadi can tell us a bit more about academies and all.... I'll look for an academy badge round about-I have seen them somewhere...in a big plastic container...of course I was elbowing a very aggressive and overweight Pole at the time- ...blocking so that cousin Rick could dive a little deeper into the bucket for unknown Communist goodies.

I have the Budapest academy badge (#1) with a three piece construction screwback.

Nice! This would make a great article! What sort of courses did officers take? I note that there were large numbers of Ethiopian officer candidates at the Hungarian academies in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their badges actually show up in Derg photos.

Ah-but Stogierick went through an EK noncom. phase before heading for warmer climes....

Here's the doc. for the silver:

Here's the front of my silver-not as nice as Ricks: