Lukasz Gaszewski

So many new responses... great! James, do you know when exactly the King's state visit to France took place? I believe the ruling on Italian decorations in 1941 became void in 1943 after Italy swapped sides and became an ally again. I cannot speak on the King's behalf, but many allied soldiers wore their Italian decorations they received between 1943 and 1946, mostly SS Maurice and Lazarus, Crown of Italy or War Cross. I think George VI's decision not to wear the Military Order of Savoy might also be an effect of the proclamation of republic in 1946, after which all royal orders became obsolete. On the other hand, he still wore his Russian St. Vladimir, which makes my hypothesis questionable (however he stopped wearing it in later years, too). As of the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee, it indeed looks silver on the photo. Yet, I have found another colour photo of the King from his coronation in 1937, on which the medal certainly looks gold. So the question remains open. The King exaggerated, however, adding the bar to his medal. Only those individuals were eligible for the bar, who had previously been awarded with the Victoria Golden Jubilee Medal of 1887, eight years before he was born! The medal with red ribbon is George V Silver Jubilee Medal, but the edge of the ribbon is covered by the bullion. Note also that the MID on the Victory Medal is missing again. The King was seldom seen wearing more than two stars on his uniform, so he had to choose. On most photos he has those of the Garter and of GCMG. I indeed cannot remember any photo of his wearing either GCSI or GCIE.

The Edward VII Coronation Medal is the 5th from the left I think, but you are right that the riband should go under the belt. Something I did not notice. And as there have been no other responses, let me list my objections: missing MID on the WWI Victory Medal Queen Victoria Jubilee Medal is the Police type, 36 mm of diameter and with bar suspension instead of the ring as a royal and 2nd great-grandson of Queen Victoria, George VI was certainly eligible for the gold Jubilee Medal instead of silver George V Silver Jubilee Medal is missing a nobody-knows-what instead of the Italian Military Order of Savoy even if it was correct, the Military Order of Savoy would go without the rosette the same applies to the Russian Order of St. Vladimir (could have a band if awarded for war merit) missing swords on the Order of St. Vladimir missing palm on the Croix de Guerre My objection regards also the King's GCMG star. All GCMG stars I have ever seen are with rectangular arms of the Cross of St. George. In this star they are clearly trapezium-shaped. Even if such a star really existed, the King certainly did not wear anything like that. I was also suspicious about the crown above the badge of the Order of the Bath. Yet, an examination of George VI's photos reveals that he really wore his badge surmounted with St. Edward's Crown. Was it the Sovereign's badge?? I do not know.

This lady is one of the most popular singers in the PR of China. She is best known for her patriotic and ethnic songs. She is also a Major General of the Chinese People's Army. Additionally, she is the wife of Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping. I recently saw in a magazine a photo of her at a performance, in a uniform with a nice array of ribbons. Any idea about Ms. Peng's honours? An interesting thing is that although the ribbons seem to repeat, they are worn in a random sequence. Closeup:

Close-up for better identification:

Perfect answers all of you, including the last three ribbons!!! It may be true, but perhaps it is just the light. The shade of blue under the lapel where the GCIE ribbon is supposed to be (before GCVO) looks slightly different, so maybe there is something there anyway... Indeed! The Duke of York was seven years old when he received the Edward VII Coronation Medal and just two (!) when he got Queen Victoria Jubilee Medal. I think sometimes all these coronation and jubilee medals are made for the royalty to avoid the empty space on their tunics. I once saw an official photo of HRH Charles, the Prince of Wales in the young age, wearing the sash and star of the Garter, and two miniatures: of the Order of the Bath and of the Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (he was four when he received it). To make the things even more complicated, the insignia of the Bath were repeated, as he was wearing the neck badge at the same time. Most of the medals worn by the Royal Family are coronation/jubilee or long service medals, with the notable exceptions of Prince Philip, who has an imposing array of WWII stars and Prince Andrew, proudly wearing the medal for the Falkland war. Well, I hope it was fun. Now there comes the second part and hopefully even more fun. Below is a photo from the same film, depicting the King in full glory in an admiral's attire, with (some of) his orders and medals. And the question this time is: how many mistakes in the King's honours are you able to find? I myself have spotted about 8 of different level of importance, most in his medal array. Some of them I am not sure of myself, but the other ones are evident. Enjoy!

I finally went to see "King's Speech" last week. To me one of the best films I saw recently. I hope those who saw it liked it too. Now a little riddle for GMIC fellows (not very difficult I think, except perhaps the last row): can you recognize the ribbons of Bertie's orders and medals? I can provide more photos if you need. Happy hunting! A close-up of the ribbons:

(Order Usmiechu) Instituted in 1968. The only decoration of the world conferred on children's proposal and behalf to adults, irrespective of nationality, statehood and profession, for a heart shown to children. Initially Polish, it is now an international order with its own chapter. The investiture is accompanied by a ceremony, during which recipients must drink a cup of lemon juice to the bottom, keeping a smile on their faces. The medal was designed in 1967 by a then 9-year-old girl, Ewa Chrobak (a dame of the order since 1997). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Smile

Just like with most order of merit, the class was closely related to recipient's rank. According to Todor Petrov, the 3rd class (Commander) was awarded to colonels and lieutenant colonels, 4th class (Officer) to majors and captains, 5th class (Knight) to lieutenants and 6th class (Silver Cross) to all non-commissioned ranks. The 5th and 6th class alone could be awarded with or without crown, which not only let differentiate the level of merit, but also left a possibility of a second award when needed. Please also note that the war ribbon could only be worn with the 4th, 5th and 6th class of the order and there was no rosette on the war ribbon on the 4th class.

Greg, Interesting. No room for service ribbon in a box is a good hint. I can't remember I have ever seen such a ribbon. I believe it is one of those few without a ribbon like that.

Medal for 5 Years:

Medal for 15 Years: Medal for 10 Years:

Some more eye candy for you. Medal for 25 Years: Medal for 20 Years:

Does anybody know if this medal had a service ribbon as well?

Very nice pictures indeed! Will somebody be kind enough and tell me why Field Marshal Stewart's GCB sash is BLUE??? :speechless: :speechless:

Bronze medal:

Silver medal:

The Medal 'Gloria Artis' for Merit to Culture was instituted on July 20, 2006. It is conferred in three classes by the Minister of Culture of Poland to Polish or foreign men of art and broadly understood culture: writers, poets, translators, actors, directors, musicians and painters, as well as to men of culture promotion: editors, journalists, librarians and museum workers. Gold medal:

25 years: 30 years:

15 years, 2nd type: 20 years:

10 years, 1st type: 10 years, 2nd type:

The Medaille für treue Dienste in den bewaffneten Organen des Ministeriums des Innern was instituted on January 22, 1959, originally in three classes (bronze, silver and gold): for 5, 10 and 15 years of service. It replaced the Medal for Long Service in the German People's Police (Medaille für Treue Dienste in der Deutschen Volkspolizei), instituted on April 28, 1955 in two classes, bronze and silver: for 5 and 10 years of service. On August 28, 1964 three new classes were added: for 20, 25 and 30 years of service respectively. In 1970 the obverse of the three lower classes was changed to contain GDR's coat of arms; the ribbon, originally mid-green, was altered to slightly lighter apple green. Medal for Long Service in the German People's Police, 5 years (courtesy http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medaille_f%C3%BCr_Treue_Dienste_in_der_Deutschen_Volkspolizei): Medal for Long Service in the Armed Organs of Ministry of Interior, 5 years, 1st type:

The Civil Defence LSM (Medaille für Treue Dienste in der Zivilverteidigung) was awarded for 5, 10, 15 and 20 years for individuals who served professionally in the Civil Defence. It looked almost identical to the NVA LSM, with the same ribbon, only the words "NATIONALE VOLKSARMEE" were replaced with "ZIVILVERTEIDIGUNG".

All of them are Italian/Holy See: Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic (pre 2001); Officer's 25 Year Service Cross Medal for Meritorious Service in the State Police (15 yrs); Silver Merit Medal of the Italian Red Cross; Donat's Cross of the Order of Malta; Order "Pro Merito Militense" of the Order of Malta (Commander); Order of the Holy Sepulchre (not sure what class); Order of St Gregory (Officer) Judging from the classes, the ribbons must have belonged to a high-ranking commissioned police officer.

And the version for the NVA and Grenztruppen:

No, they aren't. The question remains open how many of them are genuine. It is not difficult to find a longer strip of the appropriate ribbon and a pentagonal plate and remount the civilian version.