Carol I

The bars were described in the decree establishing the medal and there are award certificates mentioning the bar (see below), so one could assume they were issued with the medal.

Thanks for the translation. Is there any other sign that he worked for the railway? Does his uniform say anything about his position/function?

While going through some old family papers I have come across this photo of a Russian official taken in Vilna (Vilnius). There is a note on the back, but I can only read that the photo was taken in 1913. I would appreciate any information you could provide. Thank you in advance.

American, British and French

Gustav Smekal (Brno, June 1911)

Thanks for the reply. Can one use the rank to determine whether he was professionally employed or conscripted?

Eduard Victor Gürtesch (any other info appreciated, thanks)

I have to break my piggy bank, but since I am very fond of it, I'll wait for the next one.

Thanks a lot.

Thanks for the very quick reply. The question about the photo was a long shot, but I was hoping that you remember what it was, even though given the 5 minutes you had in the room this also seems like a shot in the dark.

Thanks Claudio for the images. Do you know what collar was that to the right in the image above? Do you have a photo? Thanks in advance.

From the collections of the National Military Museum, insignia of the dynastic Order of the Ruling House:

You are welcome. I'm glad I could provide some new information. Only now have I noticed that one other question remained unanswered. I think Ferdinand is wearing a dark blue uniform with gold braid, like in the British poster below (from Ferdinand's English Wikipedia page). The top star is that of the Order of the Star of Romania with swords (see below a similar one). The bottom star is that of the Princely Hohenzollern House Order. The first two orders on the medal bar are the Order of the Crown of Romania and the Hohenzollern House Order. I cannot make out the remainder, but they do not appear to be Romanian. Maria appears to be wearing the star of the Order of the Crown of Romania with brilliants (top), but I cannot make out the bottom star. The sash appears to be that of the Order of the Crown of Romania: light blue with steel stripes on the side (top one in the image below).

The absence of the Order of Carol I would place it before 1906. Besides, Ferdinand appears to be in his late 30s or early 40s, which indicates the same date given his birth in 1865.

Ferdinand's photo was taken when he was only Crown Prince and I suspect Marie's photo dates from about the same period.

Yes, the Order of the Ruling House was similar in design to the Princely Hohenzollern House Order. If I remember right, the order was not established in the 1930s, but rather "taken over" by Carol II as the only sovereign ruler of the Hohenzollern houses at that time. The photo below shows Crown Prince Mihai wearing the star of the order. As for the Bene Merenti Order of the Ruling House, here is a photo from the Chancellery of Orders.

Amazing set indeed. I took a photo of it 10 years ago when visiting the museum.

The order was established in 1917 as a war order for the medical personel. In 1938 the order was reorganised with small changes in the design of the cross and the ribbon (the addition of the gold edges characteristic to war decorations). The order was disbanded after 1947 as all the other traditional Romanian orders. Yours appears to be a 1st class cross (only the 1st class of the order was enamelled) of the second type, post 1938. Congratulations!

The Defenders of the Independence medal instituted in 1878 for those who supported the army during the War of Independence of 1877-1878. The ribbon was blue with red-yellow-red stripes on edges. See http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medalia_Ap%C4%83r%C4%83torii_Independen%C8%9Bei for images

Many of the early Romanian orders have been manufactured by French, Austrian or German jewellers, so it is not unusual for them to carry foreign hallmarks. LE: I have taken a fresh look at the image of the hallmark and I think I can see "Diana's head" and "A", thus indicating a Vienese jeweller.

What you have is a peacetime military version of the Type I of the order. The crossed swords above the cross indicate the peacetime military version and the design and ribbon indicates Type I in use between (1864)-1877 and 1932. I cannot make out the full details of the hallmark, but it does not appear Romanian.

Yes it is and it does. The Military Virtue ribbon has been introduced for the Romanian orders with swords during WWI as a sign marking bravery in front of the enemy. It was thus meant to distiguish frontline distinctions from general war service ones. The award has been maintained during WWII as well and you have a copy of the latter. Please take a look here for another copy of the WWII award.

It's an officer's cross of the Order of the Crown of Romania with swords on Military Virtue ribbon.

I would like to dig up this old thread and ask you what decorations would this man have received during his service which lasted until about WWI (beginning or end - not clear). Based on the photo, it was already established that he received the 1898 Jubilee Medal for the Armed Forces. Given the length of his service, I would suspect that he also received the 1908 Jubileum Cross. Is this supposition reasonable? Anything else, like a long service decoration or something similar? Thanks in advance for your help

Order of Faithful Service