Carol I

Evidentiat = Distinguished

James, here is an image of the collar of this order. On display in the treasury of the National History Museum was the collar, sash and sash badge and the star of the order. However, I do not know whether these items came from two sets (a Grand Cordon and a Grand Collar) or only from the Grand Collar set.

Thanks, Dragomir. Do you have a better image of this order?

The inscription says: "1997: Bladder stone removed during the prostate operation".

Actually, the AVSAP organisation was disbanded in 1962 and its assets were taken over by the UCFS (The Union for Physical Culture and Sport). Anyhow, congratulations for reading the lengthy article in Romanian. :beer:

Thanks Eddie for the addition. However, I was not asking about the existence of other organisations, but whether there were competitons in other countries as well.

Another intructor badge (from eBay)

Is it on this piece?

Am I blind or the piece lacks the state markings for gold?

Thanks, James. I'll try to see if this leads anywhere. You've given quite a lot of useful information on this rare order and even on the Romanian recipients. :beer:

Thanks again, James. I agree that a Grand Cordon would be more appropriate for the Prime Minister of the time than for the King, however it would still require a confirmation. If you can find the reference or at least the information regarding the name of the recipients it would be great.

Thanks James for the reply. Indeed I have come across the insignia. It is in an exhibition at the National History Museum. The funny thing is that according to a newspaper article the museum officials do not know who the recipient of the order was. They took a guess between King Carol II, King Mihai and Prime Minister Antonescu. I excluded Carol II because of the dates, so I had two choices left. According to your information, if the recipient was King Michael there must also be a collar somewhere. But was coud it be that he only received the Grand Cordon? May I ask what is your source of the information? I could write to the museum and let them know who the recipient really was. :beer:

I presume Puyi wears the collar of the Order of the Orchid Blossom in this photo from Wikipedia. :unsure:

Do you have information on the Order of Orchid Blossom from Manchukuo? All I know is that it was the premier order of the Manchurian state. Thanks.

Christer, I have recently seen in the small aviation shop in Bromma Airport a similar book by Rolph Wegmann: Brittiska N?dlandare 1940-1945. Beside it there were two other books by Bo Widfeldt dealing with the American, German, Polish, Norwegian and Finish airmen: Tyska N?dlandare 1939-1945 samt uppgifter om flygplan fr?n Polen, Norge och Finland and Amerikanska N?dlandare 1943-1945.

Some details: Asociaţia voluntară pentru sprijinirea apărării patriei was established through decree no. 415 of 30 November 1952 and ceased its activity following decree no. 135 of 3 March 1962.

Did you find the badge in Russia? The article mentioned above stated that AVSAP organised international competitions with participants from similar organisation in neighbouring countries, so in principle there could be several such badges around in the former socialist countries and vice-versa (foreign badges in Romania).

Looking on the net for more information on AVSAP I have found a newspaper article illustrated with this colour photo of a member of the association wearing a cloth badge on the left arm.

A relatively simple solution to the problem could be found if one meets a retired serviceman from a tank unit (in service before 1990) and ask him directly about these badges. Alternatively, the National Military Museum might have some information, but the story goes that they are slow to answer.

This might not be a badge of AVSAP, but a pin for one of its activities: the 1955 International Motocross Competition.

I think it depends on the number of graduates. The academy has a homepage, but it does not seem to be working right now. It is/was made at the State Mint together with the other Romanian badges and decorations.

This badge was introduced after 1990, so the topic belongs to the non-communist era section.

As far as I know, they were not turned in. But on the other hand, wearing decorations was not very popular for people outside the military.

It was described as an award of the Second Spanish Republic that lasted nominally until 1939. So theoretically it could have been awarded during the Spanish Civil War. Practically though...

You're welcome. I thought it would be better to post the link to Colectionarul Roman here as well. To download the magazine, right-click on Descărcare and choose "Save Target As..." or the equivalent in your browser.