922F

Sorry, William, I've been away for a while. There are many places in Vienna where one can research Austrian personalities. There is a general state archive, the Army archive, parts of the Imperial Household archive, and so on. In my experience, all of these places have very courteous staff many of whom speak quite good English. They also have very limited public access hours for the most part. If a trip to Vienna is not in the offing, the BDOS journal formerly contained ads by people who undertake research at set rates. I have not subscribed to that journal for some years but would guess that possibility still exists. Based on family connections and general practice at the time, l expect he would have had and worn a Tuscan award or two plus other high rank foreign decorations including some from the other Central Powers.

Lanyards exist for the (South) Vietnamese National Order of Merit and Military Medal, whether official or not. 1980 era photos show Mobutu with one, perhaps denoting the Leopard of Zaire.

FROM http://worldroots.com/brigitte/famous/p/pe...riabio1874.html Archduke Peter Ferdinand of Austria, Prince of Tuscany (1874-1948) Born 12 May 1874 Salzburg Died 8 November 1948 Sankt Gilgen Married 8 November 1900 Cannes Princess Maria Cristina of The Two Sicilies, daughter of Prince Alfonso of The Two Sicilies, Count of Caserta and Princess Maria Antonietta of The Two Sicilies Born 10 April 1877 Cannes Died 4 October 1947 Sankt Gilgen A member of the Grand Ducal House of Tuscany, he was born and grew up in Salzburg. On 8 November 1900 in Cannes, he married Princess Maria Cristina of The Two Sicilies and they became the parents of four children. Having entered a military career, in 1914 he was appointed a Feldmarschallleutnant. However, in June 1914, he asked to be taken off his command and later General Auffenberg, in his memoirs, accused him of having made bad tactical decisions and therefor it had not been possible to surround "Einkesselung", the Russian 5th Army led by Komarow. Archduke Peter Ferdinand was a first cousin of Empress Zita and, in 1917, Emperor Karl made him a General of the Infantry and he went to the Tyrolian westfront. In 1918, after the fall of the Austrian monarchy, he moved with his family to Switzerland but went back to Austria under Schuschnigg, where the former Archduke received a very small honorary pension. On 8 November 1948, aged seventy-four, he died at Sankt Gilgen. Source: Leo van de Pas SEE ALSO: 49.Infanteriebrigade :Wien - II. Korps - 25. Infanterie Truppendivision Kommandeur: Generalmajor Erzherzog Peter Ferdinand Photos and career data may be located in Austrian military archives

Don't forget the mid-1970s "Jerusalem Post" newspaper supplement on Yom Kippur War medal winners (copies were on offer at the 2006 OMSA convention) or the "Medal Collector" article based on it. There's also a mid-1970s MC article on Israeli Police Medals.

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Note only did he officially receive many decorations (see the 1990s auction catalog for many but not all of his foreign awards), he actively solicited them--the story of his pursuit of both Golden Fleeces being a prime example. Ferdinand also founded a stable of personal and state awards and collected insignia as a hobby himself. He so enjoyed decorations and dynastic historical connections that he sometimes wore obsolete varieties of some, like 2nd empire Legion of Honor badges and stars. When time permits, a partial list will follow. Here is a not untypical photo. I suspect that many other Balkan rulers boasted similar numbers of decorations. Some Grand Ducal German states' rulers, notably Saxe-Coburg Gotha--to whom Ferdinand and many other rulers were related, likely held impressive numbers of awards as well.

ORDRES et MEDAILLES des PAYS D'AFRIQUE ? l'?poque POST-COLONIALE de 1960 ? nos jours by Nicolas de ROFFIGNACA, a French language book published about 5 years ago and sometimes available via French eBay, provides the widest coverage on post-1960 African decorations. It is based on materials from some orders chancelleries as well as information lifted with and WITHOUT attribution from various journals and websites. The "Medal Collector" and JOMSA as well as other society publications, notably Sabretache and the Swiss and Belgian groups' work, contain a wealth of information.

A French language book, ORDRES et DECORATIONS de l'EMPIRE CHERIFIEN au TEMPS du PROTECTORAT FRANCAIS au MAROC - 1912/1956, by Pierre ROUSSEAU published 2 years ago explains Ouissam Alaouite Ch?rifien Order (Quissan Alaouite) insignia variations, as well as other Moroccan awards. FJP auctions offered a copy recently. Copies were also for sale at the 2006 OMSA convention and probably will be available at OMSA 2007.

This is a Bulgarian Red Cross Society badge; possibly early-mid Ferdinand era. Looks like the neighbor on the left is a SCG 1899 wedding anniversary medal. Could we see the entire group please?

A French language, paper bound book, entitled something like "Decorations Malagache", published in the late 1960s - early 70s? describes Malagasy decorations up to that time. It includes some information on royal award criteria. The book has a number of illustrations most of which are poor quality. I believe FJP auctioned a copy in the past few years and it's sometimes available from French sources. Like the book's authors (the Chavincourts? who lived in Madagascar), Colonel Guyadier opined that most Radama II awardees were either French government (civil & military) officials or those closely related to the convoluted Malagasy elite. Overall numbers under Radama II were fairly limited and there is some discussion on this topic in 1960s-70s Sabretache articles. Queen Ranavalona III was supposedly more generous with her decorations. It is unclear whether additional decoration examples were manufactured in the 1890s or again in the 1920s. (Perhaps for collectors?) Most insignia is silver gilt but gold examples, including some set with precious stones, exist. Almost all insignia have French hallmarks and stars often have French jeweller ID plates on the reverse. Google search reveals a number of illustrations of people wearing the royal Madagascar Order of Merit, including Queen Rasoherina (1863-68) who succeeded Radama II, her assassinated husband The Malagasy national museum has only a few insignia on display, about the number you see at the Legion of Honor museum in Paris. A few Brits or Portugese may also have receive royal recognition. Several items are displayed, but not for sale at any price, in a Sandton (Jo'berg) coin shop.

Additionally, decorations from Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria at least--Klenau published a book in the late-70s or early 80s on the ordens kabinet presented to G which includes illustrations of these other awards.

Petrov's "Orders and Decorations of Bulgaria" 2005 edition provides full information on the current Republic of Bulgaria's Order of SS. Cyril & Methodius (book for sale on eBay item 290054642965). I do not have that book available at present so cannot offer more info. The president of Bulgaria's website used to have information on awards. Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the former Czar and most recently the ex prime minister of Bulgaria, may still award the royal order. It appears that King Mohammed of Morocco is the most recent known recipient (2001?).

These look like: first item more likely Belgian Crown--Agree with Jacky ...note spiked, rather than rounded wreathlike, appearance of inter cross arm elements Medjidjie Papal Latern Cross-note rounded center and cross arm terminations Crimea or Baltic Isabella Catholic I'm no expert but the uniform appears more Belgian than French. Maybe Portugese or Spanish with pasador bar suspensions???