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Lorenzo, Interestingly both this award and the May 1941 medal were instituted post-1958 Revolution: Order of May 1941 Movements Regulation No.31 of 1959 Order of Palestine War 1948-9 Regulation No.32 of 1959 In the wholsesale review of Iraqi awards of 1982 where almost all previous Iraqi awards were abolished these were two out of the seven retained: Order of Rafidain Public Service Order (instituted 1959) Order of May 1941 Movements Order of Palestine War 1948-9 14 Ramadan Revolution Order (insytituted Reg. No.6, 1964) 14 July Revolution Order (instituted Reg. No. 5, 1964) 17 July Revolution Order (intituted Reg. No. 45, 1968) Co-operation Medal (instituted Reg. 55, 1969) In addition the following were instituted / reconfirmed: Order of Rafidain Order of the Revolution (17 July) Order of Qadissiyah Saddam Order of Bravery Regards, Owain

Lorenzo, The "Qadissiyah Hero" title (& badge) was instituted by the Revolutionary Command Council on 6 April 1986 and awarded by Republican Decree to those who played a heroic role in defending the honour, security and sovreignity of the Iraqi Arab nation. The design of the badge was to be determined by the Presidential Court. On 11 June the "Qaddisiyah Sword" was instituted and "to be made up of the arms carried by the Martyrs of Qadissiyat Saddam Battle and shall be decorated by the golden ornaments donated by Iraqi women for the support of this battle." There were three degrees of sword: 1.Commander and heroes. 2. & 3. Arabs. Again the design of the swords were to be determined by the Presidential Court. In the light of this I would suggest that the Fao badge from 1988 is a separate award. Kind regards, Owain

The second badge reads "Qadissiyah Hero" and is probably the same as the Qaddissiyah Sword order on the large chain. I will need to refer to my notes to see if this design matches the Decree description. Also as the Mother of Battle award is only in one class and the chain is pre-invasion of Kuwait I believe safe to state that the chain only depicts the order of Qadissiyah Saddam Regards, Owain

I would agree with Ed that this is a preliminary Bertrand design for a post 1958 issue of the Order. which for whatever reason was never manufactured. After the revolution the premier award was the Order of the Republic which was a short lived order falling into abeyance after Qaseem was overthrown and then the Order of Al Rafidain was re-instituted. What is interesting is that the design in the centre of the proposed award was actually used on the reverse of the Order of the Republic - the 1959 law states: a three dimensional pattern oval in shape and in the middle equilateral triangle written in it the letter ?G? in Koufic script and represents the strength of the army and its merging with the people. "G" I am assuming also is the fist letter of Republic and Army - Goumhouriya and Geish respectively - the letter "J" can also be used. Regards, Owain

Ed's comments are valid and raise the issue of what duty does a collector have over and above the mere acquisition of items for a collection. My sources over the years are many - auction houses, dealers (more recently Ebay), fellow collectors, shops and souks. As medals are in general "small" items the attention given to WWII looted artwork and it sale, even 50 years on, does not come into play. Most collectors are, by their own admission mere custodians of their collections for their life time and as such perform a role in the protection and research of historical items. Most of the items in my collection have no chain of historical integrity from the original owner and the story of thier dispersal is a mystery. Unfortunately a certain percentage will have been sold on as a result of less than scrupulous events. Medals perhaps more so than other collectors items due to their military nature, well in part, are likely to have a more clouded past than say stamps or coins. Anyway on balance I believe that conscientous collector who also involves himself in the history and research of his subject matter does provide a worthwhile service. Regards, Owain

Now I know! Thanks, Owain

Have a look at www.armoury.co.uk - they always have very nice pieces but as this shop is in the centre of London's west end the prices are, to say the least, ambitious. Well I suppose that they have very high overheads. To my mind the sale price should be less than half of this, say at $2,000 at the very most. Owain

Sherry, The sash and the reverse were changed during the invasion of Kuwait when Saddam instituted the Order of the Mother of Battles - this was manufactured locally as was the Order of Qaddissiya. I suspect that the original type was of Italian manufacture. When I obtained my set (3 classes) of second type Qadissiya and the Mother of battles (1 class) they were missing most of their stones - those remaining were genuine and I have had remainder of the diamonds replaced - as these are very small it was not an expensive exercise. As to the value of a 1st type in gold the actual weight of the badge would be the main determining factor - a good local jeweller wshould be able to assess at least the raw material (gold & stones) value of the badge. As it is a scarce piece there is obviously a collectors premium over and above the raw material value but I am not sure as to the demand for such an item - serious collectors of Arab awards with funds are few and far between but I suspect that it would be out of my modest price range. You could either approach a deler for an immediate cash sale or an auction house with the possibility of a higher sale price - or of course you could just keep it! Regards, Owain

Good stuff - I have one of thse "mini" badges and hd assumed - apparetly wrongly that it was just some form of air force badge - other than the common design, do you have any documentary evidence to confirm that it is indeed a miniature of the award? Owain

Christmas greetings to you both. For your information there is one of these party badges for sale in London at the staggering price of Pounds Sterling 1,950 - this is, to my mind somewhat excessive - even for the gold value! The accompanying info states that it is for 25 years servce but that as many were sold (melted down) for their gold value that the "cheap" version was instituted - just as likely is the fact that the invasion/liberation of Kuwait intervened and the goverment had to, as with other awards, have them made locally. Regards, Owain

Sal, In 1952 the Kingdom instituted medals for Police Distinguished Service (silver with blue & white ribbon) and General Service (bronze with red & blue ribbon). With the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958 the Qassem regime continued with these awards - same metal and ribbon colours but different designed medals and ribbon patterns. Both series were manufactured by Huguenin of Le Locle. Following the overthrow of Qassem it is my supposition that the awards were retained, another change of design and ribbon pattern - same colours though - but this time manufactured, in Egypt - the DSM appear to have an Egyptioan silver mark on the reverse. What you are illustrating is the General Service Medal of this 3rd series. Regards, Owain.. P.S. For info I detail, the awrd criteria for the original series: Police medals for Distinguished Service and General Service were instituted by Regulation No. 43 of 1952. Both medals were awarded to members of the police who have performed exceptional service on punitive operations or exceptionally good service in the performance of their duties, or who had performed exceptionally good service with the Police Force. The medals could also be awarded to other persons who gave valuable assistance to the Police, or displayed bravery on punitive operations. The Distinguished Service Medal consists of a 4cm diameter seven-pointed silver-star, surrounded by two palm fronds intersecting at the base. In the centre, a 2cm diameter circle, bearing a portrait of King Faisal II. On the reverse the inscription in Kufic Arabic script, ?Police Medal for Distinguished Service?. The ribbon is 3.5cm dark blue with ? cm white edge stripes. The regulations specify that the reverse should also note the name and rank of the recipient and its date of issue according to both the Hijra and Gregorian calendars. The reverse also bears the Huguenin makers mark and a 925 silver mark. The General Service Medal consists of 4cm diameter seven-pointed copper star, placed on two intersecting truncheons with uppermost a crown. In the centre of the star a 2cm diameter circle, bearing the inscription, in Nakhshi Arabic script, ?Faisal II 1364?. The reverse bears the inscription ?Police Medal for General Service?, and should according to the regulations note the name and rank of the recipient. The reverse also bears the Huguenin makers mark.

It is the Faisal the First Gallantry award from the first Iraqi series of awards dating from 1926 : A silver disc, 1? inches diameter (40mm x 42mm) and 1/16th inch thickness, with two white triangular silver wings, each composed of eleven feathers attached to the lower sides, the bases of the wings being fixed on the circumference of the disc. In the centre of the obverse is engraved ?Faisal The First? and the reverse is engraved ?For Gallantry?. The ribbon is one inch (36mm) in width with a central ? inch dark red stripe with black edge stripes. Subsequent awards are noted by the attachment to the ribbon of 5mm seven-rayed silver stars to the middle of the ribbon. This scarce award was made to a number of British Officers and the recipient?s rank, name and number were engraved on the reverse of the medal. This award became obsolete in April 1934 when the design was replaced by seven-pointed, multi rayed brass star. In the centre a 25mm. diameter silver disc bearing a gold coloured brass crown, 13mm by 13mm. (A variation on a blue disc is known.) The crown is supported on two crossed curved swords each 15mm. long, with a width of 1?mm. Suspension is by a loop attached to the uppermost ray of the star. The reverse is blank. From entries collected from extant issues of the Iraqi Government Gazettes between 1926 and 1946 some 363 Gallantry Medals are known to have been awarded, although this figure may be higher. Fifteen of these were awarded to British personnel as follows: 9 to the Royal Air Force (4 x Officer Pilots, 2 x Sgt. Pilots and 3 x Airmen).3 to the Army officers attached to Iraqi units.3 to officer on attachment to the Iraqi Police. Regards, Owain

Hi, Not sure if the silver box is truly niello work rather deep engravings which have darked over time. Of the three Qassem period badges - centre and left - commemorate the 4th Anniversary of the 1958 Revolution. Regards, Owain

Gustav is still working on his draft on Zanzibari awards and has had some additional input from Kevin Patience. No doubt the draft will be published but not in the immediate future. Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, I agree with Ed - only one grade of medal although, two manufactured types are known. I have had the regulations translated as below. Owain. <H3 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"> </H3><H3 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">No. (33) Year 1983</H3> Law Wounded Medal First Article - This medal (wounded medal) is awarded to all military officers and commanders and those issuing orders wounded in battle whilst correctly carrying out their orders. Second Article - This medal is awarded or withdrawn by the President of the Republic. Third Article 1 - The decoration is spear shaped, 3cm in length and 3cm in width and bears a five-pointed star with arms of 1.5cm in length. In the centre a crescent and the letter ?Jim? in Kufic script. 2 - The decoration is red with a gold star. The crescent is on a white background with the letter ?Jim? in green. 3 - The medal is linked to a ribbon 1.5 cm long and wide, being divided into three equal divisions ? to the sides red and in the middle white. Fourth Article - The medal is worn on the right side next to other orders and medals. Fifth Article - This law is enacted with effect from 4/9/1980. Sixth Article - This law will be published in the Official Gazette.

Gentlemen, From my records and to further enlighten, confuse and frustrate because I certainly don't have all of these and whether the Order of the Palm and Crocodile actually really exists..........great name though. Regards, Owain: SUDAN 19th CENTURY<H1 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"> </H1><H1 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%">Order of the Palm and Crocodile</H1> <H3 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">SUDAN DEFENCE FORCE</H3> Gallantry Medal Native Officers Decoration Long Service & Distinguished Conduct Medal General Service Medal <H4 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">REPUBLIC</H4> Chain of Honour Sash of Honour Order of the Loyal Son of Sudan Order of Political Accomplishment Order of the Revolution Order of the Alliance Order of Victory Order of Persistence Order of National Unity Order of the Constitution Order of Regional Government Order of Military Accomplishment Star of Military Accomplishment Order of Accomplishment<H5 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">Star of Accomplishment</H5> Order of the Republic Order of the Two Niles Order of Distinction Order of Bravery Order of Long and Distinguished Service Order of Meritorious Service Order of Production Order of Science and the Arts Order of Sports Evacuation Medal Medal of Independence Medal of Duty Medal for Bravery Long and Distinguished Service Medal Medal of Merit Medal of Educational Hierarchy. <H2 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%">Bibliography</H2> Ordres, Decorations et Medailles, M.B. Baghdadi, Khartoum, c. 1955? Decorations & Medals Act 1961, Republic of Sudan Gazette. The Decorations, Medals, Robes of Honour & Religious Robes Regulations, 1962 Order of the Palm & Crocodile, James Peterson, O.M.S.A. Journal April 1964. Sudan, The Order of Two Niles, O.M.S.A. Journal, January 1967. The Decorations & Medals (Amendment) Act 1974, Republic of Sudan Gazette, 1974.The Sudanese Orders, Decorations and Medals, Precedence, Conditions of Award & Instructions for Wear, The State Protocol Department, 1980. The Sudanese Orders, Decorations & Medals, 1983 Supplement. Owain/Sudan/sudanlis.doc

Off the top of my head the left hand five appear to be: Badge of collar of Great Badr of Saudi Arabia - but need to check my records Lybia - from ribbon Order of the Republic Order of Renaissance of Jordan Order of Omayyad of Syria Order of Merit(?) of Mauretania The left hand lot all appear to be other African Orders - the top one Order of the Nile of Uganda? Regards, Owain

Paul, I've tried to upload the image but the site is limited to 65K and the image is some 400K - any suggestions? Cut & paste doesn't seem to work either. Owain

I hope the edit has clarified the actual Egyptian medals

Gentlemen, Further to pictures of Arafat's grave I detail below his awards as carried at his funeral parade in Cairo - firts published as an article from JOMSA. Amidst the plethora of reports and pictures of Yasser Arafat's funeral the above photograph was published in the Gulf News of Saturday, November 13, 2004. As the formal funeral was held in Cairo it is perhaps not surprising that all of the awards displayed are Egyptian and they are, from left to right, as follows: Top Row <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: kashida; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-KASHIDA: 0%; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1">Military Medal of the Republic?? 1st/2nd?? Suspension looks strange?? <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: kashida; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-KASHIDA: 0%; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1">Military Medal of Courage (Gilt = 1st Class). <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: kashida; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-KASHIDA: 0%; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1">Order of the Republic, 5th Class. <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: kashida; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-KASHIDA: 0%; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1">Mobilisation Medal (Silver = 2nd Class).Military Duty (Gilt = 1st Class).Bottom Row <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: kashida; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-KASHIDA: 0%; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2">Training Medal (Gilt = 1st Class) <LI class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-JUSTIFY: kashida; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-KASHIDA: 0%; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2">Military Duty Medal (Silver = 2nd Class)Wounded Medal. When were these awarded? Whilst Yasser Arafat was always seen in uniform, this uniform was devoid of decorations or ribbons and usually bore only a number of badges or pins. A brief search on the internet resulted in only a little information concerning awards presented to Arafat. The earliest mention I could find regarding the presentation of an award was in the Associated Press report of July 1994 covering the move of Yasser Arafat from Tunis, which had been the Headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 1982, to the Palestinian self-rule areas. To mark the occasion Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali awarded Arafat Tunisia's highest order, "in recognition of the just struggle of the Palestinian people for their homeland and in appreciation of your bravery and wisdom".In August of 1998 the ZA Now Electronic Mail and Guardian noted that during a state visit to Republic of South Africa President Nelson Mandela invested Yasser Arafat with the Republic's highest honour, the Order of Good Hope, normally reserved for foreign heads of state. The above awards though are senior orders and awarded to Arafat as the leader of the PLO whilst the awards in the photograph are military decorations usually the preserve of Egyptian military personnel. In correspondence with fellow member Chris Weeks a partial answer may be suggested. In the first biography of Arafat, Thomas Kiernan's "Yasir Arafat: The Man and the Myth" (1975), the is reported: Arafat was probably born in Cairo in 1929 or 1930, and lived much of his early life in Egypt, although he was not an Egyptian citizen. He became active in early Palestinian guerrilla groups in 1949 (mostly as a student leader), and in October 1953 he led a group of Palestinians to the Suez Canal Zone, hoping to join the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood guerrillas fighting against the British. The Brotherhood wanted nothing to do with Arafat's group, and they returned to Cairo. In due course the Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser began to more actively support Palestinian guerrillas in Gaza, and such support included providing equipment and training from the Egyptian Army. Arafat enlisted in the Egyptian-backed Palestinian fedayeen in June 1955. Trained as an explosives expert, he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant around October 1956, just before the outbreak of the Suez War. During this war, he was called into service with the Egyptian Army. (Kiernan does not specify if it was as a Palestinian fedayeen augmentee or a regular Egyptian soldier.) He was assigned to a demolitions unit based in Suez City, apparently a mixed Palestinian-Egyptian unit, and tasked with destroying British posts along the southern part of the Canal. Most of his forty strong unit deserted as soon as war broke out. With his three remaining troops, Arafat blew up an Egyptian ammunition depot on the outskirts of Suez City - totally unnecessarily as it turned out, because the depot was not under threat from any of the British, French or Israeli forces. During the (November?) ceasefire Arafat was mustered out of the Egyptian Army, with the help of friends in Egyptian intelligence, who had other plans for him. Ironically it might have been at this time that Egypt may have 'qualified' for him some if not all of these medals for destroying an Egyptian ammunition depot! Arafat may not have been received these medals immediately, and only had them awarded many years later, when he was more prominent, and Egypt could bend the rules about which medals he really earned. Owain Raw-Rees, With thanks to Chris Weeks, Riyadh, November, 2004.

Lorenzo, I will check which version the 1st clas exapmle I have is. Mine, purchased in 1994, came wityh a narrow black, white and red ribbon as if to be worn araund the neck but from recent evidence this is incorrect - do you have a source for Iraqi ribbon? In addition to this medal I also need ribbon for 1941 Star 1973 War Medal Order of Qadissiyah Saddam x 3 plus miniature Order of Mother of Battles Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, I believe that the Order of the Republic was a Qassem period award established in 1958 and becoming obsolete on his overthrow. I think in this picture Saddam is wearing the Order of the Revolution instituted in 1982. Regards, Owain

Two observations: I believe included in the mounted medals is the British Africa General Service Medal - presumably he saw service with the Kings African Rifles during the Kenyan Mau Mau conflict. In an number of the photos he is wearing a striped tie - could this be a KAR regimental tie? Regards, Owain. P.S. When I lived in Jeddah his house was near to the British School and periodically he would attend trade promotions and walk off with all the free brochures and hand outs. At one stage he was admitted to a local hospital with some minor complaint and a Scottish nurse who I knew refused to treat him - she was threatened with dismissal and still refused - the hospital backed down.

Thanks Megan. I am drafting an article on those awards made to various parties during and after the civil war and it appears that following the conclusion of fighting the President awarded some independence medals - and these are being worn by a few UK personnel - I have seen a modern group including this medal. As to the how and why my contacts are still chasing........... Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, I am looking for an image, obverse and reverse of this medal - I've tried OMSA, Google, Yahoo, etc., but to date no success. The obverse is the head of the Queen and the reverse is the arms of Sierra Leone - ribbon is a combination (three equal stripes?) of blue, green and white. I need this for a submission to JOMSA - full acknowledgment will be given. Yours in hope, Owain Raw-Rees