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Gentlemen, And some more from Facebook - these three all from Oman and are no doubt from the period when British servicemen were active in the Sultanate following the accession of Sultan Qaboos: Dhofar No. 9721 - see above also. Bob Hunt of Dhofar lodge No. 9721 - related to the above but who Bob Hunt was/is I do not know Andrew Grainger Lodge No. 9898 - based in Muscat - I do not know who Andrew Grainger was/is. Kind regards, Owain Gentlemen, And this time from Facebook a pair from El Firdan Lodge in Egypt - no image of the reverse - on the left the Lodge jewel and on the right a founder's jewel - I think, based on the style of the Founders jewel, that the pair date from early 1950's - probably before the 1952 Revolution. RAF El Firdan was based at Ismailia on the west bank of the Suez Canal. Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, Another selection this time from a Facebook link: A more recent jewel - Shamal Lodge No. 9948 Saudi Arabia - a shamal is a hot wind from the north - this RAOB Lodge is from one of the British Aerospace bases in Saudi Arabia - Dhahran in Eastern Province . An older piece - Khartoum Sudan - no lodge number - the central rider upon a camel is reminiscent of the Sudan Defence Force. From the post, " The RAOB lodge jewel below is that of the Khartoum Temperance Lodge 6310 it later change its name in 1938 to the Blue Nile lodge 6310.its member were made up of RAF B Squadron sadly The Lodge closed around 1963" Owain

Thanks Gunner - sadly I 'discovered' the silver medal after the article had gone to print - hence it is not noted in the article - sod's law! Owain

Peter, Yes, the bronze one is mine too - whilst scarce they do appear for sale fairly often. Perhaps the silver one was for a senior officer or a trial piece. Owain

Gentlemen, I attach an image of a mystery piece recently acquired - a UN medal for Ethiopia in silver. This is the first time I have seen such a piece and other than being in silver is identical to the standard issue in bronze. Any suggestions as to why? The joy of collecting Imperial Ethiopian awards continues............. Owain

Gentlemen, Another one from Libya - the OEA Lodge No.8821 - a silver gilt piece hallmarked London, 1963 - with ribbon in the then Kingdom of Libya national colours. OEA was the name of the ancient city which in due course became Tripoli. Regards, Owain

Claudius, See below - would the beer win a medal? Owain

Bob, Yes, you are right - the lack of documentation is annoying - with some of the more obscure awards any historical context or decrees/laws are invariably difficult to source and thus a certificate, as well as providing provenance also assists with research. As far as I am aware other than references to laws on PDRY certificates, to date, none of the actual instituting laws or regulations have been seen. The main PDRY law is, I believe, Law 45 of 1978. Regards, Owain

Emmanuel, Nice photos and information. I was in Belize a life time ago in 1982 with the Army - a while before I was interested in medals. I recall the local beer - Beliken Beer - was OK. Beers are on me - well in sentiment - this is my 1,000 post! Owain

Chris, No sight of other awards but I attach three pictures of Khalifa Haftar from the Arabic internet - wearing varying amounts of ribbons - 4, 6 and 9 rows respectively. His more recent pictures have him wearing less ribbons - possibly distancing himself from Ghadafi era awards. Sadly the 9 row image is not in high definition and thus, when I have a moment, I may attempt to identify his 6 row set. Regards, Owain

Hi, LAC = Leading Aircraftman thus RAF - not an officer, Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, A new medal (32mm diameter - copper alloy) seen on E-Bay out of Moscow. Apparently made in Russia this year, 2020, for Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar for the Libyan National Army. The obverse translates as, 'Libyan National Army'. The reverse translates as, 'Honour for Military Successes'. Regards, Owain

Thanks Emmanuel - as awarded to Erich Hoenecker and for sale at the next Thies Auction - no doubt it will be expensive! Owain

Jack, Thanks for the higher resolution image. To my eye it appears to read: 1 Sha'abaan 1357 (25 September 1938) Almstr F. W. Kng (The Mister F. W. King) Thus it would appear that the recipient is a British national??? Of course I may have totally misread the Arabic. Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, From a thread dealing with Arab awards I attach below a picture of Abdul Fattah Ismail, Head of State (1978-80) of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen (1978-80). It has take some time to identify his awards: PDRY - Order of 14 October USSR - Order of Friendship of Peoples Ethiopia - Hero of Ethiopia (neck badge) DDR - Order of Friendship of Peoples Grand Star (sash, etc.) USSR - Lenin 100th Anniversary USSR (??) - Unknown Can anyone hazard an educated guess as to what the last award on the brooch clip/suspension is? is it a Soviet one Many thanks, Owain

Gentlemen, Even further progress - by 'googling' his name in Arabic I have found a colour version of the above image of Abdul Fattah Ismail and it is a portrait length image too. The sash, badge and star he is wearing of the East German Order - Stern der Völkerfreundschaft - it is the Grand Star - see details from Wikipedia below. The inner 'small' medal is probably the Soviet Lenin 100th Anniversary Medal as awarded 'to the figures of the international communist and labor movement and other progressive foreign leaders'. Any ideas as to what the last and smallest medal is? Regards, Owain The Star of People's Friendship (German: Stern der Völkerfreundschaft), a.k.a. Star of Nations' Friendship, was an order awarded by the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Established 20 August 1959, it was given to individuals of exceptional merit who had contributed to the "understanding and friendship between nations and preservation of peace". The Star of People's Friendship was given in three classes: 1st Class – Grand Star of People's Friendship in Gold (German: Großer Stern der Völkerfreundschaft in Gold) 2nd Class – Star of People's Friendship in Gold (German: Stern der Völkerfreundschaft in Gold) 3rd class – Star of People's Friendship in Silver. (German: Stern der Völkerfreundschaft in Silber) It was awarded on the recommendation of the presidency of the Council of Ministers (German: Präsidium des Ministerrates) via the chairman of the Council of State (German: Vorsitzender des Staatsrates) or in its name. The medal was awarded with a certificate.

Jack, This was one of a series of 3 medals, each in three classes of gold, silver and bronze, instituted by King Fouad in 1923: Medal of Meritorious Acts Medal of Devotion Medal of Benevolence From my experience these appear to have been awarded to to Royal Court /Household staff - perhaps a bit like the British Royal Victorian Medal or Royal Long & Faithful Service Medal. I attach pictures of a named pair I acquired some years ago. Sadly I am unaware of any records which could be referred to to further identify the recipient. The medal were supposed to be awarded engraved with the name of the recipient and also the date but most of the medals I have seen are not named. I also attach a picture of a gold Medal of Benevolence - sold some years ago at a Schulman auction and a silver example. Please post detailed images and I will try and read the details. Regards, Owain A Named Pair of Royal Household Medals Medal for Meritorious Acts 2nd Class Suspension bar engraved “28 Shawal Year 1357” (corresponding to 12 October 1938) - reverse engraved “E. Geronimax” and a Medal of Duty 3rd Class – suspension bar “Emmanuel Geronimax”

Gentlemen, It has been a long time coming - 12 years - but at last I have been able to identify the neck badge (in gold) as the order of the 'Hero of Ethiopia' of the People's Republic of Ethiopia from the time of the Derg / Mengistu regime. So now I need to identify the sash and the two small medals on his right breast........ Regards, Owain

Jack, As Graham has noted this is the Medal for Meritorious Acts 2nd Class (30.5mm) – reverse inscription “Medal for Meritorious Acts – King of Egypt – The most useful of you is the best”. The inscription on the obverse suspension bar is the date the medal was awarded (?? Shawal ?? 1357 Hijra = 1938/9 AD - early years of King Farouk) - and the inscription on the lower part of the reverse is the name of the recipient however the detail of the images is insufficient for me to read these inscriptions clearly. Regards, Owain

Emmanuel, Great pictures - thank you for sharing. Owain

Well done Paul. Always good to branch out and start another collection although the challenge of resisting to do so can be difficult. From my army days I recall that the acronym for the Army Catering Corps - ACC - was oftentimes equated to the Aldershot Cement Company - a wholly undeserved name! Owain

Gentlemen, I have recently acquired the below set of miniatures attributed to Fournage. In common with similar sets the 'routine' war and service medals are not included. From online research Guillaume Auguste Fournage was born in the 14th (Seine) district of Paris on 21 May 1901 and died at Frejus (Var) on 13 August 1991. He joined the French navy in 1919 and was appointed Enseigne de vaisseau 2nd class on 1 October 1921 at Cherbourg. He was promoted to Enseigne de vaisseau 1st Class on 1 October 1923 and on 18 January 1929 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant de vaisseau. On 1 January 1932 he was at Cherbourg and later promoted to Capitaine de Corvette and thereafter to Commandeant le croiseur auxiliaire X10. From the limited documentation I have: Fournage was appointed a Knight, 5th Class of the Order of the Dragon of Annam on 10 October, 1932, and his rank is noted as ‘Lieutenant de Vaisseau’. The certificate clearly notes that the order was conferred by the President of the Republic of France. Fournage was appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honour on 28 June, 1934 and his rank is noted a ‘Lieutenant de Vaisseau’. He was promoted to an Officer, 4th Class, of the Order on 11 November 1946 and his certificate when issued was dated 14 March, 1947 – his rank is noted as ‘Capitaine de Fregate’. Both certificates note his date of birth as 21 May, 1901. With regard to the Order of St Charles of Monaco - awarded for service to the ruler or the Principality of Monaco - an online search notes Fournage’s award was gazetted in the Journal de Monaco, the official gazette of the Principality, on Thursday 4 April 1946. Fournage is designated as Frigate Captain, commanding the navy at Nice. I am trying to obtain further information as to his career, but so far with no success. I am verbally advised he was at some stage during the 1930's posted to the French submarine Phenix - entered service 1932 , and which sank with 71 crew in 1939 in Cam Ranh Bay Indochina. That he spent time in the region is indicated by the Order of the Dragon of Annam and the Royal Order of Cambodia. Any suggestions as to where I can obtain further details as to his career? Kind regards, Owain. P.S. With regard to the USA Bronze Star Medal I have a colleague looking at US Records but these are not codified so it is unlikely that a specific date/reference will be found - as there is no device on the medal ribbon I am assuming it is an award for meritorious service given as one of many to the French Navy at the end of WW2.

Gentlemen, Some more - whilst searching the internet for something else I came across these images of RAOB jewels (blank reverses) - all sold some ten years ago from various vendors (mostly E-Bay) : Trucial Oman - Aero Trucial Lodge No. 9147 - almost certainly based near/in the Royal Air Force base in Sharjah which is now one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Bahrain - Bahrain Island Lodge No.99167 (the number is in Arabic) - there was British naval base at Muharraq in Bahrain. Egypt - a locally made piece, possibly of some age. Iraq - Palm Tree Lodge No 6829 - based in Baghdad and dating from 1931. Regards, Owain

Hi, Just an observation but the badge for this forum is an Iranian Bravery award - is this an error? Owain

Gentlemen, And yet another two: Egypt Pyramids Lodge 8673 - the map highlights Egypt and Aden which may infer that the Lodge owes its origins to a lodge in Aden. Libya Karamanli Lodge 8940 - Karamanli was a state in what is now the area of Tripoli - the municipalty badge still has a three masted sailing ship. Owain