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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?? 1^st/2^nd?? 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 = 1^st 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, 5^th 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 = 2^nd Class).Military Duty (Gilt = 1^st 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 = 1^st 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 = 2^nd Class)Wounded Medal.

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 2^nd 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.

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

Lilo,

Yes the medal with the green and white ribbon is the medal of the Order of Mohammed Ali - same ribbon for both classes. I note that the VC was won in early 1918 and thus I would suggest that the award of the Egyptian medal reates to one of his periods in Egypt. As Ed states the award of this medal should be noted in his records.

With regard to the Mohammed Ali Commemorative medal this was authorised just before King Farouk was ousted by Neguib and from what I recall from conversations with Mr. Bichay, who manufactured this medal, whilst it was not discarded, only a few were manufactured. I cannot at the moment recall why there are two versions - with and without laurel wreath suspension - possibly only one type was approved. Even after the monarchy was abolished the medal was retained - there are pictures of Nasser whilst President wearing this medal in his group of awards.

Regards,

Owain

Gentlelmen,

I seem to recall that the medal of the Order of Mohammed Ali, instituted April 1915 by Sultan Hussein Kamel, - in Gold and Silver - was presented only for highest bravery to naval and military personnel - I need to check ther statutes. It predates the institution of the Military Star of Sultan/King Fouad (1919) and thus the institution of the latter may have made the Mohammed Ali Medal obsolete. Could the award of this medal have been an acknowledgement of the VC action? Both the gold and silver medals are on display at the Abdine Palace in Cairo. I do not recall ever seeing these medals for sale - at least during the last 20 years or so. I have the good fortune to have some ribbon - all I need now is a medal.....wishful thinking I am sure.

With regard to the Mohammed Ali Commemorative Medal - two versions exist - with and without a larurel wreath suspension.

Regards,

Owain

Hi,

The is the "Decoration of Military Duty" for the "United Arab Republic" - the date is 1959 not 1909. This presumably became obsolete when the UAR ceased in the early 1960's when Syria withdrew from the union. When I get home later I'll check my collection to confrim the ribbon colours.

This general series of awards can be differentiated between Egyptian and UAR versions by the dates, the variations in eagles/hawks and isncriptions - and possibly even suspension bars

Regards,

Owain

I found this one in the Kosar Bazaar in islamabad in 1993. It's in a case, so I only have a picture of the obverse handy. The reverse show a 1950's era fighter jet. The medal was made by Hugenin in Switzerland, and cost me all of 500 rupees at the time. The usual questions:

1. Is it official Govt issue?

2. Is it authorized for wear on the uniform?

3. What are the criteria for award?

4. What's the official name?

Hugh,

Good morning from Riyadh. This would appear to be a Saudi medal/medallion but not one that I have seen during my time here in the Kingdom. The image is indistinct - perhaps you can attach clearer images of both the obverse and reverse. I have a sneaking suspicion that because of the style of the integral suspension loop that it is is a commemorative or souvenir medallion. Is the disc contemporary with the ribbon as the metal ring conjoining the two appear to be poor quality. A mystery.

Regards,

Owain

Just have your medal guy find several sets of this . . . .

Ahhhhhh, if only.........

As an aside the bust of Faisal I on the order is the same as that used for the currency series during his reign......but I stray into numismatics - a field in which I tread warily.

Now off to a Bastille Day at the French Embassy in Riyadh - ho hum a glass or two of vin in Riyadh is not to be missed.

Owain.

Ed,

The image is correct - I have one with the green ribbon but there is a black (or red) ribbon version for military recipients - I would need to refer to my OMSA article on Royal Iraqi awards for details.

Owain

Ed,

The group you refer to, I think was an RVM, WWII, Faisal Coronation and Rafidain Medal to a British Butler at the Iraqi Embassy in London. I have bid twice for this group over the past 10 years or so but I believe that collectors of the RVM have deeper pockets!

Another scarce piece, and I have no illustration, is the Air Force award instituted by King Ghazi - hens teeth indeed. Oh and whilst I'm on line what about an ASM with the clasp "Euphrates 1936" - dream on...........

Owain

Oh and Ed, further to your "hint hint", I have an embryonic plan to pull together something "up to modern times" thus monarchies, etc., up to circa 1960s coups and revolutions being , as it were, end of "Part One."

Owain

Ahhhhhhhhh ..... and Order of Faisal the First would be nice. Actually I am surprised that one has not surfaced for sale. In almost 18 years of being in the Middle East I have not seen one for sale either locally or by auctiion in the West. The two I know of are the set you have referred to in the past and the one on display at the King Feisal (Al Saud) Institute here in Riyadh. To my mind it should be not be quite as scarce as it appears to be. I have seen numerous photos of the opening of Parilament with various worthies bedecked with awards including the OoF and I am surprised that one hasn't appeared fon the market.

Going back to the Rafidain, the junior medal, instituted by Faisal II, is also scarce and whilst not particulary valuable, it is again an award which has not appeared for sale. I don't believe that this award was carried over into the Republic.

Regards,

Owain

Ed,

Thanks for you kind words. I would even dare to suggest that $2,000 is excessive. Obvioulsy I come from a collecters perspective and thus, as do all collectors, begrudge pay over the odds and at current exchange rates this equates to one thousand pounds which by any stretch of the imagination is too much. When buying orders and medals in the Middle East (which is difficult enough anyway) as a bench mark I refuse to pay any a UK dealer/auctin house would charge the UK. Whilst collectors usally are not collecting to invest, at least not in the shoprt term, there is no point in buying something out of Baghdad which if you tried to sell the next day in London or New York which would realise an immediate loss. Of course there are exceptions and I have in mind British issued awards to local units e.g. Aden Protectorate Levies, Trans-Jordanian Frontier Force, Iraq Levies, etc. where it is the scarcity of unit and not the award itself which impacts on the price.

Some years ago, 1996, whilst in Cairo I was offered a group of mounted Royal Egyptian Awards consisting of a Nile, Military Star, 2nd issue Khedive Sudan, WW1 Trio, Osmanie, Medjide and Belgian Order of Letters for $4,000. I didn't have the money (and still don't!) and explained to the very sociable vendor, lots of tea drinking etc., that the probable value then was perhaps no more the $2,000 to $2,500. He politely agreed, but observed, "Well, it's stock and paid for. If I wait long enough someone will pay what I want......" The inference was that the someone would more than likely be from the US!

Regards,

Owain

Personally I am of the view that the Rafidain generally is overpriced. The best quality pieces are the Garrard Monarchy issues - the Bertrand/Huguenin issue Monarchy and Republican are not quiet as good. I would suggest if you canot afford or don't agree with the price pass on it, as sooner or later another will appear. The Order is not one of the 'holy grails' of the Arab world. I suspect dealers are hyping the price on the basis that sooner or later someone with deep pockets wil cough up the asking price. American military personnel are no doubt chaasing all Iraqi militaria as souveniers.Najaf, whilst have good pieces for sale, do make a tidy margin. Compare the hammer prices on items they purchased at the Morton & Eden auction of the American Numismatic Collection with their asking prices now - this is not a criticism but an observation applicable to most dealers - they need to make a living like everybody else.

Now a really scare modern Iraqi piece would be the Order of the Republic instuituted by Qassem in 1958 and lapsed after his overthrow or the jewelled Order of Qaddisyiah Saddam from the Iraq/Iran War and its later transformation in to the Order of the Mother of Battles. Of course a breast star of the Order of the Hashemites would be nice......

Regards,

Owain

Good evening from Riyadh,

As far as I am aware both from viewing regulations and day to day observance of the Saudi military in uniform the only medals specific to any particular service are the Air Falcon, Naval Forces and Military Appreciation medals to the Air Force, Navy, and Army (inc. National Guard). All other Saudi awards are open to one and all. As a general observation obtaining Saudi awards in Kingdom is nigh impossible - in almost 18 years I have come across next to nothing available in the local souks - even the unofficial military tailors do not supply. (Ditto Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar & UAE. ) Two key issues here - the first being the relative newness of the award series and thus most recipients are still serving so no need for descendants to sell and secondly security issues. Secondly until the bombings in 2004 militaria was freely available at the numerous military outfitters but subsequently it has become extremely difficult to obtain anything. Indeed I am still trying to obtain a specimen of the recently instituted Hajj Service Medal which appears to have been widely awarded. On another tack the Centenary Medal illustrated above is the actual issue - the example illustrated in my JOMSA article is, I believe, a rejected UK manufactured proof and I have recently obtained a correct issue. I have been unable to ascertain why some foriegners were awarded this medal and not others - I know of one senior RAF Officer who has the medal, but I also know of a number of attached British service personnel who did not receive it - perhaps being in the right place with the right time at the right time assists!

To date all KSA awards have been manufactured out of Kingdom - the senior orders and merit medals mentioned above by Bertrand in Paris and the other medals by Huguenin, Spink and Fattorini and in the case of the Liberation of Kuwait medal various US manufacturers. Interestingly I have obtained a number of reject samples of a local company's attempt to manufacture Saudi medals - they have some way to got to get the business in future.

Hope this is of interest,

Regards to all,

Owain

Gentlemen,

Many thanks - I am happy to share with you my draft - please contact me off line on rawrees@yahoo.co.uk

Regards,

Owain

Gentlemen,

I have completed a draft submission on the awards of the Republic for JOMSA - about 2MB+ - and I would like to make use of the images of the Fateh medal and the close ups of the Research, Merit & Management and Bravery orders. Can I have your permission so to do - I will of course acknowledge the GMIC and should you wish yourselves as individuals.

Yours sincerely,

Owain Raw-Rees (OMSA 4978 & OMRS 3088)

Good afternoon Ed & William,

Greetings from Riyadh - the 1st medal or Wissam Al Jadarah is available as a part of a a set of four grades/ classes/ degrees but for the princely sum of, I think $3,000. I suspect that the vendor in Baghdad will have to wait an awfully long time before he makes a sale at that price. I was fortunate in obtaining the 1st Class in a bulk lot at an auction in Paris in the early 1990's for about $25. I agree with William that studying the awards of the region does give one an insight into the history of the Middle East or at last some of its more obscure events! Equally Ed's comments about the faction that surrounds many of these awards is very true. With regard to this award in particular I have obtained from the souk here in Riyadh a cast copy - I cannot imagine why such a piece would have been made - surely not to con a collector as the quality is so poor but at $5 it has novelty value.

Regards,

Owain

I'm a little uncomfortable with posting images of items not in my collection, but as this and the following image were sent to me by the family of the recipient, I guess (hope?) it is OK.

Order of King Faisal I

Awarded for outstanding military and civilian services. Became obsolete with the Revolution.

Established: 1932

Obverse: A nine-armed gold cross, enameled white. In the center, the gold bust of King Faisal I surrounded by a legend. Suspended by an open-work crown. Manufactured by Huguenin (Le Locle, Switzerland). Believed also to have been manufactured by Garards (London, England), ca. 1935-58 and by Arthus Bertrand (Paris, France) before 1935.

Reverse: Plain.

Ribbon: Pale blue with broad reddish-brown edges.

Outline:

-- first class ? sash, sash badge, and breast star (shown)

-- second class

-- third class

Ed,

A beautiful piece and one of the scarcest of Arab awards. I would also include in this category the Order of Idris of Lybia, the medals of the Order of Mohammed Ali of Egypt, the Saeedee Order of Oman and the Royal Yemeni Order designed by Bichay - I believe only one proof piece of the latter was ever made. Ah well, I can but dream.

Keep up the good work,

Regards,

Owain.

Good morning from Royadh,

This is the Battle of Karama Medal and was awarded to those officers on the staff of the Jordanian Army who took part in the Battle of Karama on 21/03/1968. This battle was a victory for the Jordanian forces in repelling an Israeli incursion into Jordan proper across the Jordan valley to and resulted in the defeat of the Israeli forces at the small village of Karama close to the Dead Sea. It should be on gilt and has a loose leaf like ribbon suspension missing from this piece.

Regards,

Owain

This is a commemorative piece rather than a medal and Egypt seems to have produced a number of these from the time of Nasser. The head on the obverse is Nasser and the uppermost inscription is "The United Arab Republic" and the flag is of the UAR. The revese is too small to read but usually this is a Quranic quotation. I have seen similar pieces for sale in the souks of Cairo, Sana'a, Riyadh and Damascus - usually very worn and manufactured of brass. Hope this helps.

Owain

The obverse lower inscription reads President Gamal Abdulnasser.

I suspect this is a mere coin turned into a souvenir medal, but since I have zero arabic, who knows?

Can anyone help me i.d. this little medal who recently arrived at my house? Many thanks.

This is a commemorative piece rather than a medal and Egypt seems to have produced a number of these from the time of Nasser. The head on the obverse is Nasser and the uppermost inscription is "The United Arab Republic" and the flag is of the UAR. The revese is too small to read but usually this is a Quranic quotation. I have seen similar pieces for sale in the souks of Cairo, Sana'a, Riyadh and Damascus - usually very worn and manufactured of brass. Hope this helps.

Owain