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Rusty,

Congratulations on tracking down illustration of this scarce piece and also adding to our knowledge by introducing us to the Commemorative Committee Badge. There are 21 members of the Committee in the photograph and thus the badge must be a rare piece. I would suggest that medals were issued to a greater number of people but nonetheless it also must be a rare piece, if not quite as the badge.

Owain

Rusty,

In addition the Arabic on the badge would, I suggest translate as follows:

"1883-1933 / Committee Member / Organisation Fiftieth / National Courts"

Owain

Rusty,

The medal is as follows:

Obverse - profile of King Fuad

Reverse - 

Upper - Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Court

Centre - Justice is the Foundation of the Kingdom 

Lower - Year 1883 - Year 1933

It is is a nice medal - seemingly well made - silve. The example I have is in poor condition - purchased in the souk in Riyadh. Whilst it has a loop for suspension it is, I believe, purely a commemorative or souvenir piece. It is not included in the various government orders & medals protocols.

Owain

Jeff, Possibly a festival badge? Schlaraffia? Shooting star? Parade society? Owain

PS This topic should be in the South Asia forum.

Nick,

Lovely to get a cased example with a certificate - well done.

Owain

Hi, Details concerning the institution of this medal are in Abbot & Tamplin’s book, ‘British Gallantry Awards’, Chapter 5, Page 25. Instituted in 1920, the medal was distributed, unnamed, to citizens of allied and neutral countries who gave assistance to British and Commonwealth soldiers. Most of the medals went to Belgian & French nationals, but Danish, Dutch, & other nationals also got the award. Abbot & Tamplin note the award of 134 silver & 574 bronze medals, with some 43% (56 silver & 247 bronze) to women. There is a Medal Roll - National Archive reference WO 329/2957 which is, I think, available on Ancestry website. Regards, Owain

Enzo,

As far as I am aware there are no available records for the award of senior Egyptian orders - such information may exist somewhere in Cairo but even if it does exist getting access will be a challenge. Good luck with finding a case.

I was aware of the Fanfani auction and was tempted to bid , especially on his wife's miniatures, however buying in Europe and importing to the UK is doubly expensive - auction house fees plus UK Customs tax - accordingly I, along with some other collectors in UK, have ceased to bid at European auctions.

Kind regards,

Owain

Elmar,

Well done - to my mind the most attractive of the Republic of Egypt series of awards. Nice to see the Bichay manufacturer's mark and also the Cairo silver marks.

At one stage I had a case, a sash and a breast star - all purchased separately over the years, and now no doubt with someone waiting to find a lone sash badge for sale.

I attach a copy of the regulations from the Arab Republic of Egypt 1983 Protocols.

Owain

Hi, Was this of help? Owain

Hi, My knowledge of Japanese orders is almost nil - the Arab world is enough of a challenge for me, but thank you for sharing these beautiful images and information. Owain 

Ilja,

I think this should be Mahmoud (not Mohammed) Tarzi.

Regards,

Owain

John,

Inscription reads, "Order of Excellence of Great Afghanistan".#

The single word uppermost  is "Class/Grade".

Owain

John,

Another Afghan award - Sincerity Medal:

"Amir Habibullah Siraj Al Mulleth Wa Al Deen 1320"

(Prince Habibulla Lamp (Light) of the Nation and faith 1320)

1320 corresponds with 1903/4.

The Afghan awards should be posted in the correct section.

Regards,

Owain

Hi,

This is an Afghan award - Order of Bravery, founded in 1920 in one class.

The single word is 'Shuja'at' - Bravery, and should be uppermost - the star needs to rotate some 55* clockwise, and the rest of the inscription is from the Koran:

 نَصْرٌ مِّن اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

"Help from Allah and a victory near at hand and give good news to the believers"  

Regards,

Owain

Hi, This is the Hamiyat (Courage) Medal from the time of Emir (later King) Amanallah ruled 1919-29 dies 1960. Owain

Yes Nick is correct - old small badge & home made inscription surround set into modern Russian/Chinese/ North Korean star. Owain

Gentlemen,

Another Aden RAF RAOB jewel - already illustrated in a previous post, but this has a clasp 'Gulf'. Image from a UK auction site. Does this reflect a move to Bahrain post 1967?

Regards,

Owain

Good morning from London,

From my notes:

A) Spink & Son Ltd. of London, who produced approximately 465,000 medals by February 1992. (Bronzed false rivets at rear.)

B) Huguenin et Freres of Le Locle, Switzerland. (Real rivets at rear.)

C) Vanguard of Sunnyside, N. Y., U.S.A. (No rivets - two indentations.)

Regards,

Owain

Antonio,

Third line is not clear to me but the reverse appears to read:

Line 1 - Egyptian Fabricator for Making of Orders (Al Awsimat) - then Line 4

Line 2 - Tewfiq Bichay

Line 3 -                     Royal Egyptian

Line 4 - And Orders (Niasheen) and Medals

In line 4 'Niasheen' may also be translated as 'decorations'

Bichay were the successors to the Court Jewellers Lattes and continued into the early years of the Republic possibly into the early 1970s.

Owain

Gentlemen,

Further to my October 2021 post I have now obtained an example of the RAF Bahrain RAOB Jewel. (Obtained from, of all places, Poland!) The falcon rests upon a gauntleted hand. The reverse is blank other that the marks for Birmingham, silver, with the 'Q' date letter for 1965 - the manufacturer is FC Parry.

Regards,

Owain

P.S. From Wikipedia:-

The Royal Air Force's history with Bahrain can be traced back to 1924, with flights originating from Shaibah Air Base in Iraq. The perceived strategic importance of Bahrain by the British led to the signing of a civil air agreement with the King of Bahrain in 1934.

The Royal Air Force established a base there in the area as RAF Bahrain on 22 May 1943, as part of RAF Iraq Command. It was later renamed RAF Muharraq in 1963. The base was formally shut down on 15 December 1971. 

Gentlemen,

After a lapse in research I started again and found that this group was sold in the Sotheby's / Morton & Eden auction of 23 November 2004 as part of 'The Property of a Gentlemen - A Fine Collection of World Miniature Orders, Decorations and Medals'. The lot is attributed - 'as worn by His Highness Rai-i-Rayan Maharawal Sri Sir Lakshman Singh Bahadur (ruled 1918-48; died 1988)'.  See extract from Wikipedia below.

Sir Lakshman Singh KCSI GCIE (7 March 1908 – 6 June 1989) was the last ruling Maharawal (Maharaja) of the princely state of Dungarpur from 1918 to 1989, a former MP in the Rajya Sabha and speaker of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from July 1977 to June 1979.

From 1931 to 1947, Lakshman Singh was a member of the standing committee of the Chamber of Princes, and was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in the 1935 King's Birthday and Silver Jubilee Honours. On 14 August 1947, he was appointed as the last Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE). Following Independence, he established an interim legislature for Dungarpur, then with his fellow rulers formed the United State of Rajasthan on 25 March 1948. The following year, this became the Greater Rajasthan Union to which Dungarpur acceded on 30 March. From 1952 to 1958, Sir Lakshman served as an MP for Aspur in the Rajya Sabha, then became President of the Swatantra Party in Rajasthan from 1961 to 1969. From 1962 until his death, he also served as President of the All-India Kshatriya Mahasabha and as an MLA for Chittor in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, serving as speaker from 1977 to 1979; he also served as the leader of the Opposition from 1962 to 1979. He also served as president of Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha from 1960 till his death.

I attach an image of him wearing the first three medals.

Next step - to find a decent biography of the Maharawal!

Owain

Rusty,

I suspect the name Saleh Magdi is not an uncommon one.....

The naming under the image is definitely not Saad.

Of course the Order of Glory could be from the previous reign of Mohammed Sadok, 1859-82 - it was during his reign that the Order of Glory took the format shown in the picture of Saleh Magdi Bey.

Research continues.......

Owain

Rob,

See below.

Owain

Rusty,

Your 3 November image is of Mr. (Al Saeed) Saleh Magdi Beg (Bek) - the last word being an honorific title.

The order is indeed the Tunisian Order of Glory - the central inscriptions are illegible but may be that of Ali who ruled 1882-1902.

Owain

Rob,

The 'birdie' is an Abdu Dhabi Defence Force 'birdie' - 1966-76, so I would suggest some manner of ADDF Officer's badge.

Regards,

Owain