paul wood

Not mentioned in Seedies rolls which give all naval honours and awards from 1939-60, Not in any of the DSO books from 1885-2008 unless Cyril is a nick name there are no Cyril Colbournes (or variations of the spelling of Colbourne) listed anywhere. Paul

Nothing in the gazette (doesn't mean he's not there as the software company who did the search engine robbed them blind and it often tells lies). Will try other sources. Paul

Peter, Do you mean the stunning Ethiopian wife? Paul

As I thought a Sevadjian piece. There were a lot of these found left over with other Ethiopian Orders after Haile Selassie got the boot. A lot of these ended up in Europe in the 80s mainly imported by a Greek who had an absolutely stunning Ethiopian wife (I still drool thinking of her) alas the various orders including copious quantities of the Holy Trinity and Menelik had no sashes or ribbons (at the time they were more difficult to obtain). Paul

Portrait of yours truly before being awarded exemplary Beer Drinkers award PAul

Sorry David, I have only the rolls for clasps to the TFEM and the TEM, I thought they included the Efficiency Medal. The medals and clasps are issued under Army Order I used to know a good researcher for Territorial material but alas he has been afflicted by anno domini. I suspect another member of the forum will be able to tell you where to get the details. Paul

Mark is right I suspect it is a an error in the die, this happens from time to time. There is definitely no AOO abreviation. As his BWM and Victory was returned you have his complete medal issue. All the best, Paul

Very nice indeed, scarce combination. I assume you have the AOs for the Efficiency Medal and bars. I have no idea why MYB does not price subsequent bars. They are more common than the earlier incarnations especially as war service counted as double, so virtually all GV and GVI Efficiency medal holders saw service in WWII, however while single efficiency medal are relatively common on the market and are priced based on the unit, so for example and RA will make £40-50, while a small Yeomanry unit will make a fair bit more, Efficiency Medals with clasps tend not to turn up frequently as singles, they are almost always in groups, which tends to makes sense when you consider that many of the GV and GVI will have seen both First and Second War service. Re MYB the person who does the prices ( a well known dealer north of the Trent) possibly couldn't be bothered. If you haven't got the AO's for the Efficiency Medal and Bars I can get them for you. Paul

Translation is always an approximate art, with the exception of profanities which tend to translate well, which is probably why I am able to swear fluently in several languages but can barely speak a comprehensible sentence in any of them. Paul

ESM stands for Educationally Subnormal ( a polite description for the school dunces). Paul

Those in education will know what ESM means. Paul

It's almost as if somebody broke into a Jap collector's home took what he could and then listed it any old how. Whoever the vendor is he is certainly ESM. Paul

Looks like you are not a big fan of " high achiever" variant High Achiever is something you would expect of a McDonald's or other US corporate employees and it usually comes with a silly hat or badge. Mind you a friend of mine did his philosophy degree doped out of his head and got a first so I suppose he would have been a high achiever. Exemplary means that your achievement is an example to others to seek to emulate, very much in line with good Marxist-Leninist philosophy Comrade Paul exemplary beer drinker.

I had always translated "отличник"? as excellent but I must admit exemplary sounds better. Paul

Is it a Sevadjian piece? Paul

Cheers Nick, I wish my knowledge of Russian was a 10th as good as your knowledge of English. I can often work out Russian words but the grammar is a bit like a supermodel's bedroom, way beyond my reach. Paul

Alas there are people around with bigger wallets than sense who allow the blood to be sucked from them. Paul

City of Moscow Economic Excellence Badge Paul

A Very big price for a Ticchi medal. Paul

its Nasr-ed-Din, Shah of of Persia (1848-96). Paul

Well done, a good start to your collection, now for a fourth and third class. Paul

It's a City of Moscow excellence badge, not having my Russian dictionary to hand I quite make out a translation for the righthand word. Unless Nick has forgotten his native tongue he should be able to give you an answer. It certainly looks pre WWII and I haven't handled one before. Pavel Nicholiev

Ataturk was undoubtedly a great statesman. He respected all soldiers what ever their nationality because he saw the action first hand and realised the men fighting him were basically no different from his own. A great soldier who became a great statesman. Paul

Huygelen had probably never been further than northern Europe in his life he was producing a stylised version for Belgian consumption and government propoganda. By the Great War the administration in the Congo was considerably better than it was in Leopold's day. The Casement report had stripped Leopold of his private fief and the colony was run by the Belgian government, it was probaly by then no worse but no better than other European colonies. Certainly many Congolese did serve with the Belgian Army for whatever reason. Mind you after Leopolds day the Congo was probably a lot safer than it is now with various rival armies comitting murder and rape on an industrial scale. Paul

No these are commemorative art medals not award medals which were marketed in Belgium for collectors, they would have been advertised in various relevant publications. The double set would have been the most expensive and probably a relatively small number would have been sold, certainly no more than a few hundred. Certainly the Congo theme would make them more collectable than most Belgian medals of the period. Paul