Arthur R

Hi Brett I don't have the names of the men attached to the Commonwealth Division, but the men who reached general rank were: Lt Gen Raymond Armstrong SAAF -- Chief of Staff 1974-76 Lt Gen Pieter le Grange SAAF -- Chief of Staff Personnel 1974-77 Lt Gen Robert 'Bob' Rogers SAAF -- Chief of the Air Force 1975-79 Lt Gen John 'Jack' Dutton -- Chief of Staff Operations 1976-81 Lt Gen Antonie 'Mike' Muller SAAF -- Chief of the Air Force 1979-84 Lt Gen Denis Earp SAAF -- Chief of the Air Force 1984-88 Would the medal roll, e.g. Owen's, not identify the men attached to the Commonwealth Division? I've read somewhere that one of them received an MBE, and a couple were MiD and wore the British MiD emblem on the ribbon of the SA Korea Medal.

Quite right. A few months ago someone sent me this very pic of Lt Gen Armstrong's medals. Interestingly, Lt Gen Armstrong was succeeded as SADF Chief of Staff (Operations) by another Korean War veteran, Lt Gen Jack Dutton, who had been one of the 20 or so SA Army personnel who served in Korea, attached to the British Commonwealth Division. At least six SADF generals of the 1970s were Korean War veterans - not bad, I suppose, for a contingent of only 800 or so.

Very nice. The uniform and ribbons look as though they're in first-class condition. It looks as though Commandant Fourie retired some time in the 1980s: the fore-and-aft cap was introduced in the early 1980s IIRC, and the SADF Good Service Medal ribbons are the pre-1986 pattern. Top row: - Korea Medal - Pro Patria Medal (no Cunene Clasp rosette, but as that was introduced in 1986, he may have been an Angola veteran all the same) - SADF Good Service Medal Gold (30 years) - SADF Good Service Medal Silver (20 years) Lower row: - Permanent Force Good Service Medal (18 years) - Chief of the SADF Commendation Medal* - UN Service Medal for Korea - South Korea War Medal * renamed 'Military Merit Medal', with post-nominal letters MMM, and moved up to rank before campaign medals in 1993

The Medal of Freedom was established by President Truman in 1945. Here's the text of the Executive Order which sets out the criteria for award: EXECUTIVE ORDER 9586 By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: There is hereby established a medal to be known as the Medal of Freedom with accompanying ribbons and appurtenances for award to any person, not hereinafter specifically excluded, who, on or after December 7, 1941, has performed a meritorious act or service which has aided the United States in the prosecution of a war against an enemy or enemies and for which an award of another United States medal or decoration is considered inappropriate. The Medal of Freedom may also be awarded to any person, not hereinafter specifically excluded, who, on or after December 7, 1941, has similarly aided any nation engaged with the United States in the prosecution of a war against a common enemy or enemies. The Medal of Freedom shall not be awarded to a citizen of the United States for any act or service performed within the continental limits of the United States or to a member of the armed forces of the United States. The Medal of Freedom and appurtenances thereto shall be of appropriate design, approved by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of the Navy, and may be awarded by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, or the Secretary of the Navy, or by such officers as the said Secretaries may respectively designate. Awards shall be made under such regulations as the said Secretaries shall severally prescribe and such regulations shall, insofar as practicable, be of uniform application. No more than one Medal of Freedom shall be awarded to any one person, but for a subsequent act or service justifying such an award a suitable device may be awarded to be worn with the medal. The Medal of Freedom may be awarded posthumously. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, July 6, 1945 The medal lapsed after the WWII awards had been made. President Kennedy revived it, with different insignia, as the President Medal of Freedom in 1962.

The star on the right breast is indeed the Royal Order of Sobhuza II. That on the left breast is the South African Order of Good Hope.

Here's what I have on the subject: Civil/General Royal Order of Sobhuza II (18.06.1975- ) -- for outstanding service to Swaziland; three classes: Grand Counsellor, Chief Counsellor, Counsellor. Somhlolo Award for Bravery -- appears to be awarded to civilians, police, prisons service. and defence force. Insignia for Chiefs King Sobhuza Diamond Jubilee Medal 1981 King Mswati III Coronation Medal 1988 Royal Swaziland Police King's Police Medal for Distinguished Service (10.12.1971- ) -- for exemplary conduct, exceptional resource and devotion to duty. Royal Swaziland Police Medal for Meritorious Service (10.12.1971- ) -- for exemplary conduct, resource and devotion to duty. Royal Swaziland Police Long Service Medal (10.12.1971- ) -- for 18 years service. Swaziland Prisons King's Prisons Medal for Distinguished Service (10.12.1971- ) -- for exemplary conduct, exceptional resource and devotion to duty. Swaziland Prisons Medal for Meritorious Service (10.12.1971- ) -- for exemplary conduct, resource and devotion to duty. Swaziland Prisons Long Service Medal (10.12.1971- ) -- for 18 years service. Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force USDF Medal for Distinguished Service (11.07.1980- ) -- for exemplary conduct, exceptional resource and devotion to duty. USDF Medal for Meritorious Service (11.07.1980 - ) -- for exemplary conduct, resource and devotion to duty. USDF Long Service Medal (11.07.1980 - ) -- for 18 years service. The other orders are new to me - thanks for the info.

Outdated, perhaps - Lesotho has changed its flag in recent years, and its current flag is green, white and blue. The original flag was blue, white, green, and red.

The Cape Corps was indeed a Coloured regiment, with White officers and NCOs. It was raised in 1915 for the SA Overseas Expeditionary Force, and fought in German East Africa, and later in Palestine. Its major battle was Square Hill in Palestine on 18-19 September 1918 - the 1st Bn captured the hill from the Turks and held it under heavy fire until it was forced to abandon the position after most of the officers were killed. Like the other SAOEF units, the CC was disbanded in 1919. It was revived in 1940 as a non-combat supporting service (drivers, orderlies, stretcher bearers etc), whose members served in East Africa, North Africa, and Italy. It was disbanded again in 1950. The corps was revived again in 1963, as the SA Coloured Corps, again as a non-combat branch. It was converted to infantry in 1973 and renamed the SA Cape Corps. Officially recognised as successor to the earlier Cape Corps, it was allowed the battle honours the earlier battalions had earned in WWI. In the 1990s, when race discrimination was abolished, the unit was renamed 9 SA Infantry Battalion. The Cape Corps, in its various incarnations, is highly regarded among SA military units.

Taprell Dorling's Ribbons and Medals shows the ribbon as that of an Italian medal for service in the Spanish Civil War. So it could be an Italian crown.

Hi This looks like the Ciskei Police Medal for the Maintenance of Law & Order, a.k.a. the State Security Medal. If so, it should have the Ciskei coat of arms on the reverse, and the ribbon would be the blue one with orange edges and two white lines as shown in the chart. Unfortunately, I don't have much info on Ciskei Defence Force or on Transkei ribbons, and what I have is unconfirmed. Documentation is hard to come by - the homeland governments don't seem to have been too efficient about publishing the regulations in their Government Gazettes - and as a result one sees medals with all sorts of strange ribbons on them.

The former homelands' awards are indeed still allowed to be worn, and in 2005 the government issued a table of precedence which integrates them with the "mainstream" SA honours system (available at http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=60762).

Venda is a region in South Africa which was nominally independent from 1979 to 1994, and had its own president, defence force, police etc, and its own medals.

Ribbons of Ciskei Police decorations and medals, according to the specifications published in the homeland's Government Gazette.

Ribbons of some Venda decorations and medals, according to the specifications published in the homeland's Government Gazette. The Venda National Force was a composite military/ police/ prisons service, which was later superseded by the Venda Defence Force, the Venda Police, and the Venda Prisons Service.

Ribbons of Bophuthatswana decorations and medals, mostly according to the specifications published in the homeland's Government Gazette.

From G.D. Trotter's article "Bailey's South African Sharpshooters" in Military Medal Society of SA Journal No 25 (Dec 1984): L Cpl Bert Arthur Lowings (Bricklayer from Durban) Enlisted 4.7.1916, aged 22. Previous service of three years with the SA Mounted Rifles. Joined the 1st Northamptonshire Regiment on 1.12.1916. Awarded the Military Medal (London Gazette 13.3.1919). Disembarked at Cape Town, from HMT 'Edward Woerman' on 10th June 1919. Demobilised on 11th July 1919.

Alexandre, Colour pics can be found on http://www.angloboerwar.com/medals/medals_awarded.htm

Alexandre, Colour pics can be found on http://www.angloboerwar.com/medals/medals_awarded.htm

Also the NZ Order of Merit (the sash and the star pinned through it).

In 1996 the South African government instituted decorations and medals for members of the former Umkhonto weSizwe and the Azanian People's Liberation Army, collectively referred to as "non-statutory forces". They were awarded for services in those organisations between 1961 and 1994. Both sets of awards were based on those of the SA Defence Force, with which the two liberation armies had been merged to form the SA National Defence Force. Basic details available on http://www.geocities.com/militaf/lib.htm

Hello Jack There are good pics (obverse and reverse) of a miniature PVM on the African Military Connection website: http://www.the-amc.com/detail.php?siteid=192 Arthur

As you say, a very nice bar, and it looks as though it's in excellent condition. If you turn the bar upside down, so that the Star for Merit is first and the Medal for Combating Terrorism is last, then it fits the pre-1990 order of precedence for SA Police medals. Until 1990, they placed their campaign medal last, to show that they were not a military force. As there's no SAP Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Medal (1988), I'd guess that the policeman concerned retired before 1988 - but probably not too many years before that date, as IIRC the plastic-covered ribbon bars were introduced in the 1980s, when the SAP decided to start wearing their ribbons on their everyday working dress. The plastic covers were to protect them from getting dirty. I used to see a lot of them being worn (the police were very conspicuous in those days), but I hadn't realised that the ribbons underneath the plastic were actually paper. So, what you may have here is the ribbon bar of a man who joined the SAP in the 1950s and served until the 1980s. In that case, he might well have qualified for the SAP Medal for Faithful Service before 1979, when the qualifying period of service was still 18 years. When the long service medals were "decimalised" in 1979, to bring them into line with the defence force's, the qualifying period was reduced to 10 years, and the SAP Star for Faithful Service was introduced as the 20-year award. The SAP Star for Merit already existed, as a general-purpose medal for bravery, meritorious service, or long service, and then became primarily a 30-year service medal. (I say "man" because women weren't admitted to the SAP until about 1970, so none would have qualified for the 30-year medal, or even the 20-year medal, before 1988.) The aloe clasp on the SAP Medal for Combating Terrorism indicates that the recipient was awarded a clasp for a second period of operational duty (60 days each), probably in South West Africa. As a matter of interest, is the clasp also covered by the plastic, or has it been stuck on the outside of the plastic? You're quite right in thinking that these medals are no longer awarded. When the SAP was absorbed into the new SAPS in 1995, the SAPS took over the medals and continued to award them until 2004, when they were superseded by the current series.

An interesting question. This flash doesn't appear to fit the standard SA pattern, which was 2 inches wide by 3 inches high. Nor does this combination of colours appear in the lengthy list of flashes published by Dr Curson in Africana Notes & News (December 1962). The 1st SA Division flash was a diamond shape and the 2nd SA Division flash was a circular disc, both being divided horizontally into yellow over green. AFAIK, they were worn on the sleeves, not on the helmet.

FWIW, I don't think that the ribbons in question are British, because the UK doesn't put rosettes on their ribbons. And UK ribbons are wider than the standard width for DUtch ribbons. Also, the Royal Victorian Order ribbon is a much darker blue than the ribbon in the photo and, as has already been suggested, the Order of St Michael & St George is primarily awarded for services in the Commonwealth, e.g. to officials in overseas territories. The rosettes make me think that these ribbons are likely to come from a continental European country. Or might they not be from private organisations? Have you checked out Erik Muller's Nederlandse Ritterorden en Onderscheidingen website? He has a dozen pages of Dutch and Dutch-related ribbons there. The URL is www.onderscheidingen.nl.