christerd

The medal of Liberty from 1941 , looks just like the 1918 and 1939 except for the changed year in the back.

It would be interesting to know what the woman did to earn such an award. Possible someone from the Lotta Svärd organisation.

The difference between these real silver ones and the ordinary is that these are thinner.

There was also a version with Red cross on, just like 1918 and 1939 , these was awarded in rather few numbers and are scarce .

Well Finnland didn´t have peace for long after the winter war ended in 1940, just a year later the 1941-44 war begun

and of course new/old awards was released. The same medals and Libert Crosses as in 1939 but with the year 1941 on the backside

Here is a document for a 1st class medal to a woman : Rouva Marjetta Anna-Liisa Hyyryläinen in 1942 , this medal is in real silver

And here is the doc in form of a letter from Field Marshal Mannerheim

The text is in Swedish and i will try to translate it into English .

" It is my heavy burden to tell you that Torsten Birger Eugen Bäck has been killed while fighting for his Country and freedom and for everything thats sacred and precious. I deeply regret your loss. May the knowledge that you have made the most precisous sacrifice for Finnland be of some comfor.

May God the mighty and merciful give your strenght "

Even the 4th Class mourning Cross was awarded with a document

Here is a doc in Swedish dated 24th Oct 1940 to the wife of Torsten Birger Eugen Bäck who was killed in action.

This doc was sent to the relatives together with another doc , that one I show next -

These docs are rather rare

1939 was the birth of another award, the postume Cross of 1939 , this cross was given to next of kin of soldiers killed in action.

Of all Finnish awards this is the one which wake up most feelings , Finnland lost a lot of men and woman during the 1939/40 war.

The Cross is the same as a ordinary 4th class but the ribbon is black, awarded in one class.

And the backside , with the typical raised year 1939 for this type , later crosses of 1941 issue was usually issued with flat swords on the backside and year punched into medal . But there is early1941 medals that look just like 1939 ones and yes they are real :)

In 1939 the Liberty Crosses from 1918 returned , almost exactly the same but with a thicker layer of black colour on the backside.

Here is a 4th class a very nice example , almost 15 000 was awarded during the winter war .

Notice that no Germans was awarded 1939 crosses , so remember to look on the backside on medalbars assumed to be awarded to Germans.

Backside of the Summa Cross , 1939- 1940 and number 11040

One of the big battles during winter war was the battle of Summa (there was also a bar for winter war medal with Summa)

A special medal was made for the battle , unusual for finnish medals these are numbered , I don´t know how many that was awarded

andt my medal have No 11040

Very nice and collactable medal

Here is a medal for approx Air civil Defence ? it have two classes and awarded during winter war it has the bar 1939-1940

this is the second bronce class

And the back of the medal !

And the rare Medal to civilian foreigners not participating in the fighting .

I´ve seen figures that < 2000 was awarded which means that its 5 times more rare then the ordinary Foreginers medal in Iron, but

I´m not sure they are very hard to find at all , and when they surface they become stupidly expensive .

But still probably there is some of these lying around in swedish drawers to be found

This was found in a coin shop along a lot of cheap medals from all over the world ------ got lucky sometimes

And the backside of the medals

It said that they made 10 Gold medals , 7 was awarded so I suppose three are in some museum.

Of the 42 Silver ones I have seen 1 ! for sale in 20 years ..... yes it was expensive ( around 2400 Euro )

And now over to the rare Foreigners medals :

Mostly awarded to Swedish volunteers in the war , about 10 000 is said to been awarded , they are around but prices are high !

Take a good look because these are faked, often quite bad fakes but even so.

Compare with the ordinary medal on the left , the foreigner is bigger and have a totally different backside.

And keep an eye on the loop !! Most fakes I´ve seen have the ordinary medal loop instead of the different real one ...

And another Document for the winter war medal , this time to a woman ! A member of Lotta Svärd organisation . Lotta Svärd was a paramilitary organisation for woman and the members worked in Air Defence , hospitals , food cantines and and so on.

They where close to the front and many brave Lottas was killed during the war ...

This doc is in Finnish and awarded to Lotta Sirkka Kyllikki Palomäki a girl born in July 1915

included is the medal on womans bow

And now the three last battlebars ,

First one is Mantsinsaari , this is one of the hardets bars to find . next one is Karjalan-Kannas wich is probably the most common one

and last Koivisto also a tricky one .

Ok four more of the battlebars from Left : Kainuu

Summa

Pohjois -Karjala

Lappi

The last one in Northern Finnland was to be a battlefield 4 years later and now against their former allies , the Germans -----

Ok , now over to the battle bars 11 in all if you remember ,

First from the left : Suomussalmi

Taipale

Tolvajärvi

Lakotan Karjala

In Finnland those names are like Verdun, Somme or Ypres for a WW 1 historian .....

And an interesting document that shows the close connection between Finnland and Sweden in the old days

A doc for the 1939-40 medal to a Finnish Leutnant Erik Lerbacka born in December 27th 1906 in Kristinsstad with the bar

" Kotijoukut " The document is totally in Swedish , because the part of Finnland where Erik was born was Swedish speaking in 1940.

Christer

Medal for 1939-40 War .

Here is the four different bars for from left : Kotijoukot = Home Front

Ilmapuolustus = Air Force

Kenttäarmeija = Army

Rannikkopuolusfus = Coastal Defence

Then there is elven bars with battles

And the backside , its is the light that make it looks almost silver but it is made of blackened iron

After the winter war 1939-1940 was a commerative medal instituted 2nd August 1940 , this is the most common of all Finnish medals but there are some real rare ones of this ordinary medal too.

Awarded to Finnish or Foreigner made of Iron 31 mm Dia , on the front a soldier with rifle and winter uniform and the year 1939-1940, backside has the words

" Kunnia Isänmaa" something like Glory Homeland in English .

Medals was made in Germany by the firm B . H Mayer , If awarded to a Foreigner the medal have a different backside and was a little bit bigger (the medals for Foreigners was made in Finland.

The medals could be awarded with swords and bar , only with bar or whitout swords and bar in all.

The bars was for different fronts/battles there is 11 different bars , and only one was to be on ribbon. , There is also bars for Army, Homefront, Air Force and Coastal Defence totally 15 Bars .

There was also very few medals in silver 42 awarded and Gold awarded to Head of States and similar.7 awarded

The last medal is for Foreigner made of Bronze for people helping Finland outside the battlefield ,

The normal medal was awarded in + 600 000 times , the one for Foreigner maybe 10 000 and the one in Bronze 1961 ps awarded !

The medal came in a simple paper bag, and with a piece of ribbon

A Document for a Bravery medal 2nd class 1939 , these documnets are quite big compare to the medal .....

Thet are issued both in normal Finnish and in Swedish for Swedish volunteers and Swedish speaking parts of Finland.

The medal was awarded to Elias Lappi , no rank or date on the document but its presigned 1940 .

And in 1939 it was nother War the so called Winter War 1939-1940 , and the medals nd Lbert Crosses from 1918 was reinstituted

Now the medals was made in Finland , they look the same but on the bac is the year 1939 instead of 1918 , and as a result of metal shortage most silver medals wasnt made of silver at all, real silver ones is much harder to find in 1939 and 1941 versions

Here is anothe ribbon bar with connection to 1918 war,

Since the Finnish ribbons dont say anything about what year they are, so we have to guess a little when looking at ribbon bars .....

First a 4th class 1939 for civilian/ non fighting , a 1st class bravery medal 1918 ? , medal for 1918 and medal wo swords for 1939 winter war .