warrior265

Great to see some others out there with an interest in Zim Honours and awards! To answer Megan's question see below. As far as i know the only Royal Order Of Munhumutapa Awards issued were those at the 25th anniversary celebrations. I monitor Zim media reporting closely and havn't seen any further awards of these. When Mugabe retires (30 years and still going strong!) he will get the Order Of Great Zimbabwe. I am not aware of any awards of the Order Of The Star of Zimbabwe.

The Order Of Great Zimbabwe:

3 Variants:

Platinum. Reserved for Zimbabwe Heads Of State Upon Their Retirement.

Gold. Reserved for Zimbabwe Vice Presidents.

Silver. Reserved for any other deserving local citizens.

The Royal Order Of Munhumutapa:

Honour none Zimbabweans who supported the liberation of Zimbabwe.

The Order of the Star Of Zimbabwe

Medals is the highest category of commendation medals

Order of the Star Of Zimbabwe – 4 variants:

Platinum. Reserved for persons who distinguish themselves in rthe field of politics, and the Diplomatic Service, as well as declared National Heroes.

Gold. Conferred on persons who register exceptional public performance in the fields of Public Service, Defence and Security.

Silver. Conferred on persons who distinguish themselves in areas of Academia and Research, Business and Economics and Social Services.

Bronze. Conferred on eminent achievers in areas of the Arts, Culture, Sports and Entertainment.

eMail sent. I hope the info is of interest to you.

Rich

I must now go into a little detail concerning this award and it's accompanying medals. For the present I have only the full size MLM and also, the miniature medal bar with this award present. I am expecting the full bar to be brought-in - but, this may take a little time. The award roll for the MLM has been checked and he is named. However, I know little more about the original awardee and if anyone can help, I will be most grateful.

He was Lt. Col. John EVERINGTON MLM and I believe that he was originally an officer with the Ghurkas. He lived in Bulawayo and as this is a Civilian award he must have been retired.

The second group of three medals - incl. a British Efficiency Medals - is named to Lt. L.S.EVERINGTON of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. This has the min.set. I have no idea what his role was in Rhodesia.

One very interesting point is that both sets of miniatures have a different ribbon on some medals. This is for The Honourable Artillery Company - one of Britain's most distinguished Regiments and I am told it was customary for officers to show the HAC colours on min.medals for identification. Has anyone else heard of this. The HAC has always tended to include a lot of City of London businessmen due to the proximity of the HQ to the City.

The miniatures - incl. MLM and an Officers Decoration.

Lt Col John Edmund EVERINGTON came to Rhodesia 1st Dec 1947. Born 20/10/09 in London. Served S Lancs Regt. Not sure what he received the MLM for but he held a few important appointments in Rhodesia; Member Defence Exemptions Board, Chair Rhodesian Railways Ind, Hon Rep in Rhodesia for the Forces Help Society, Director Central African Airways (1957 - 1963), etc. I can drop you a scan of the page from Whos Who of Southern Africa that I have.

Rich

The expert on BSAP Colonial Period medals and especially the Colonial Police Long Service Medals is Brian Taylor (himself ex BSAP). Brian lives in the UK now and is always happy to provide information to fellow collectors. If you need his eMail address let me know.

Rich

.......and this is the reverse.

"Democratic Republic of Congo Campaign Medal"

This is a Zimbabwe award for its forces that served in the Congo campaign (1998-2002). They were issued from mid 2006 some 4 years after the campaign had finished.

Warrant Information: Medal created by Zimbabwe Stautory Instrument 198 of 2001. Awarded under Section 3 of the Zimbabwe Honours and awards Act. The original Warrant describes the medal as follows; Circular medal 38mm in diameter. Made of bronze. "Bears on the obverse the words "DRC" and bears on the reverse the words "F.A.A., F.A.C., N.D.F., Z.D.F.". Attached by a suspender bar to a ribbon thirty two millimetres in width consisting of five equal vertical stripes in the order of blue, yellow, blue, yellow and blue; the colours of the DRC national flag". Eligibility. "Persons who were or are on active duty from 28 August 1998 or who remained in Zimbabwe directing, co-ordinating and marshalling resources for those at the battle front in the campaign to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Democratic Republic Of Congo."

Changes to Medal Design from original Warrant. The actual medal as produced and issued is 6 sided in shape and manufactured from a poor quality metal - not bronze. Medal is attached by a small fixed ring to a larger, loose suspender ring through which the ribbon passes. Obverse is illustrated with a map outline of the DRC incorporating the words "DRC" in large capitals. Above this are the words "SADC" (Southern African Development Community) in large capitals. Below, in small capitals are the words "OPERATION SOVEREIGN LEGITIMACY".

Actual ribbon colours issued on medals; black, red, yellow, blue, yellow, red, green.

Megan

It is the Liberation Decoration. Somewhere I have a Zimbabwe Govt Gazette with the names of a few hundred recipients and i think ive also got a copy of the warrant with issue criteria. Collecting Zim medals for over 15 years I have noted that this a scarce and generally hard to find medal. The one in my collection is not numbered or named and i think this was the case for most of them.

Richard