Ed_Haynes

Thanks. where is it? Looking at a map gives no joy.

You expect these decisions to make sense, Paul???

I would fully agree: -- Not Austro-Hungarian (who ever thought it was?!) -- Not Ottoman (or even Turkish) -- Probably French colonial, I'd guess from Tunisia or Algeria

If you want help, an image might make something possible. And if you believe it is "Turkish" (I assume you mean Ottoman?) why post it in the Austria-Hungary section?

The Polar Star on te chap on the left and teh distinctive suspender on the fellow on the right scream "Mongolia". Wish the picture were clearer. Let me see if I have the Mongolian badge for that Spartakade . . . .

Mongolian

Yes, that seems most likely.

Hi Fran?ois, Welcome over here. The work you have been doing on the OMSA site is fascinating and absolutely groundbreaking. I think a separate sub-forum over here on post-Soviet Russia (and maybe the other successor republics?) would be an extremely good idea. Cheers, Ed

The guy I refer to is General Abdul Rashid Dostum (who is quite a "piece of work"). Never seen an image of him wearing his medals, however.

My guess, too, would be IDF. Their uniforms were close, but not quite "on", and rather more "theatrical" than regular army. Unfortunately, I don't know badges (but this is an odd one). Within the year, we may have along-anticipated book on them. Cross fingers.

Very interesting. I once had the chance to meet a double recipient of this award, so it must have existed. It wasn't a situation where I could ask to see his medals (I was trying to presuade him to get his guards to lower their AK-47s).

Thank you for this, Bob. Actually, I have been going through my stacks of orphaned booklets and planning a post here, suggesting some fine-tuning of the accepted chronology.

Ah, yes. The mine clearing units. Very interesting!

Yes. The familiar 1915 Harp Madalyasi / War Medal 1915. German and British collectors have invented their own names for it. See: http://www.turkishmedals.net/decorations.htm#1915 War Medal

Absolutely, and I think the type 1 was Soviet made, from unfinished Red Stars. It is, however, unmarked for any manufacturer. I am told that Russian collectors (predictably?) have some intricate (but unproven) theories here.

Just for comparison, both standard types. -- type 1 (1980-87) - #1248 -- type 2 (1987-92) - #1607 This "Khalq" version would have been earlier.

If you can find it, F. T. Birdwood, The Sikh Regiment in the Second Worfd War (Norwich: Jarrold and Sons, {date?]) will be of value. As you probably know (data extracted from John Gaylor, Sons of John Company, and Chris Kempton, 'Loyalty and Honour', part III), the 6/11th was raised at Nowsherah only on 7 August 1940, served in India and Burma, and was disbanded on 5 August 1946. Kempton gives a breakdown of the battalion's various assignments. If I were in Delhi now, I could check the Indian Army Lists for you with ease.

Well, after some delay (did the postal folks just not want to have to carry it around?) it is in hand. Well maybe not "in hand", "on desk". As others have observed, the first impression is that it is a BIG book. It makes the latest BB&M look almost tiny. The second imnpression, I am sorry to say, is that the standards of production are indeed disappointing. Indian publishers can do better and this volume falls much below the standard even of recent USI-I publications which, though they were not done by established publishers, have been of uniform high quality; this book is not to that standard and this is sad. The quality of printing and paper is low, the binding I fear may not stand up to decades of frequent consultation (if you can lift the tome), and (and this may just be a personal kvetch) I find the guilding of the page edges and the flock of little page-marking ribbons to be something unprofessional, tacky, and pretentious. However, we buy books for their contents, not their aesthetics. The contents are outstanding and first rate. While we may quibble about what has been included and what has been excluded (has anything been excluded?), what is clear is that Ashok has given us one of the true landmark books of recent years. Given the short print run, this book will, in a short time, become a collectible in its own right. The quality of the contents outweighs (no pun intended) the price and the quality issues. For anyone with any interest in the badges of the Indian cavalry, this is now sacred text; for those with less focused interests in the history of the Indian Army (from 1750 to 2007, so wider than just "British" interest), this is a "must have". My two annas worth . . . .

And, for "equal time": 770 Flight Cadet Shakir Hussain, Air Headquarters, Royal Pakistan Air Force Unfortunately only the Pakistan Medal is named. His career is, at present, untraced. Unlike so many Pakistani "groups" that are around, I think this is halal.

My favorite IAF (ex-RIAF) group: 3162 Group Captain Harbans Singh Monga, Indian Air Force Mounting a bit ragged, but a long and impressive (and heavy) group. Date of Birth - 15-June-1923 Date of Commission - 25-June-1945 Date of Subst Rank of Flt Lt - 25-June-1950 Transport pilot. No.1 Transport Training Wing was based at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad. The 1TTW merged with the 2TTW at Yelhanka, Bangalore to form the TTW there. Thereafter Begumpet reverted to 'AFS Begumpet' name. No.1 TTW at that time operated C-47 Dakotas and Devons for Training. G/C Monga would most probably have flown C47s with No.12 Squadron in J and K Ops. 1- The General Service Medal, 1947 - JAMMU AND KASHMIR 1947-48 - 3162 FG. OFF. H. S. MONGA, I. A. F. 2- Samar Seva Star, 1965 - 3162 GP. CAPT. H. S. MONGA, I. A. F. 3- Poorvi Star, 1971 - missing, ribbon only 4- Paschimi Star, 1971 - missing, ribbon only 5- Raksha Medal, 1965 - 3162 GP. CAPT. H. S. MONGA, I. A. F. 6- Sangram Medal, 1971 - missing, ribbon only 7- Sainya Seva Medal - Himalaya - 3162 GP. CAPT. H. S. MONGA, I. A. F. 8- Videsh Seva Medal - Nepal - 3162 WG. CDR. H. S. MANGA, I. A. F. 9- The Indian Independence Medal, 1947 - 3162 FG. OFFR. H. S. MONGA, R.I.A.F. 10- 25th Independence Anniversary - missing, ribbon only 11- Twenty Years Long Service Medal - 3162 GP. CAPT. H. S. MONGA, I. A. F. 12- Nine Years Long Service Medal - 3162 GP. CAPT. H. S. MONGA, I. A. F. 13- The War Medal, 1939-45 - IND/3162 FLT/LT. H. S. MONGA, R. I. A. F.

Found one on Amazon, but $300+. Haven't checked ABE, but shall.

Very nice! Thanks, Demir (and Rick). More information on the Edhem Eldem book, please?

Nice. Always good to see the history restored to these things.

Actually, once you have given your address and all that, you are taken to a page where you have the choice of downloading a user-friendly PDF copy of the catalogue or getting one sent in paper (after a Paypal visit). Useful for Jani and his crew to have addresses on file so we can get helpful postal cards reminding us of upcoming auctions. A nice touch.

Thanks, Jani. Good news indeed!