Ed_Haynes

BARODA -- Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

This named on edge: "HAV. AMRITRAO MADHAVRAO MAHDIK. 1936".

McClenaghan #59, p. 64.

DHRANGADHRA -- Rajyabishek Medal, 1942 - gold

For the coronation of Maharaja Mayurdhvaj Singh in 1942. His Highness is still alive, the last KCSI and the last of ther "Ruling Princes".

McClenaghan #113.

Since these are here "on home leave" this weekend, a few more. Apolologies for the naked medals but the ribbons are MUCH rarer than the medals themselves.

HOLKAR (INDORE) -- Muntazim Bahadur, Class III Silver Medal of the 2nd Class

These are immansely confusing. McClenaghan (#141, p. 151) traces just 36 awards, mainly to accountants, teachers, household officers, and pensioners.

If it makes us feel any better, the DM requirements were immensely confusing to people at the time too.

It was established as, and the requirements drafted as, something like a "Defence of Britian Medal", essentially a "Blitz Medal". It was also a medal that Churchill meddled often and actively in, so the intricate inclusions and exclusions and conditions within conditions may not be such a surprise. As much as a micro-manager as he was, it is amazing he found time to lead a country in war. (For example, a four-page hand-written memo to the Committee on Honours and Awards in Time of War on what the difference was between the terms "clasp" and "bar" when they were being discussed for the various WWII medals -- he even took time to talk with the King specifically on this issue!!)

As the war went on and spread and as more and more non-UK personnel got into the match, the qualifications for the DM were stretched and edited, but they always kept their UK focus (and, many thought, bias). Auckenleck, for example, explicitly attacked the qualifications as "racist" (his word, not mine, so don't blame me). This led to the creation of the various "commonwealth" service medals for India, South Africa, Canada, Australia, etc. as surrogate non-UK-specific Defence Medals (though, in some cases, you could have been awarded both).

As I said, don't worry that the Defence Medal has confusing and mind-numbing qualifications, it was true at the time, it is true now. In an ongoing project on Indian WWII medals and their naming, I am probably spending 85% of my time just trying to disentangle the DM!

For anyone with any interest in these, it is worth investing in a copy of "'Campaign Stars and Commemorative Medals Instituted For The 1939-45 War (The War Office, 11/6/1948)". You can get it through the National Archives (a.k.a. PRO). Go to: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/ . In the upper left corner, enter the PRO file reference: WO 279/557; click "Go to Reference"; then (on the right side) click "Request This"; then follow the instructions for either ordering it digitally (and having it emailed to you); or on paper, (and sent to you in the post).

But do bear in mind that, beyond this, local governments made often extensive regulations that fine-tined and/or forther muddied what the Brits had concocted. In India, these run to something like 10-12 pages, in documents spread out across three different files of two different government departments in the archives.

And numbered . . . NICE!

Though I'm not sure I'd consider the outstanding worker of people's education to be "unimportant"?! (Written in my real-world guise of a university professor .)

We really do need to try to sort out the confusing R 01 to R 08 series.

Sure, but there was a serial number before it got remounted and there is ownership even for unnumbered medals. Absent solid provenance, you never know.

Just hate to see real groups get broken up and replaced by manufactured (faked) "neo-groups". It happens, alas, in all phaleristic fields.

Yes, the first one probably was fake.

The second one seems to be a mis-match and NOT the medal of the guy whose impressive documents you have. A marriage made in hell. These things are not for mix-and-match.

Sigh . . . .

Nice documents, though!

A shame his medals -- all of them -- have disappeared.

Thanks, mate!

Especially after 1992, these have gone crazy. Some day someone may sort them out. Maybe the best we can do now is to record them.

Has anyone ever seen one with the pre-1960 coat of arms? Maybe R 46 is all we see of the pre-1960 badges? Speaking of that, anyone ever seen a badge for Choibalsan State University?

Thanks again!

Enough for now! More later.

Please fill in the holes . . .

R NIB 10 -- Unknown

What does the abbreviation mean??

With the post-1992 coat of arms.

R NIB 09 -- Unknown

What does the abbreviation mean??

With the post-1992 coat of arms.

R NIB 08 -- Unknown

What does the abbreviation mean??

With the post-1992 coat of arms.

R NIB 07 -- Unknown

What does the abbreviation mean??

With the post-1992 coat of arms.

R NIB 06 -- Unknown

And, since 1992, these things seem to have proliferated like crazy!

What does the abbreviation mean??

With the post-1992 coat of arms.

Two specimens.

R NIB 05 -- Unknown

What does the abbreviation mean??

With the 1960-92 coat of arms.

R NIB 04 -- Unknown

What does the abbreviation mean??

With the 1960-92 coat of arms.

Two specimens, one with lucite backing. Very odd.

R NIB 03 -- Chengiz Khan Academy

What do they teach??

R NIB 02 -- Unknown Private College Badge

R 78 -- Pin of a Private College

Private (for-profit?) colleges seem to have proliferated like crazy. So have their badges? Battushig lists this one.

R 81 (var) -- White Laval College

A significant variation with green enamel.

R 71 -- University of Marxism and Leninism

Two specimens.

R 62 -- Institute of Agriculture

Shown above, but here are three slightly different specimens. Displays the TREMENDOUS variability seen in these badges.

With the 1960-92 coat of arms.

R 57 -- Medical Institute

With the 1960-92 coat of arms.

R 54 (var) -- State Pedagocical Institute

Significantly different from what Battushig shows! Blue enamel rather than green.

With the 1960-92 coat of arms.

R 48 -- Party Institute

Though shown above, here are a couple of minor variants. With the 1960-92 coat of arms.