JBFloyd

Doc, Start here: http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/home.aspx?geotype=London and work through "Search the Archive". Searching on the surname between 1940 and 1980 brought up only about 4 hits, which sort out quickly.

Miss Helen Marion Wallich was made a serving sister in the 15 January 1960 London Gazette. She received her civil MBE in the London Gazette of 1 January 1953 for service as the Assistant Secretary, British Empire Leprosy Relief Association. She died 4 December 1973.

I've seen miniature Waterloo Medals that seemed contemporary with the full-size issue.

No casualty by that name listing for the ASC, so he apparently survived it all.

I'm interested. I can read a fair amount of Portuguese, but an English section would be very helpful.

Knight's gold cross (i.e., knight first class)

Mike, Many thanks. I'll pass this along to my guy. Jeff

Can anyone recommend a researcher to help a non-collector? He's trying to get service papers on an ancestor who served in the British Army in the 1860's (in India). I think all of my contacts have retired to the Home for Aged Researchers.

"Yun-Hui" = Order of the Cloud and Banner. "Yun-Hui" is the transliteration most commonly used in US paperwork relating to such an award. To transliterate the award name through Russian could easily bring up "Yoon Gui" or several similar sounding names.

Perhaps some tansliteration problems from Chinese to Russian to English, but maybe what is commonly transliterated as "Yun-Hui" in US paperword (Order of the Cloud and Banner).

Ulsterman's reference is to an event in early 1972 (probably just prior to the Easter Offensive). I was working a night shift on the radar scope at the 619th Tactical Control Squadron (my call sign was Paris 33), at Tan Son Nhut. A helicopter checked in on our frequency formally and about 2 minutes later checked out. Then about 5 minutes later, he repeated that process. Another few minutes passed and he was back to repeat this process again. On a night shift, with little happening, a controller was happy to talk to almost anyone, so I asked him what he was doing. His response was that he was "filling out Air Medals". He had been tasked to load up short-timers who were just below the required missions for their Air Medal and get them those missions. So he was taking off from one side of Hotel 3 (the helipad at Tan Son Nhut) and flying to the other side, where he landed. By checking in and out with a control center, he had completed a sortie. Everybody on board got their numbers for an Air Medal, I got credit for a few sorties controlled (among the 10,100 I handled that year), and all was well with the world. From one perspective, it was gaming the system, but it was also a case where a commander understood how things worked and took a few steps to see that his troops got a ribbon to wear home.

The badge looks like a Queen's crown.

I'd expect the back to be polished and not have that "paperclip" pin.

Most likely to be: (1) Venezuela Order of the Liberator (also known as the Bust of Bolivar); Ecuador Order of Abdon Calderon; Panama Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa. While a Canal Zone assignment is highly plausible, he could equally have been an attache. Prior to WWII, it was not uncommon for attaches to be accredited to multiple countries in Latin America.

They are simply a US Navy design Medal of Honor, just like the other design variations. Originals have the dates "1917-1918" on the obverse.

Sorry, bad information. I meant to say "Order of Saint Nicholas the Miracle Worker". This is illustrated in Werlich's "Orders and Decorations of All Nations" (first edition, page 271).

The last appears to be the "Russian" Order of the Compassionate Heart. Next to it is a Jerusalem Pilgrim's Cross. The other looks to be the Belgian Medal for Political Prisoners 1914-1918.

Italian Republic for the eagle badge.

Looks like one of the hundreds of veterans' and unit commemorative badges.

Peterson also refers to an "M" mint mark on early Rising Sun badges, but explains no further. I was under the impression that the Osaka Mint was the only true mint, so "maker's mark" is probably a better term here. But it's still a mystery why they would use Latin letters.

If you assume that one or more WWI ribbons follow this bar, his IGS 08 should have been awarded for one of the pre-war actions (NWF 1908 or Abor 1911-12). Since the Abor clasp is unusual to Europeans, it would push the search toward the regiments receiving the "NWF 1908" clasp: 1/Northumberland Fusiliers 1/R Warwickshire Regt 1/W Yorkshire Regt 1/Seaforth Highlanders 1/R Munster Fusilers Although lots of other support units qualified. So, even based on simple assumptions, it will be hard to narrow this one down.

Mundane? Well... depends upon your definition. Perhaps as interesting a story as a VC. Order of the Bath Victorian Order Distinguished Service Order (the two holes could indicate a second award) China 1900 India General Service Medal 1908 So, probably the first bar of a senior officer. His second bar would have had WWI ribbons, coronation ribbons and perhaps a foreign gong.

And the last batch. The one on the yellow/blue ribbon is labelled "Good Soldier Medal". The last came out of Myanmar, but looks like it's of Chinese origin (although probably a souvenir/good luck token sort of thing). This whole batch came through an employee of an NGO who travels extensively to places well off the beaten path. Ed, these will reappear at the end of May.

THe reverse of lot 3. The 5-petalled star is labelled "Civil War Medal".

And Lot 3.