Lion

honour cross of Fedekam first class, second class, commander and grand star, there are also medals, one in bronze possible also silver and golden medals, the ribbon has a different colour then the honour crosses.

unofficial order of Belgian military music bands, they can probably also be issued to civilians (?). They are issued by an organisation but I don't know the name.

["De dolman wordt gedragen als stadskledij tot 1914. Ten velde wordt hij gedragen door de ruiters tot 1891 en door de onderofficieren tot 1903." interpretation and translation The military uniform (dolman) was also worn when off duty (in the city, in civilian life) untill 1914. When in service the dolman was worn by the cavalry until 1891 and by petty officiers untill 1903.

perhaps the second 'hussars' regiment (chasseurs à cheval) see link http://users.telenet.be/ABL1914/Uniform/2JagersTePaard.jpg

about the combat action of the Belgian regiments who were stationed in Northern Ireland. Most Belgian regiments who where in Northern Ireland saw action in the Netherlands. One of the regiments was named after the UK expeditionary army in Belgium (Spearhead), In the beginning of the war the remains of the official Belgian army was spread all over the UK. At the end of the war, when some parts of Belgian were liberated, the army recruited a lot of volunteers from the secret army and other men. After a short training period, they were used to fight in Holland, They were attached to some US army groups. There exist bars for the belgian commemorative WWII medal with the names of the cities and towns where they fought.

It is a Belgian medal: unofficial tricolore band on the sides and the colours red and white indicate the city of Bruges. then I have to guess, Bruges has a port and also a beach, so maybe it is a medal for life guards on the beach.

Very nice sets, the good thing about these medals is that the tradition continues and that the successor of the UNAO now also has medals for service in the BRD and service in other countries (Congo, Benin, former Zaire, Congo Brazaville, UN missions, ...) during the Cold War in the 60's, the 70's, the 80's and the 90's. They have a specific medal for service in the BRD during the cold war period. The silver palms of the Rhine occupation army from Garth (first picture) is one pre WWII so for service in Germany after WWI. I also discovered a fourth class: golden palms of the rhine occupation army with a rosette on the ribbon. Never a dull moment with Belgian medals.

I should check wether it is possible to have a star on the ribbon without golden stripe. Normally one star is given as a special recommendation on the ribbon. I should check wether it is possible to have more then one star.

Silver stars and golden stars can be added as a ribbon emblem on the medals of the Order of Leopold II. There are fivepointed stars and sixpointed stars. I have seen people with a sixpointed star as a ribbon emblem without the golden stripe in an official meeting. I should check wether it is possible to have a star on the ribbon without golden stripe. Normally one star is given as a special recommendation on the ribbon. I should check wether it is possible to have more then one star. However I have seen veterans who place non official emblems of veteran medals on the ribbons of official orders. That could explain the variety of ribbon emblems on ribbons also for commemorative medals. Sometimes you could see the sign of a deportation society on the ribbon of the Auschwitz cross, an irish cross on the ribbon of a military fighter medal WWII (Irish training camp), a polish eagle to indiate that the person whas a Polish fighter and stayed after the war in Belgium....... Many of these emblems go back to the veteran society and the history of the regiment. But these are non official and of course you have people who add ribbon emblems to ribbons to get a higher price.

The first one is probably Knight in the order of the Crown: with silver palm 14-18: official model This indicates that he was involved in WWI The second is the military cross with rosette, indicates that he is an officier with a number of years of service or a somewhat higher rank. The third one is a commemorative medal for the reign of Leopold II. It is possible this is only a part of a bar, there should be a WWI victory medal and a commemorative medal for WWI. But the fact that he has a the military cross first class and a Knight's medal could be an indication that he was not involved in combat action. I should expect an officer's medal in the order of the Crown, next to a military cross first class, certainly if he was more closely involved in any military action. It is possible that he was already of some age when the war started.

It is a Belgian veteran medal. the Veterans occupied a part of Germany after WWI and after WWII. The veterans formed a group: in French: Union nationale des anciens de l'occupation commonly known as UNAO. Veterans of the occupation of the Rhineland. They have medals, crosses and palms for service after WWI and for service after WWII. offcial name: silver palms of the UNAO It certainly has a value for collectors of unofficial Belgian medals: Veteranen van het Rijnland bezettingsleger ? Union Nationale des anciens d?occupation

There are classes for this medal bronze, silver and gold

I have a ribbon bar for "Golden Palms in the order of the Crown" It is a modern version, for a slide bar.

this is a very nice Belgian medal and it would be a great match with a medal of "the Royal Household of Albert I" If you could match this medal with a medal of the Royal Household of Albert I (for foreigners and/or belgians) it would be a beautiful and extremely rare medal set.

I just looked again, I assumed the lower emblem were two little crossed sabres, but I can't tell from the picture if the lower emblem is a crossed sabres-emblem? Are it crossed sabres?

Correct: a gold star is the official ribbon attribute for service in Congo during WWII. It is most likely Congo-related. It could be from of a Belgian officer or a native soldier but also from a british soldier or officer (RAF) who flew on Congo.

I don't think it is official. The crossed swords refer to a combattant. Comparable with the combat action badge of the US army. The shield shows the Congo-star. It is not a navy man or a merchant navy man, else he would have two crossed anchors on his ribbon. Two options: an unofficial attribute of a belgian army man in Congo (Belgian Airforce) or it was an unofficial attribute to a belgian officier fighting in the Force Publique (FP : the colonial congolese army) for the belgians in Congo. The FP fought under Belgian command mostly against the Italians (Abesynia,....) A lot of Belgian pilots and other belgian military personnel were integrated in the SAAF during WWII (SAAF) = South African Airforce.

Now you mention the name, I remember it. The name is correct So there are at least two resistance groups with skulls on the ribbons of their medals Front Unique - Eenheidsfront and Federation of the Resistance of the Ardennes

I have seen skulls attached on the ribbons of belgian medals of a resistance group. Only one group seem to do that most likely the group mentioned above;

It is possible that there will be new medals for members of the Belgian police force. They are talking about it for years, but from what I have understood is that there is a study group who has delivered drawings of the new medals to the belgian home office. The rumour is that home office has agreed with these proposals.

Does someone have pictures of these medals? - Medal for Family Merit - Medals for Agricultural and Artisanal Merit

Most interesting, thank you

I'm trying to get an overview of the Belgian Congo medals after WW II. 1. the service star 2. administration medals Baudoin I (three classes) 3. 50 years belgian army in congo Does someone know more medals?

Do you mean the armed resistance medal?

Could it be a ribbon bar of the first veteran cross Albert I?