Vatjan

They definitely started at "1" again each time they changed the design, I've seen type 1's with serial numbers in the 700 range, type 2 n?s 57-2800+, and a type 3 n?2. Now, to know if they were replacements that is hard say, I've no idea. On the other hand there were approx 3000 type 2 awarded and they are fairly common, but there were approx 2500 Red Banner for Military Valor Orders awarded which are MUCH, MUCH rarer. Their design changed more drastically also. So maybe these were exchanged and Polar stars not. Remember I do not know, I'm just thinking aloud So to quote Rick: We need documented Orders Book and awards SETS SETS SETS Jan

Don't worry about it Igor, Belgian names are often written in a "bizarre" way, and your English isn't half as bad as you think It is just so great to read all this information, this motivates me even more, to do some more digging myself. Jan

Hippolyte Semet , major Receive Georgian Sword (order of 11 Army 11.10.1917 № 689 ) Also received -Officer Order of Leopold 1 with palm -Officer Crown order with palm -Croix de Guerre with 3 palms -Belgian allied victory medal -Commemorative medal 1914-1918 -Order of St Vladimir 3 & 4 class with swords and horizontal ribbon Felix Oudenne, shtabs-kapitan (SEE PIC IN ATTACH) Receive Order of st. George 4th class (order of 11 Army 20.12.1916 № 943 ) & Georgian Sword (order of 7 Army 21.11.1917 № 1888 ) Also received -Knight Order of Leopold 1 with palm -Knight Crown order with palm -Croix de Guerre with 5 palms and 3 lions -Yzer medal -Belgian allied victory medal -Commemorative medal 1914-1918 -Order of St Vladimir 3rd class with swords and horizontal ribbon -Order of St Anna 2nd class -Order of St Stanislas 2nd class

They brought tears to my eyes, sheer poetry, I can almost smell the perfumes of the Sahara

Thanks for all the info Igor Here is the citation for Bertrand: "For courage shown as the commander of the 11th mixed brigade and of the 3rd army division. " Jan

Maybe those who read cyrillic could provise a little name translation for all these marvelous documents

I'm with you Ed, Labour awards are generally neglected, whatever country they come from. It takes some hard work, not to mention getting up early, to make us our daily bread, your car won't run smoothly if someone didn't get his hands dirty while working on it,... Workers of the world unite!!!.. Oops... getting a little carried away Just to say I like civilian medals as well. Jan

Lovely collection, Bob. Do post more

Bottom row 1914-15with palm and star, 1914-15 with fourrag?re, 1914-16 three stars and palm, 1914-17 with star, 1914-17 silverplated, 1914-18 four palms two stars Middle row french production variants 1939 Top row North Africa production (wrong ribbon), the so called "Corps expeditionnaire en Italie" production (2x), London model (2x) and a "flatback" variant. We must be careful though with these "local" manufactures, there is as yet no concensus amongst collector's as to where exactly which variant was produced. Jan

Everytime I see one, my knees go weak, my vision becomes blurry and my hand goes to my wallet

Croix de Guerre anyone ?? Jan

These numbers do NOT include the medals given to ACM soldiers at the Russian front

OK, here are the numbers, there might still be a few mistakes in there, but not too many I hope. Belgian soldiers were awarded, between August 1914 and January 1916, with 30 St Georges crosses 3rd class 69 St Georges crosses 4th class 7 St Georges crosses ??th class (I could not find any precisions for these) 22 St Georges medals 1st class 50 St Georges medals 2nd class 70 St Georges medals 3rd class 104 St Georges medals 4th class 5 St Georges medals ??th class I could not find any precisions for these) So a total of: 106 crosses and 251 medals I will try to go to the Documentation centre of the Army Museum in Brussels this week, to try and find the original award paper Guy mentions Jan

Hendrik, can we learn what grade this guy had from the orders he received, or could even a normal soldier have received these particular orders? Jan

Yes, I will be finishing the encoding tonight and send it to you later

I love the way the animals all have a big smile on their faces, to show how happy they are living in Mongolia

Well, I think we should at least have its dimensions before we can make some more wild guesses as to what it might be.

This is what the wall plaques for ministeries etc... look like

No idea what it is, but I find it has a certain charm, the way the drawings are crudely hand made. The rider's head comes straight out of a comic book.

I've got all the names, but alas no numbers. But I keep digging. Jan

Dolf, I was under the impression that the back of the early series is somewhat "textured" where as the 4500 series is very smooth. Can you confirm this. Jan PS: "the plot thickens" is a Sherlock Holmes quote that means that things are getting more complicated

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! Thank you Igor, one more piece of the puzzle falls into its place I'm finishing a listing with all references for St George Orders, crosses and medals to Belgian Soldiers, I could find. When it's finished I will send you a copy for your documentation. Thanks again Jan

Unfortunately, I do not own his medals, I'm trying to retrace his history. I know he was awarded with a knight Belgian Leopold I order, knight Belgian Crown order with Palm, Belgian War Cross with 2 palms, Belgian Allied Victory medal, Belgian Commemorative medal WWI and apparantly with the St George order (not cross) 4th class, as commander of the Belgian expeditionary Auto-Canon-Machinegun Corps in Russian. Thanks again Jan

Great info Igor, thank you. You mention there were 925 St George medals given, do you know how many crosses were awarded? Are these awards referenced in the London Gazette? (I don't seem to find them) Jan PS: Is there a list of the recipients of the 4th class of the St George order. I'm trying to find out more about Commander Paul Roze (Belgium) who was awarded with this order.

Thanks Igor, Nice group, could we see the back also? Jan