Vatjan

Yes, of course, my mistake. They received British War Medals & Mercantle Marine Medals. Jan

Hi, Some 700 belgian merchant marine sailors received the british mercantile marine & victory medal. They also received belgian maritime awards & victory & commemorative medals. There are 2 main groups: the first, mainly from Antwerp who sailed on the ships of the Antwerp-Congo line, the second: mainly from Ostend who sailed on the ships of the Ostend-Dover line. Names can be checked on the UK NA site, alas no crewlists have been found yet, that could link the sailors to their ship. The second person is wearing Belgian Congo award: A gilt service star (model 1910), medal in the Order of the Lion, another medal (hard to tell if it is also an Order of the Lion or an Order of the African Star), silver service star (model 1889). Best regards, Jan

Thank you for posting this, your contributions are as always most informative. Best regards, Jan

To be honest, I never really thought he looked "Friendly" to begin with? Jan

That's great Bob. Nice to see groupings being reunited. Jan

Thank you for posting this! It is wonderful to get an insight on the creation process. Jan

Very nice, thank you for showing, and especially for identifying these. Jan

Another great addition to your collection Bob. And another reminder to get my booklets off the shelf and get the research going. Jan

Congratulations and thank you for showing this badge. Jan

It's great to see these, thank you for posting. A quick translation of this last document would be greatly appreciated. Best regards, Jan

Thank you for making these corrections. This is most useful. Jan

Only about 450 men were entitled to this bar. Jan

Seems like a restrike. The original has a dot pattern on the flat base (background) of the bar, here I see more of a stripes pattern, which is telltale for the fake. Jan

Wonderful photos Bob. They add so much more to an already facinating order. Jan PS: I have a couple of partisan docs, so I am keenly looking forward to any info that might come to light. :whistle:

Great to see these come to life. Jan

Hi, If while reading you find a reference to the Belgian armoured car corps, also fighting on the Russian front, I would love hear it. Tx Jan

There are more great pictures on that website, for those who don't mind browsing. Tx Jan

Great pic, tx Jan

Impressive, how did a Major General manage to NOT have an ORCB or SB? Thanks for the picture Jan

Great story, great research, congratulations, Bob. Jan

Vey impressive. Thank you for sharing. Any other specials in there? Awards to French or Belgian or...? Jan

I'm interested too!!!! :jumping: :jumping:

Wonderful to see these pictures, thank you for sharing Jan

Because there aren't many Belgians who got multiple MID's. Jan

It means the veterans had to fill in a form an send it to the ministry themselves in order to be taken in account for a promotion in the national orders. They had to ask for it. Not every veteran was entitled to swords on the orders. You had to have a certain number of war"points" to get them. These points were calculated on the number of frontstripes you got, which medals you were awarded, citations, etc... If you had enough points you got your first promotion with swords, and 10 years afterwards another, and so on. Not enough points, no promotions, ergo no swords. Again, promotion here means, getting a higher grade of a national order. This has nothing to do with military grades or rank. Jan