Hendrik

Hello Michael, I would think the Vichy type (1939-1940 reverse) is the more likely to have been awarded. As the recipient was no longer around after France's liberation, I doubt his descendants would have bothered much about replacing the award but, if they did, altering the ribbon would have been sufficient. Regards, Hendrik

Hello Michael, The WW2 Commemorative Medal was, as far as I know, not awarded posthumously. Similarly, the Croix du Combattant Volontaire would not have been posthumously awarded for WW2 service. However, I think your ancestor would have been entitled to the 1914-1918 one. His WW2 Croix de Guerre was awarded with a gilt star on its ribbon. A tentative order of wear would be as follows : Médaille Militaire CdG 1916 with silver star on ribbon CdG 1939 with gilt star on ribbon Croix du Combattant Volontaire 1914-1918 Croix du Combattant Médaille Commémorative française de la grande guerre Victory Medal Wound ribbon with 1 red enamel star Regards, Hendrik

Hi Duncan, The Gete (or Gette) is a small river that runs North-South in the east of Flanders, between Halen (known for a disastrous German cavalry charge in WWI) and Budingen. On 13 and 14 May 1940 it was the scene of heavy combat in which a number of Belgian units of all branches of the army withstood German attacks before making an orderly retreat. The Gete Line had served, up to that time, as a rearguard position for reassembling retreating units. The "La Gette" bar went mostly to cavalry (including armoured car squadrons) and artillery units present. Regards, Hendrik

Hi Mark, The medals from the Leopold III era and the later Baudouin I period existed in 2 classes, bronze and silver. The latter were actually manufactured in silvered bronze, not in sterling silver. Looks like you ended up with one that had a rough life ? Regards, Hendrik

Hi, It is. Bronze medal of the King Leopold III era. Comes with either a blue ribbon (military) or predominantly yellow ribbon (civil). Regards, Hendrik

Hello Elizabeth, As mentioned above, the official award was either a red star on a campaign medal's ribbon or the ribbon bar with star. In practice, however, many preferred to wear a medal and medal manufacturers were quick to provide... As you can see from Pat66's post, they did so in a wide variety of models. For your resistance group (maybe post pictures in a separate post ? It would be nice to see.), it's perhaps best not to choose an open wreath one but a round, solid medal with the star points not protruding. Regards, Hendrik

Hi Gents, According to Borné, the Royal Decree of 15 december 1917, published in the "Belgisch Staatsblad"/"Moniteur Belge" of 23 - 31 december 1917, does stipulate the lion device being cut out. It would be lovely to actually see a scan of the original published text of that decree ... Regards, Hendrik

Hello Elizabeth & all, What has perhaps not been stated clearly is that - although their wear was condoned - the above wound medals were considered non-official awards until 2016. Up till then the official award consisted of an enamelled red star being affixed on the corresponding campaign medal or a slip-on bar with a red star being placed on the campaign medal's ribbon. The latter, on the WW2 Commemorative Medal, would perhaps fit your 1940-48 time frame depending on what exactly you're looking for. Regards, Hendrik

Hello Duncan, The bar was awarded for participation in air operations effected from the UK territory between 25 June 1940 and 8 May 1945 : "Barrette « Grande-Bretagne » pour les opérations aériennes effectuées de ce territoire du 25 juin 1940 au 8 mai 1945" Regards, Hendrik

Hello Duncan, I'm afraid the "citation star" on the bronze class of this medal only serves to puncture a perfectly good ribbon. If the medal was awarded with a citation, it would have been its silver class. Normally the silver class comes with a blue enamelled star on its ribbon; an award with a citation was denoted by a red enamelled star. Regards, Hendrik

Hi Nick, Nice one. The reverse translate to something like "one victory of faith, one will : peace". The dates suggest the 50th anniversary of Italy's entry into WWI. The obverse indicates the provincial federation of Verona of the National Veterans Association. Regards, Hendrik

Thanks, Gents, for that info - one learns every day on forums (and I need better reading glasses too !) ? Regards, Hendrik

Hi, I don't know anything about ranks and uniforms but the medals worn in the picture suggest a civilian diplomatic official. The neck badge and breast star of the Order of Nichan-Iftikar point to service in Tunisia and the presence of the Belgian Order of Leopold, civilian division and the Portuguese Order of Aviz further confirm diplomatic service. The first two medal, Academic Palms and Agricultural Order are among the commonest French decorations for officials. Regards, Hendrik

Hi, I think that a honorary rank as displayed on the diploma means the recipient was no longer in the armed forces reserve at the time. It would also mean that such was his rank when in said reserve and that he thus never rose to general rank. I'm certainly no expert in the matter but I'm inclined to think it is another Pierre Huot that received this decoration, the name is not that uncommon ... Ha, just now, when going over the diploma again, I happen to notice the date of birth is indicated on it : 3 January 1920 - so not your Brigadier General born in 1904 ! Sorry for the bad news. Regards, Hendrik

Hi, It may help to note that on the diploma he's identified as Honorary Infantry Lt.Col. ... Regards, Hendrik

Is it possible to merge this topic with the earlier identical one Regards, Hendrik

Hello Simon, The "7" likely refers to the wearer's unit : the 7th Regiment of .... infantry, cavalry, artillery, dragoons, "tirailleurs africains", etc. etc. With the Military Medal fourragère in place, the only unit I can find is the "Compagnie 15/12 du 7e régiment de génie ( 09/08/1917 ) " (source : website France-phaleristique). Regards, Hendrik

Hello Duncan, You might find the France Phaleristique website useful : look under DECORATIONS and then scroll down to MEDAILLES D'HONNEUR ... lots of "civil" medals there ? Regards, Hendrik

Hello, Further to the above, the Leopold I monogram with the "I" in the centre merely indicates it was manufactured by the firm of Wolfers, the "II" in the centre points to manufacture by the firm of Heremans. Regards, Hendrik

Very nice and interesting website, Dave - keep up the good work !!! Regards, Hendrik

The last action for which the clasp was allowed was a reconnaissance mission to Oued-Nesly under the command of a Major Pein between 23 and 30 January 1906. Your medal is from 1914 at the very earliest. I don't think it is possible to attribute it to a particular battle/campaign/mission unless you have information about its original recipient. Also, the time between the campaign and the award of a medal and bar may be considerable. By way of example, I have a Colonial Medal with clasp TUNISIE (last campaign ended in 1918 for that clasp) and its award certificate is dated November 1931 ... Tchüß, Hendrik

Hi, It only needs one to make a mistake and then others copy it on from there ... I've seen it happen before ? Regards, Hendrik

Hello Gentlemen, The above Colonial Medal is of the 2nd official type and manufactured by the Paris Mint (silver mark "1" between cornucopia). This type was manufactured between 1914 and 1962. The 1930 date on the northeastmedals website makes no sense to me ... The bar "ALGERIE" in the pictures was manufactured by the Paris firm of Arthus-Bertrand. It could be awarded for campaigns up till 1906. Regards, Hendrik

Hi Nick, Once again my heartfelt thanks for your quick and knowledgeable reply ! Regards, Hendrik

Hi, I would appreciate any information on this medal and its box. Thanks & regards, Hendrik