azyeoman

An extremely rare 'Decorated by the Third Reich' British Naval Officers 'World Wars' medal group of 8: Commander Henry John Murphy, Royal Navy - 1914-15 Star (J.4647 H. J. Murphy, L.S., R.N.) - British War Medal. Silver issue (Mate H.J. Murphy. R.N.) - Interallied Victory Medal (Mate H.J. Murphy. R.N.) - 1939-45 Star - Burma Star - Defence Medal - War Medal with oakleaf 'Mention-in-Despatches' emblem - Germany Third Reich: Cross of Merit of the Red Cross Order, Verdienstkreuz Steckkreuz Note: This grouping has been reconstituted with the 'correct type and class' of Third Reich decoration. The German decoration being an extremely rare and valuable item of German insignia - being of a type that was only issued in the period 1937-1939 Important: Though not published in the London Gazette, Commander H.J. Murphy, R.N. was given unrestricted permission to accept and wear the Third Reich award (ref Admiralty letter dated 9th June 1938), as under; Quote, Sir, I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to inform you that His Majesty the King has bene pleased to grant you persmission to wear, without restriction, the Order of the German Red Cross conferred upon you by the German Government in recognition of your services to the wounded members of the crew of the German battleship DEUTSCHLAND at Gibraltar......... Unquote. The services referred to occurred in 1937 in the immediate aftermath of the 'Deutchland Incident' that occurred during the Spanish Civil War. Spanish Republican Air Force bombers attacked the German battleship 'Deutchland' causing an estimated 80 casualties including more then 50 deaths, the British helped evacuate the German wounded and provided extensive medical support through the British military and naval medical services located in Gibraltar. As a consequence an estimated 20 x German 'Red Cross' awards - of various grades -were bestowed upon British Naval and Military personnel for their services after the 'Deutchland Incident', of which only 4 were awarded to Naval personnel (2 x senior officers received the first class of the order, and two others including Murphy received the Cross of Merit, or 'Verdienstkreuz Steckkreuz'). See the related article by Norman Gooding on the 'Deutschland Incident', and the German awards granted, that was published in the Orders and Medals Research Society Journal of Winter 2000. Henry John Murphy, a native of Islington, London, England, was born there on 29 May 1893. By occupation a Draughtsman's Assistant, Henry joined the Royasl Navy as a 'Boy' rating on 29 May 1911. Evidently a person of considerable talent, it did not take long before Henry gained rapid promotion from the lower decks to being commissioned as an Officer. His naval carrer included; several years in the Submarine Service between 1918-1926; Staff Officer to the Commander-in-Chief (Far East) in Hong Kong from 1928; posted to Gibraltar in 1935, where he was commanding the shore base H.M.S. Cormarant, as well as being Chief Naval Intelligence Officer. He ended his career as a Captain in Port of Rangoon, Burma, and for which services in Burma he was awarded a well deserved 'Mention-in-Despatches' (ref London Gazette 17 December 1946) Sold together with a quantity of hard-copy associated research including; - Copied 'Service Sheet' - Copy of offiical German award document for Verdienstkreuz Steckkreuz - Copy of Admiralty letter granting unrestricted permission for the German award - Details of his Subnarine service The British campaign medals mounted in the swing-style, and presumably as-worn by the recipient. Suspended from contemporary silk weave ribands, the mounting brooch bar retains the original long hinged pin and clasp fittings.

It's an RAF Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (EII).

Here are a couple of links on 35 Sqd RAAF in Vietnam http://airwarvietnam.com/raafno35.htm http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au/royal-australian-air-force/35-squadron.php

Reverse of the WWI PoW Help badge Made by Fattorini in Bolton (which is in Yorkshire)

Obverse of WWI PoW Help badge Does anyone know of this organization?

African Service Medal 1749 L. A. Pett With cap badge, collar badges and brass shoulder titles for Umvoti Mounted Rifles. POW # 75438 Cpl held in Stalag 344 Lamsdorf, Germany.Also Immediate Military Medal “On 8th June 1942 Cpl. Pett as a member of an infantry company of the U.M.R. which was operating against the enemy in the area between barrels 11 and 13 in the Gazala Line of the Western Desert. It was necessary for the operation to dislodge the enemy from a strongly held position and to do this the infantry had to put in a frontal attack.Cpl. Pett acted as 2 i/c to Lieut. Mayne in right half of the company and throughout the attack displayed outstanding qualities of dash and courage.He led his platoon with daring and a total disregard of personal safety and materially assisted in the great success of the operation which resulted in completely routing the enemy, the taking of the position and the capturing of 460 prisoners and booty.”(LG 19 December 1946)

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Reverse of the New Zealand pair and info on the recipient. Barry 'Brownie' Wahanui. (Brownie is a common nick name for Maoris). His medals were named to him as a L/Cpl but the regimental records show him as a Cpl, so he was probably promoted to that rank just before he died on 19th April 1969 in Malaya. A NZ genealogy site states he is buried in Kawhia Cemetery on the west coast of the North Island, SW of Hamilton. Maoris go to extraordinary lengths to be buried on their ancestral land. So that cemetery is on Barry's tribal land which would have been in his tribe's ownership for hundreds of years. NZDF have advised that he served in Singapore, Malaysia and Borneo 1963 - 1966 and in Vietnam 1967 - 1969. On this basis basis his full medal entitlement is:- Operational Service Medal, CSM 1962 with clasps Borneo and Malay Peninsula, Vietnam Medal*, GSM (Warlike) with clasp Vietnam, Defense Service Medal with clasp Regular, Pingat Jasa Malaysia and Vietnamese Campaign Medal with 1960 date bar*. * medals shown below CSM 1962 - missing, but note, NZDF confirmed he is entitled to both clasps. (In NZ this medal is usually referred to as the General SM 1962, but correctly it is the Campaign SM 1962). The other medals are available for claiming by his n-o-k should they wish as they were issued long after he died as follows: OSM in 2002, GSM (W) + Viet. clasp 2008, DSM 2011, PJM 2006 W Company RNZIR made 3 tours to Vietnam. It was known as Whisky 1 (W1) or W2 or W3. W1 was in SVN between 16 Dec 1967 to 14 Nov 1968, therefore Defence are not quite correct in saying he was in Vietnam up to 1969 (unless he was too sick (?) to travel back to Malaya with the rest of W1). The NZ infantry companies were attached to Australian Battalions and most of the NZ'ers were brought up to speed in Malaya prior to flying into SVN. When their tours were finished they flew back to Malaya. Assuming Barry Wahanui left SVN when his Company finished its tour he only lived some five 5 months before dying in Malaya. The Vietnam Medal was instituted in July 1968 and was made available to the ANZAC contingent who went to Paris for the 50th Anniversary of the Armistice on 11 Nov. 1968. It would be surprising if Wahanui had received them in Malaya; although if his death was gradual (through sickness) then Defence may have pulled out all stops to get them to him. However it's more likely they were sent to his next of kin.

Reverse of Brown group Brown was in 35 Sqd. of the RAAF also known as "Wallaby Airlines". The Sqd. flew DHC-4 Caribou aircraft, which were the first mass-produced short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft of its size. The Sqd. was the first into the theater in 1964 and the last out in 1972.

Obverse Brown group; All are officially named and the RAAF LSGC is very nicely officially engraved on the rim

Reverse Ellis pair

Obverse R.C.A. Ellis 3RIR

Ethiopia - Only 3,518 soldiers served and and a few nurses served too. They never lost one inch of ground nor had anyone captured. The silver war medal comes in two sizes. This is the larger of the two.

South Korea

Philipines - Only 7,420 soldiers served in Korea. There is an unofficial UN Korean War Medal that has a unique suspension

Belgium - only 3, 587 men were eligible for the Korean War Medal.

Norway - only 623 medical and service personnel served with the Norwegian Mobile Surgical Hospital (NORMASH) in Korea.

Dutch group - The Netherlands rotated one infantry battalion and five warships. Only 3,972 Crosses for Freedom were issued with one clasp; 516 with two and 38 with three clasps.

SAAF - Cheetah Sqd. S. African Korean Volunteers Medal P8640 L. Pond Italy Star 100660 L. Pond Defence Medal 100660 L. Pond ’39-45 War Medal 100660 L. Pond African Service Medal 100660 L. Pond UN Korea P. 8640 L. Pond S. Korean War Medal (unnamed as issued) With cap badge, collar badges, brass shoulder titles and S. African Korean mini pair.

The medals above are left to right as below... Australian InfantryQueens Vietnam 154459 R. C. A. EllisVietnamese Service Cross 154459 R.C.A. EllisWith ribbon bar, combat, collar and cap badges, and Australian Military Forces shoulder sleeve insignia. Also with entire official military service file with one photo. Mounted as worn. Australian Air ForceQueens Vietnam A45107 Brown R.G.Defence Force Service Medal A45107 Brown R.G.RAAF LSGC QEII A45107 Brown R.G.Vietnamese Service Cross A45107 Brown R.G.With cap badge, AMF tie tac and Air Force Association badge. New Zealand Infantry Queens Vietnam 40331 LCpl. B. Wahanui RNZIRVietnamese Service Cross 40331 B. WahanuiMISSING GSM 1962 Malay Peninsula and Borneo.With cap badge and cloth shoulder titles

A close up.

A US SS and PH for Korea to a man who served as a combat engineer.

Thanks Ulsterman. I think you're referring to 147 rather than 141 and with the recipient being a teacher, I'm reminded of All Quiet on the Western Front.

That's the WWI/Siberian War Medal. There were two of them and they differ in the dates on the reverse. The first one was instituted by Imperial Edict No. 203 in November 1915 for military and naval forces who participated or assisted in the actions to capture the German colony of Kiao-chow and others in the area. It reads "Taisho 3rd-4th years war". The bar reads "Commemorative Medal" Aside from doing the lion's share of the fighting at Tsing-Tao (think of the beer that is still brewed there today), the Japanese contributed a token fleet to the Mediteranean. The second one, which this one is, was instituted in Imperial Edict No. 41 in February 1920. No one could receive both medals. It reads on Taisho, 3rd year to 9th year and was awarded to those who were in the Siberian Expedition from 1918 until 1922 "helping the monarchists", but in reality in the hope of obtaining territory there. The second medal is fairly easy to come across, but the first is harder and more expensive too.