Aberdeen Medals

Do you actually own the medal to the recipient that you have here queried? I ask, as the India General Service Medal 1936 was never issued without a clasp, so if there is no clasp on the medal, it has either been removed (unusual) or the medal was damaged at some time. 1/3 G.R. as a battalion qualified for both of the clasps issued to the IGS 1936, viz 'North West Frontier 1936-37' & 'N.W.F. 1937-39'. Note however that not all individual member sof 1/3 G.R. qualified for the 2 x clasps, as many would only have qualified for one or other of the clasps depending on the specific dates that when they entered/left the qualifying area. The recipient was JOHN ARTHUR GREGORY BUSS, the son of a Clergyman, who was born in Mauritius, Indian Ocean, on 10 October 1912. The family appear to have returned to the United Kingdom in 1916. Whether the recipient served with 1st Battaliion 3rd Gurkha Rifles, throughout the Second World War, I know not, but if he did, he would have qualified for several of the un-named Second World War campaign medal issues, including The 1939-45 Star, The Burma Star & War Medal, and either the India Service Medal or Defence Medal - the latter 'either, or' medals dependent on where, when and for how long he may have served in non-combat areas of British India during the Second World War He married firstly, Margaret Anis Shingleton-Smith (who was 20 years of age) at Nai-Tal, India in 1940. He is also recorded as having married again at Kensington, London, in 1970, when he married Dorothy E. France He is known to have resigned his commission from the Indian Army - at least by November 1946 (at which time he is recorded as being a member of the Indian Political Service). In November 1947, he is recorded as 'Retired' from the Indian Political Service and returned in that month and year to the United Kingdom. As there is no mention/record of a Mrs Buss, accompanying John on his voyages in 1946 or 1947, it is likely that she had either died prior to that time, or that the marriage had otherwise been dissolved by November 1946 At some stage after November 1953, John accepted an appointment in South Africa, as he is recorded in 1953 as being employed as an Accountant in Cape Town. John Arthur Gregory Buss is recorded as having died in England sometime in the third quarter of 1994 As information. Mark

Vanuatu Blue, Well done on your checking the relevant primary sources and in so-doing coming up with the proof that awards of the DSO & MC, were indeed made to several Egyptian/Sudanese Officers for their gallantry and distinguished services at Nyala. Thanks in particular for clearly linking together the entire awards process, from submission of original recommendations decorations, through to approval, despatch of insignia and ultimate presentation of awards in Darfur. A fine piece of original research that adds positively to our knowledge of the early 20th Century military history of the Sudan and the medals awarded for service there. Shabash.......

Herman, Many thanks for your clarification, and confirmation on what campaign medals were generally issued - just the information I was looking for, and certainly clears up the mystery about why some Dutch veterans in post-war years had none, some or partial British campaign medal entitlements in their mounted medal groups. Yours aye, Mark

I only have reference materials on British and Empire POW's and alas have no knowledge about German POW's, and how they may have been recorded. .

There are published nominal rolls for British and Empire service personnel captured and interred in Europe by Axis Forces and who were still in captivity in 1945 - those who died in captivity, escaped or were repatriated are not shown. I have the books fo British and Empire Army personnel captured and held in Europe, so if you want to post the number, rank, forename initials, surname and regiment of your research subject I will have a look on your behalf. POW Questionnaires - completed by those surviving POW's at liberation in Europe and in Far East are extant and held at The National Archives, as are an incomplete run of Japanese administered POW Index Cards which last are written in a mixture of both Japanese and English The Children of Far East Prisoners of War COFEPOW website has an on-line search engine for British FEPOWS, which will generally confirm if someone was captured and made POW in the Far East.

I am trying to establish what would have been the typical 'standard' medal entitlement(s) and issue of CAMPAIGN / WAR medals to Netherlands service personnel of 320 / 321 (Netherlands) Squadrons Royal Air Force. Specifically I am interested to learn about the medal entitlements of those pre-war regulars who escaped, or were evacuated to the United Kingdom in 1940, and who subsequently joined 320 & 321 Squadrons and served through to Victory in Europe in 1945. I have tried some general searches on the internet hoping to get photographs or images of Netherlands 320 / 321 Squadrons veterans wearing their medal groups, however the pictures I have seen thus far are all inconclusive, either being very poor quality, or appearing not to be complete groups basis the general absence of British campaign medals I suspect - but do not know - that the below following would have been the campaign medals that most personnel would have received; - Netherlands War Commemorative Cross (with clasp(s)?) - UK: 1939-45 Star (Air Crew only) - UK: The Atlantic Star (Air Crew only, clasp 'France & Germany' if eligible) - UK: The France & Germany Star (for aircrew only operational post D-Dy 1944) - UK: Defence Medal - UK: War Medal Is above correct, or wrong? I would be interested to receive any guidance or explanation on above, and or to see any images of medal bars / groups. In advance thanks. Mark

Waterloo medals to confirmed casualties who were 'Wounded-in-Action' are commonly available on the market - albeit trying to find examples to a particular unit might be a lengthy time consuming process taking into account; number of casualties incurred; number of extant medals known to already be held in national, regimental, insitutional & private collections - with latter affecting the overall supply on the market On the other hand Waterloo medals to casualties who were 'Killed-in-Action' are excessively rare at any time, for the simple reason that medals to that category of casualty were not generally issued to the next of kin of the fallen. Reference 'British Battles & Medals' (Seventh edition, 2006) for comprehensive tables showing the effective strength and casualties incurred (killed & wounded) for the respective British, Hannover and Brunswick regiments that served under the Duke of Wellington during the Waterloo Campaign.

Owain, You are most welcome. While I knew the unit abbreviations L.S.L. referred to the Local Somali Levies, I too had wondered for some time what the details in brackets on these medals referred to - now we know. You will to forgive me however for not stating my thoughts on what the exact clan and sub-clan of your chap is, but I am sure you will crack that yourself if not done so already. If not already seen have a look at the on-line London Gazette archives, and specifically the issue for 18 September 1902 that contains the despatch of Consul-Geneneral Hayes-Sadler and relates to the Field Operations in Somaliland in 1901, for a good background to the raising and deployment of the 'Somali Levy'. Although this relates to background/operations in 1901 - and your chaps medal reflects to services in 1902 and later, the background - only months aparts - will still be relevant Interestingly the despatch above referred to makes mention that 'Many' of 'Our' locally recruited Somali Levies were already in possession of medals gained while in the prior service of the Italians! Quote, I trust that. Lieutenant-Colonel Swayne's request that a medal and clasp be given to all ranks serving with the expedition may meet with your Lordship's favourable consideration. Many of our Somalis served with the Italians, and show with pride the medals they received for the actions in which they were engaged Unquote. I wonder if your man was one of those who had might have earlier served with the Italians - probably impossible to verify but certainly worthy of consideration basis above quote. Best wishes. Mark

The unit designation on the medal described in the first post of this thread is; - LOCAL SOMALI LEVIES L.S.L. does not refer to any other designation, or meaning. The respective medal roll for the Local Somali Levies is extant and accessible at The National Archives (reference WO 100/105) and is the primary source for confirmation of medal & clasps entitlement and issuance to this unit. Specifically the medal recipient is confirmed as having qualified for, and having received the medal with 2 x clasps. The medal was issued to him on 28 April 1908. The 'Remarks' column of the same roll provide the answer to what the 'bracketed' information on the medal refers to, specifically it refers to the recipients 'Tribe' with one column listing the abbreviated clain names, H.A., H.Y., H.G. etc, and the second colum showing the sub-clan name to which the recipient belonged. Allowing for devitaions and variations with the tranliteration and spelling of the names of clans and sub-clans, the clan affiliations of the majority of the Somali recipients can be positively identified basis what is shown in the medal roll. As information

Correction: The cut-off date for the Mercantile Marine was 11 November 1918

Yes, I have seen a few that have appeared variouslly on the market over the years. The ones I have seen were mostly to British Army recipients who had died on service in India during the Third Afghan War 1919, and associated North West Frontier campaigns 1919-1920, as well as a few for the operations in Iraq. The Memorial Plaque could of course be issued to the Next of Kin in respect of any personnel who had died in any of the post war campaigns through to and including the final cut-off date applicable to H.M. Land Forces of 30 April 1920 (the cut-off date varied for different services, that for the Royal Navy and naval forces was 10 January 1920, and that for the Mercantile Marine was 11 November 1920. There was also provision made for the Memorial Plaque to be issued or claimed by Next of Kin, in respect of those eligible veterans who 'Died' anytime within 7 years of the above given cut-off dates, as long as those deaths were were certified as being directly attributable to effects of wounds, disease, or injuries caused by service in the period of the Great War or immediate Armistice operations. With regards to the Canadian Memorial Crosses, they were - and still can - be awarded to eligible NOK (and not just Female NOK) in respect of any Canadian veteran who can be certified as having 'Died' as a direct consequence of debilitating wounds, disease or injuries that a veteran may have incurred while in service. As such it is not uncommon to find EIIR Crosses issued in respect of 'surviving' Great War veterans who died of long lingering wounds / illnesses incurred during the Great War War, or Second World War, but who actually died sometime post 1952 and whose NOK hence received EIIR Crosses

Harry, I am not sure if you have seen it already, but an earlier 'official' source than H.C. Jackson's 'Fighting Soudanese' has a good detailed account on the Nyala action of 1921, see pages 10-13 of 'Report on the Finances, Administration and Condition of the Soudan in 1921' (By Major General H.W. Jackson, Acting Governor General of the Soudan) - the report is accessible on-line at the Special Collections of Durham University. The link for the report is below; http://reed.dur.ac.uk/metsnav/sadsir/navigate.do?oid=http://endure.dur.ac.uk:8080/fedora/get/UkDhU:52c43838-f418-400e-a669-3a8d7f5f9aa6/METS&pn=1&size=screen I here mention the above official report as it specifically states that the 3 x Egyptian Army personnel referred to in Vanuatu Blue's earlier post were awarded 2 x Distinguished Service Orders, and a Military Cross. Whether these officers were actually awarded those decorations I know not, but in light of Gam47's last message in which he made his strong case against such awards, it might nevertheless still be worth checking relevant Colonial Office files/reports of the period to see whether 'British' awards were indeed made to those Egyptian Army personnel or if not, whether any official recommendations were ever submitted. I note that there is some Colonial Office file on Nyala 1921 extant at The National Archives, but not being accessible on-line, and not being able to visit the The National Archives fo myself, it's not a source I will be able to further check. Possibly the Yuzbashi Billal Effendi Rizq, reported to have been awarded a D.S.O., is one and the same as Belal (sic) Effendi Rizq of the Camel Corps, then holding rank of Mulazim Awal, who appears in the lists of those mentioned for good services in the earlier Darfur Operations of 1916 (reference London Gazette of 24 October 1916). The link for that gazette is; http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29800/supplements/10366 You might also want to refer to the anecdotal note by the well known Sudan historian H.G. Keown-Boyd that was published in the Orders & Medal Research Society Journal, Autumn 1997, on page 201. Wherein the author relates to an incident that occurred in the Sudan National Record Office in Khartoum in November, 1995, on which visit he was leafing through some of what he refers to as 'Egyptian Army' orders that included a report on the 1921 Nyala action, for which the author also states that Billal Effendi was awarded the D.S.O. Unfortunately no document refernece is cited for what Egyptian Army orders were consulted, but certainly worth here mentioning. As information.

No not impossible. Even if the names of the three personnel above listed cannot be found in the London Gazette, that initself does not mean they were not awarded the decorations mentioned - but only that the awards were not published in the London Gazette, which was at that time mostly the 'norm' for military decorations bestowed by the British upon foreign nationals Egyptian Army personnel, like any other allied 'foreign' personnel could be awarded British gallantry decorations by the respective British authorities, as and when considered appropriate. Whether the 3 x Egyptian Army officers were awarded DSO's and or the MC, I know not, but the Military Museum in the Citadel in Cairo certainly had at least one if not two 'Egyptian Army' groups containing MC's on display when I last visited their collection. Reference the London Gazette issues published on 24 October 1916, and 29 May 1917, the 'Sirdar's' Despatches for the Darfur Operations therein contained, have long lists of Officers and Men, British and Egyptian Army, brought to notice of the Sirdar - at least 5 or 6 of those Egyptians 'Mentioned' therein have the post-nominals of either the D.S.O. (one sighted to Bimbashi, Mohammed Effendi Shahin) or M.C. It would certainly be interesting to see a listing, partial or otherwise of known Egyptian Army personnel who were awarded British Orders and Decorations

If not already known, the recipients name indicates that he was of Chinese ethnic origin - the ranks of the Singapore Police Force being drawn mostly - but certainly not exclusively - from amongst the two largest ethnic communities in Singapore, i.e., Chinese and Malay

And I would suggest nothing to do with Great Britain or the Commonwelath basis the inclusion of 'Stars' on the wings of the aircraft depicted Almost certainly of USA manufacture

Les, There was never any British Army formation that used the approved unit abbreviation A.O.O. on Great War medals The recipient's extant Medal Index Card shows that Private James G. Barnes was a member of the Army Ordnance Corps (A.O.C.) and had first entered theatre of war on 15 August 1914. Curiously his MIC is annotated to show that his BWM and Interallied Victory Medals were returned 9 April 1921 with a further note 'Deserted' Look at the last letter in the unit closely under a glass - it may well just be a poorly struck C - if not it is just an error by the engraver / machinist at time of naming As information

Kvart, In answer to your original question - yes the officer illustrated is wearing a Queen's South Africa Medal with clasp. The recipient is listed on the respective QSA Medal Roll (ref WO 100/209) as Captain Gruner, entitled and issued with clasp 'Orange Free State' On the same page and above Gruner's are 3 x other names, as under; - Lt E Mossberg, Swedish Army - Lt-Col Jungstedt - Captain Kinberg Whether Guner was attached from Norwegian Army or Swedish Army is NOT shown, indeed only opposite Mossberg's name (the first in the list, and who also claimed a KSA) is the notation 'Swedish Army' Awards to foreign observers and or attaches was a common practise in the late Victorian Wars, and the QSA roll includes multi-clasp awards medals to officers from; - USA - Japan - Turkey - Italy - France - Spain - Russia - Germany - Austria As interesting would be to see examples of the estimated 8 x QSA's - all with various clasps - awarded to the 'Servants' of several of these correspondents. Curiously and by contrast the non-combatant personal servants of British Officers were only awarded 'Bronze' QSA's! As information.

Curiously the recipient William Leslie Simon - whose surviving medals are illustrated earlier in tbis thread - is incorrectly listed in the book by Gordon McGregor as being entitled to the GSWA medal but without the rare 'Kalahari 1907' clasp! In the absence of any extant official medal roll for the GSWA Medal, I do not know the primary sources the author used, and or cross-referenced to determine who qualified for the GSWA Medal with 'Kalahari 1907' clasp. Be that as it may, William Simon certainly did receive a GSWA Medal with clasp 'Kalahari 1907', as extant primary sources - specifically the recipients service papers - held in South Africa include, confirm the recipient receiving a GSWA medal and clasp 'Kalahari 1907', which if I am not mistaken is all written in bright red ink! Below attached are a couple of images of Simon's GSWA medal and clasp

As an illustrative group containing a rare German South West Africa Campaign medal with original 'Kalahari 1907' clasp, members might be interested to see the below described group that I recently handled. - KSA 1902. With 2 x dated clasps (903 L.Cpl W. L. Simon. C.P.Dist 2.) - 1914-15 Star (S.S.M. W.S. Simon. 5th S.A.M.R.) - Permanent Forces LSGC. (No 1839. S.S.M. W.L. Simon. 5th Regt (S.A.M.R.) - Germany: South West Africa Campaign Medal. Bronze with clasp 'Kalahari 1907' The recipient was William Leslie Simon. Although the group was missing his QSA (and presumably his issued Great War pair), it was an interesting buy-in that I sourced locally in the recipients place of origin in Aberdeenshire, Scotland His entitlement to the GSWA Medal and 'Kalahari 1907' being confirmed in his surviving service papers. As information

Three invaluable reference sources for your ongoing research into the Burma Military Police battalions would be; 1. Deeds of Valour: Performed By Indian Officers And Soldiers, During The Period From 1860 to 1925 (P.P. Hypher, Simla 1927) Effectively a register of award winners of the Indian Order of Merit. The book contains in chronological order most of the dated Goverment Orders (GGO's) listing award details - and often the full recommendations - of the awards of the Indian Order of Merit (Military Division) gained by recipients who served with various Burma Military Police battalions between 1886-1921, including those BMP personnel who were attached to regular Indian Army regiments during the Great War An extremely hard book to find for sale, but several copies are extant and held by some of the major national libraries in the United Kingdom, including the British Library 2. Honours and Awards Indian Army 1914-1921 (J. B. Hayward & Son, un-dated re-print of 'Roll of Honour Indian Army 1914-1921, originally published in 1931 The best - and only - single published source that contains listings of the respective British and Foreign Decorations, awarded to native officers and men of the Indian Army, included Burma Military Police during the period of the Great War and immediate post-war operations. Arranged by award, the respective listings show basic details of recipients i.e., number, rank, name, and force (as opposed to place) in which the award was earned. The book has no index, and cross reference of the different award listings would be necessary to establish whether a recipient earned more then one type of decoration. 3. The Lineages and Composition of the Gurkha Regiments in the British Service (J.L. Chapple, 1985 and several editions since by The Gurkha Museum) This latter reference is probably the best single source explaining the origins and evolution of most, if not all, the numerous BMP battalions raised since 1886. There are also some useful notes and numerical abstracts relating to the Gurkha compositions of these battalions as of 1 January 1919 - indeed a tally of these latter figures shows an estimated total of 5,539 Gurkhas serving in 10 of the 13 BMP battalion then extant (the only BMP battalions not to record Gurkha classes were, the Shwebo, Mandalay and Toungoo Battalions BMP). The latest edition of this book by Field Marshal Chapple should be available from The Gurkha Museum

The Royal Regiment of Artillery (RA) was comprised of three distinct elements as under; - Royal Horse Artillery (R.H.A.) - Royal Field Artillery (R.F.A.) - Royal Garrison Artillery (R.G.A.) With regards to the naming protocols adopted for issuance of the Great War campaigns medals to British arillerymen, the 1914 and 1914-15 Stars were mostly issued showing the respective branch of artillery, i.e., R.H.A, R.F.A. or R.G.A., while the British War and Interallied Victory Medals were named to the Regiment, i.e. R.A. Basis above, your recipient of the 1914-15 Star to the R.F.A., would also have been entitled to a further pair of medals comprising British War Medal and Interallied Victory Medal, these latter if issued, being named abbreviated to R.A.

Hi Demir, Thanks for confirming that the third TWM above illustrated is an official original Turkish Mint issue. Below is a picture of the same TWM with the silk ribbon that came with it. I suspect this is the original silk ribbon as issued. It measures approx 155mm, and in the picture is folded in half. In your experience would you say the ribbon is the original issue length / type? In advance thanks for any reply on the ribbon. Mark PS: I have today ordered a copy of your book, and am looking forward to a good read in due course when it arrives

Anthony, You have a wonderful medal group there. As background reading, and if not already obtained or seen, I can easily recommend; - PYRAMIDS AND POPPIES; The 1st SA Infantry Brigade in Libya, France and Flanders 1915-1919 (Peter K.A. Digby, ISBN 1874800537) The book - masterfully written - is lavishly illustrated, with much of the images being taken from the archives of the Transvaal Scottish RHQ and Museum, from whose ranks many of the 'Jocks' in 4th South African Infantry (a.k.a. South African Scottish) were drawn Yours aye, Mark

Thanks for the confirmation of manufacturer of the second TWM illustrated above - and the recommendation regards the TWM book. Although not a European manufactured item, I thought I would add below folloiwing / attached as contrast, and for reference. Earlier today I took receipt of an archive containing medals of a British officer of the Indian Army who was twice decorated with the Military Cross for fighting in Mesopotamia (Iraq) during the Great War. Inclued in the archive was below illustrated TWM (also a nice length of silk ribbon, which appears as issued). I suspect the British Officer acquired the TWM while on active service. Some small loss of paint detail on obverse, and the reverse clasp for the pin is broken, but still a decent Turkish made example of the TWM. As information.

Demir, Thanks for your reply - and especially for possitively identifying the manufacturer of the second TWM listed and illustrated above. Yes, it's unfortunate that the manufactuerer of the first illustrated piece did not pay attention to detail with regards to applying the correct date - no excuses for that, as the medal is otherwise of excellent quality / craftsmanship. I understand however that such oversights by continental manufacturers in applying erroneous Tughras / dates was not uncommon. I'm expecting another TWM later this week, that is coming to me from the estate of a long dead British Officer who had fought in Mesopotamia during the Great War, and is almost certainly a war-souvnir. If on seeing the TWM I note anything different or peculiar I will post details and pcitures here for members interest / comments. Regards. Mark