Kev in Deva

Hallo usairforce What ever they are they are NICE Great detail what size are they?? Kevin in Deva

Hallo Dragos03 thanks for posting the information with regards your Great-Grandfather, who was a military priest, that makes his family history and yours very unique And thanks again for sharing the information with the forum. Kevin in Deva

Hallo Stogie & Rick hopefully I understand your posts right , the cross with the clipped ring is not mine it belongs to Christian L I originaly commented on the fact that it looked more like a silver to me than gold. My III Reich True service crosses are the Gold and Silver side by side were posted for comparison. Kevin in Deva.

Close up of Front the 40 year Cross (Gold) is by Deschler & Sohn M?nchen and the 25 Year Cross (Silver) by R. Souval of Wien. Kevin in Deva. The question is Christian, was a silver wash / finish applied to a bronze cross to create a silver? or A Gold wash / finish to a silver Cross to create a gold Cross? Have any members out there got a very worn cross for comparisson?? mfg, Kevin in Deva.

Close up of rears the 40 year Cross (Gold) is by Deschler & Sohn M?nchen and the 25 Year Cross (Silver) by R. Souval of Wien. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Chris with regards this item it appears more silver than gold on my monitor for some reason and I took it for a 25 year Service cross. I have a silver one and a gold one in my collection and I will post pictures of both side by side for comparason. Kevin in Deva,

Hallo DutchBoy thanks for showing these very interesting and colourful medals and ribbons from South Africa. And the explanation for each Kevin in Deva

Hallo Dragos03 Great looking award document to your Great-Grandfather, can you post a translation of it here in English? Many thanks from Kevin in Deva

THE BREVET / ISSUE DOCUMENT FOR THE ROMANIAN INTER-ALLIED VICTORY MEDAL OF WW1. Its in poor condition, carried in a wallet for many years, this one now resides in the Czech Republic in a Private Collection. Kevin in Deva

Hallo Dragos03, Can you confirm the information with regards the design and proposition of the Victory Medals and the Romanian King?? As Mr. Alexander J. Laslo Author of the book "The Inter-Allied Victory Medals of World War 1, Second Revised Edition", makes no mention of this. From his book it states, page 1: " The story of the (Inter-Allied) Victory Medal began as early as January 1917 when Great Britain recommended to France and Belgium, and both governments agreed, that a common war medal should be developed after the war. Reffered to as the "Allies Medal", this proposal was an outcome of a British committee appointed in 1916 to consider the whole question of War Medals." "The French called the British Allies Medal the "International War Commemorative Medal", and a proposal to create this medal was introduced in the Chamber of Deputies on the 5th March 1918 by Deputy Bouilloux-LaFont. The matter was tabled until the 17th of December 1918, when Deputy A. Lebey proposed to the Chamber a law establishing a medal to observe the Allies' Victory. In making his proposal, Deputy Lebay reminded the Chamber that all great events in the history of France were occasioned by the striking of a commemorative medal. Because of French interest Marshal Foch carried to the Paris Peace Conference the idea of a unique commemorative medal that would be awarded to all Allied combatants. On the 24th of January 1919, the Supreme Council, consisting of the ranking delegates of the five chief powers; that is the United States of America, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan, met in the room of the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Pichon, at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris. At this session, the Supreme Council first convened as the Supreme War Council. In attendence were President Woodrow Wilson and the Premiers and Foreign Ministers of the five chief powers as well as Marshal Foch, Field-Marshal Haig, General Pershing, General Diaz, and the generals of the Versailles War Council, including General Wilson, Belling, Bliss, and Robilant. During the meeting of the Supreme War Council, Marshal Foch read the following proposal: " I have the honour to propose to the Supreme War Council of the Allies that those who have fought in the Great War, of all the Allied Nations alike, should receive one identic commemorative medal. This glorious emblem, worn by them in all parts of the world, would help to maintain among them a feeling of close fellowship which, after fortifying our armies on the battlefield, will assure during peace, by the bond of common memories, the greatness of the Associated comrades." President Wilson approved the idea and inquired whether the intention was that each government strike a medal of the same kind. To this question Marshal Foch replied that each government should agree to issue to their troops the same medal on the same ribbon. The Supreme War Council then agreed to recommend for approval of the governments concerned the issue of an identical medal and ribbon to all the troops of the Allied and Associated Powers who had fought in the war. On the 18th, 19th and 21st of March 1919, an Inter-Allied Commission met at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris, to formulate the medal agreed to at the 24th of January 1919 meeting of the Supreme War Council. Specific terms of reference were the name, ribbon, and design of the medal and the principles for its award. All proceedings were conducted in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the office of Mr. William Martin, Director of Protocole. William Martin, who was the senior French representative to the Commission, was also chosen to be the Commission Chairman. The nations represented on the Commission besides France, were Belgium, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Japan, Poertugal, Serbia, Siam and the USA POINTS OF NOTE FROM THAT MEETING: The name originally proposed for the medal, the Allies Medal, was discarded by the commission because the name excluded the USA, which was an Associated Power. Moreover, the Central Powers could legitimately produce their own "Allies Medal". The Commission then discussed the various names for the medal, including: "The Inter-Allied and Associated Medal", "The International Medal of the Great War", and "The Medal of The Great War." Finally, Commandant Purnot, one of the French representatives, suggested the "Victory Medal." this name was unanimously adopted by the commission because it was short and the one title for a war medal the Germans could not copy. Colonel Mott (USA) is creditedwith proposing, after much discussion on the sublect, the double rainbow suspension ribbon. The British delegation simply state that the rainbow ribbon would remove any need to have national colours on the ribbon." End of quotation. In 1916 Romania was just entering the War, so if we take the British Committee proposal in 1916 this would predate King Ferdinands proposal I presume, unless some papers or evidence can state otherwise. Also there was no International competition to design a single Inter-Allied Victory medal, each country was advised to follow the basic guidelines, but, there was certainly individual competitions in each country for a national design. Japan and Siam (Thailand) could not include a female "Winged Victory" in their design as this form had no meaning in their Ideology, so Japan chose a representation of one of its "Gods" and Siam likewise. Kevin in Deva

Hallo Hendrik, I have recently obtained an Italian East African Service Medal with a similar sword device, it denotes combatant I believe, please see attached photos. Kevin in Deva.

ROMANIAN VICTORY MEDAL RIBBON: This section of ribbon is one, I believe of the locally made Romanian ribbons that accompanied an Unofficial Type 1 Victory Medal in my collection, the ribbon is folded to the rear in the customary way of Romanian ribbons with hook and eye. Kevin in Deva.

SAMPLE OF ORIGINAL ROMANIAN VICTORY MEDAL RIBBON: This section of ribbon is the one I believe was issued with the Official medals that were made in France. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Igor, thanks for the close up of the rear of the Romanian Inter-Allied Victory Medal. The Romanian award pictured is of an unofficial variety: Type "C" as identified in Mr. Alexander J. Laslo book "The Inter-Allied Victory Medals of World War 1, Second Revised Edition." Please see also my post at: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=9376 with regards these medals. It is very common to find unofficial Romanian Victory Medals on large bars, and in noway degrads the historic value of the item. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Dave and Ricky, , Dave you must have top class eyesight to get all that info from a bad picture, and it seems yours definition of whats there is so far spot on, yesterday I had a visitor to my house in Deva, a schoolfriend of my step-daughter who is of Hungarian extraction (sounds like a bad dentist Joke ) the young lady was able to read about 90% and has taken the document home for her Mother to have a look at, and make a written translation, in the hand its more legible than a picture or scan, still I imagine documentation for this award to a named individual must be scarce?? as many were dumped as the Russians moved in. Kevin in Deva

Hallo Joel, sorry for the miss-identification, I used Orden & Ehrenzeichen 1800-1945, 2005 - 2006 by Nimmergut as a reference, and not all items are pictured. But "Eagle-Eye Rick" is on the ball as usual. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Jacky The word "Sir" is only a honorary title, on his birth certificate it would state his name Arthur Conan Doyle. Kevin in Deva.

Thanks for the reply Rick, this, the medal, came to me via France

First Masonic temple in Romania opened its doors. by Denisa Maruntoiu The first Masonic temple of the York Rite in Romania was inaugurated on Friday evening at Peris, a locality near Bucharest, in the presence of high-ranking Romanian and foreign masons, especially from France and Italy. The participants, dressed in black suits decorated with the Masonic symbols, gathered in the yard of the York Rite's head in Romania, Stefan Masu, and opened the ceremony with a prayer, followed by speeches held by the International Master of the Cryptic Masons, Maurice Himes, and the Great International Priest Larry Gray. "The temple is the instrument in which we work, get to know each other and promote values (...) It is something sacred, it represents the sanctification of the good, beauty, accomplishment," said the High Priest of the Royal Arch in Romania, Constantin Roman Tamaduianu. After the keynote speeches, the participants cut the ribbon and officially declared the temple open. The temple is comprised of several rooms - each designated to groups of masons at different stages of initiation - and decorated with lots of symbolic objects. "No initiated mason who keeps his vow speaks about the Masonic activities and symbols," said Tamaduianu. The temple's ground floor includes two rooms, one called the "Royal art" and the other destined to the Cryptic masons. The first floor hosts three rooms which are to be used by the knight masons, including the Templar Knights. The room is dominated by a round table on which there are 12 swords. According to the Great Commander of the Templar Knights in Washington, William Volpentest, all the members of the Templar order must be Christians. According to Tamaduianu, the Masonry is not a secret movement, but an organization which keeps certain secrets. These relate to the procedure of masonry meetings as well as its system of study and training. This tradition is hundreds of years old and originates from the functioning of the ancient trade guilds. Kevin in Deva

Corporal killed in Afghanistan buried in his home-town. by Denisa Maruntoiu BUCHAREST DAILY NEWS: The Romanian Corporal killed last week in an explosion near Kandahar, Afghanistan, was buried on Saturday in his native town, Basarabi. The funerals of Ionel Gheorghita Dragusan were attended by Defense Minister Teodor Atanasiu, Army Chief of Staff Eugen Badalan and the soldier's colleagues. Dragusan had been a part to the 341st Infantry Battalion since 2001. He was married and had a 12-year-old girl. He had been working at a military unit in Topraisar, Tulcea County since 1992 and he was one of the first members of the unit who applied to go to Afghanistan. The funeral procession that was accompanied by military fanfare stopped in front of the block of flats where Dragusan lived together with his family so the Archbishop of Tomis Teodosie could hold a special religious service. The blast near Kandahar targeted a four-vehicle convoy just outside the southern city of Kandahar as the troops were returning to their base. One armored vehicle drove over an explosive device, killing the 38-year-old corporal instantly and wounding three other soldiers, one seriously. Dragusan was killed a week before he was supposed to return home. A fourth soldier suffered leg wounds when he stepped on another explosive device after the remaining Romanian vehicles stopped to help the targeted vehicle. Dragusanu was advanced to the rank of sub-lieutenant post mortem, by order of the Defense minister, according to a press release from the ministry later yesterday. "It is a great loss for his family, but also to Ionel's other family, the Romanian Army, whose uniform he wore with so much love," said Badalan. The attack in Afghanistan came amid a large-scale U.S.-led offensive across four southern provinces aimed at curbing the deadliest spike in Taliban violence since the extremist regime's 2001 ousting. END OF UPDATE. Kevin in Deva

How observant Jacky, you should have been a policeman but as Sherlock Homes used to say in the books by Arthur Conan Doyle "When you eliminate the impossible only the probable remains!" Kevin in Deva

Hallo Doug, very interesting medals, from a country that sadly, hardly rates a mention, with regard its service in WW2 thank you very much for showing them Kevin in Deva,

This picture shows Rear of Medals 4 - 5 - 6. Pictures of the ribbon and brevet to follow. Kevin in Deva

This picture shows Rear of Medals 1 - 2 - 3. Kevin in Deva