Belgium Belgium - Commemorative Medal of the War 1914-1918

[Guest Darrell]

Background (again thanks to Hendrik's Site ):

Awarded to Belgian civilians who served in the ranks of the Belgian armed forces during the World War and under the same conditions as for the Victory Medal.

This bronze, somewhat triangular medal was instituted on 21 July 1919 and came with a number of possible ribbon emblems : a crown for volunteers, a silver bar per front stripe, a gilt bar replacing 5 silver ones, a red enamel cross for each wound stripe, black bars for POW's etc. Front stripes were awarded for frontline duty, the first stripe for one year's service, subsequent stripes for each additional 6 months. Navy personnel and fishermen could resp. affix crossed anchors or a single anchor to the ribbon (the latter only if they had also received a Maritime Decoration). Members of the Expeditionary Corps to Russia received a bar "1916-R-1917" or "1916-R-1918".

The medal's obverse has a medaillon which depicts the helmeted head of a soldier, the helmet being covered with a laurel branch. In the lower corners of the medal are the dates "1914" and "1918" while the top of the medal shows a rampant lion surrounded by an oak leaf branch (left) and a laurel branch (right). The reverse has an inscription in both French and Flemish under a royal crown flanked by an oak leaf branch (left) and a laurel branch (right) : "MEDAILLE COMMEMORATIVE / DE LA CAMPAGNE / 1914-1918 / HERDENKINGSMEDAILLE / VAN DEN VELDTOCHT" (Commemorative medal for the 1914-1918 campaign).

Obverse:

[Guest Darrell]

Reverse:

[Ed_Haynes]

An interesting, though unremarkable medal, with a MOST REMARKABLE maze of devices for the ribbon. Thanks for the post! Expansion, please . . . ???

[Laurence Strong]

Nice one Darrell I like the way this one and several others are shaped in such unusual fashions

[g_deploige]

here 2 other medals

on the next link information about The Russia-bar "1916-R-1917"

[Hendrik]

And for the more maritime inspired amongst us :

[attachmentid=50095] [attachmentid=50096]

Both devices are meant for navy personnel or fishermen. The standard is the crossed anchors device whereas the single anchor one denotes the recipient's entitlement to one of the WWI maritime decorations.

Cheers,

Hendrik

[Hendrik]

POW's weren't forgotten either : they received a 2mm high blackened bar for each 6 month's of captivity (not to be confused with the black enameled posthumous awards bar which is 4 mm !) :

[attachmentid=50097]

Cheers,

Hendrik

[Vatjan]

POW's weren't forgotten either : they received a 2mm high blackened bar for each 6 month's of captivity (not to be confused with the black enameled posthumous awards bar which is 4 mm !) :

Talking about POW's here are a few pix I found just this morning

Edited August 15, 2006 by Vatjan

[Jef]

Hello,

Here are some commemoration medals in my collection. See the different way of front stripes insignia. Or am I wrong , Hendrik?

Jef[attachmentid=50156

[Guest Darrell]

Very nice ones guys

Sooo ... unless my eyes deceive me or I can't read anymore , the one I posted to start this thread off .. the two bars signifiy this medal belonged to someone who served at least 1 year 6 months frontline service?

[Jef]

And some other ribbon insignia. The medal on the extreem right, with the large crown is not official and wrong, as far as i'm concerned. But, I happened to know the owner of the medal, a friend of my grandfather, a volunteer of october 1918. With respect to him, I treasure this one.

yours,

Jef

[attachmentid=50158]

[Jef]

Very nice ones guys

Sooo ... unless my eyes deceive me or I can't read anymore , the one I posted to start this thread off .. the two bars signifiy this medal belonged to someone who served at least 1 year 6 months frontline service?

Hello Darrel,

If the two bars are silver one's, I would say Yes. The maximum of front stripes is eight.

Jef

[Guest Darrell]

Hello Darrel,

If the two bars are silver one's, I would say Yes. The maximum of front stripes is eight.

Jef

Kind of hard to tell. They appear both tarnished the same on the front, but the top one appears golden or bronze colored from the reverse.

[Hendrik]

... the top one appears golden or bronze colored from the reverse.

Hi Darrell,

Looks that way to me as well. The two bars thus equal 6 front stripes which stands for 3.5 years of frontline service.

Cheers,

Hendrik

[Hendrik]

... the different way of front stripes insignia.

Hello Jef,

Sorry to be a spoilsport but ...

Picture 1 :

- 1st medal : that is a bar for the Service Star (Congo colony) and the wound cross is of the WW2 type as used on the WW2 Commemorative Medal etc.

- 3rd medal : do I spot 2 gold bars there ? Maximum is 1 gold and 3 silver ones ...

- 4th medal : those are miniature bars for the WW2 POW medal ...

Picture 2 :

- 1st medal : another Service Star bar I'm afraid.

Cheers,

Hendrik

[Jacky]

yes,

another belgian medal highlighted in a topic

Keep going

Kind regards,

Jacky

[Paul R]

Thank you all for this very informative thread. I saw this medal for sale for a very inexpensive price in a local shop. I had no idea what it was, so I passed on it. It seems like the most interesting part of this medal, is the array of devices. It seems like the medals without devices are the rarities!

Regards

Paul

[Jacky]

Hi Paul,

I think I have to deny your point,

as the devices are the clotted cream on the Pie.....

A medal without devices is quickly found, the devices are harder to find.

If I have a stroll along the web-pages, I will find a lot of those medals without clasps or other devices, but fewer with clasps and almost none with the enamelled crosses......

Kind regards,

Jacky

[Jef]

Hello Jef,

Sorry to be a spoilsport but ...

Picture 1 :

- 1st medal : that is a bar for the Service Star (Congo colony) and the wound cross is of the WW2 type as used on the WW2 Commemorative Medal etc.

- 3rd medal : do I spot 2 gold bars there ? Maximum is 1 gold and 3 silver ones ...

- 4th medal : those are miniature bars for the WW2 POW medal ...

Picture 2 :

- 1st medal : another Service Star bar I'm afraid.

Cheers,

Hendrik

Hello Hendrik,

Thank you for correcting me. I learn every day.

By the way, I have checked the back of that third medal: one gold and three silver ones.

kind regards

Jef

[oli4vercammen]

Hello Jef,

Sorry to be a spoilsport but ...

Picture 2 :

- 1st medal : another Service Star bar I'm afraid.

Cheers,

Hendrik

Hendrik was probably in a hurry or wasn't awake that morning

The first victory medal in picture two is correct! The black enamaled bar was created for the law of 17 march 1920 wich defined that mothers of deceased soldiers or civilian officials who where in service could wear their decorations. On 21 april 1920 there was a supplement ( Koninklijk Besluit ) that discribed the black bar for the deceased children.

Olivier

[Jacky]

Nice Picture Oli4,

Am I correct to see that she wears the knight of the Crown

Knight of Leopold II

Commemorative medal WWI

Victory medal WWI

Croix d'Guerre WWI

Could anyone explain to me why she wears also the knight of the crown??

I thought that those who deceased were only awarded the knight of Leopold II with palm????

So the mother should be wearing the Leopold II with black bar!!!

As someone who had deceased wouldn't stay in the running for more awards, the award of knight of the order of the crown seems quite odd to me!!!

Kind regards,

Jacky

Edited August 16, 2006 by Jacky

[Guest Darrell]

She has that look, "Go ahead ... try and research me .... make my day !!!"

Edited August 16, 2006 by Darrell

[Jacky]

haha

I think it's more like

"Catch me if you can"

Edited August 16, 2006 by Jacky

[Jef]

Hendrik was probably in a hurry or wasn't awake that morning

The first victory medal in picture two is correct! The black enamaled bar was created for the law of 17 march 1920 wich defined that mothers of deceased soldiers or civilian officials who where in service could wear their decorations. On 21 april 1920 there was a supplement ( Koninklijk Besluit ) that discribed the black bar for the deceased children.

Olivier

Hello Oliver,

Actually I was thinking in the same direction about that first commemoration medal. But I cannot find it back in my files. So far, this thread has learned me a lot. How comes? I have an old book of Henry Quinot...I don't have the Born? book. But, they all are written in French. I don't know a good medal reference book (of Belgian medals) which is written in Dutch, my language. Medec and Globe are trying to change this, so I'm looking forward to their new dossier. I hope in the future they will make one of the Commemoration medal in all its shapes. Keep up the good work.

Kind regards,

Jef

[oli4vercammen]

It seems that I was in a hurry too by victory medal I meant commemorative medal!

Oli4