Polish Medal ?

[Brian Wolfe]

Hello Everyone,

I have just made a pretty good trade for some medals and once again I have ventured into an area I know nothing about. The trade included two medals that were listed as Polish. One I found the identification conformation for on this forum and it was the Cross of Merit. I will post it last after I see if I can post this one that I need help with. I have a new computer and I am still learning the new prograns so I hope the attached image gets through.

The medal pictured was listed as Poland, Polish Army - 2nd Corps, Army Chaplain Medal for service in WW II. The back is plain and the ribbon is green with two boarder stripes of red. The cross is red enamel.

Is this indeed Polish and is the rest of the information accurate?

Is there any other information you can tell me about this medal?

Any help with the identification of this medal is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Brian

[GregK]

Hi Brian,

I can only give you some basic information as I am at work and my monitor is horrible!!! I can't really see the fine details or accurate colors because of it.

From what I can see in the photo then it is labeled correctly as a Chaplain's medal. I can't recall if the ribbon is the correct one though (away from references until later). Again due to my poor monitor I can't make out any detail so I can't weigh in as to originality until i get home. Perhaps someone else will be able to answer in the meantime.

Cheers,

Greg

[Brian Wolfe]

Hi Greg,

This is encouraging news as I know almost nothing about the medals of Poland. I think I would like to add to the two I have as a new "thread" to my collection.

Thanks again.

Cheers

Brian

[TS Allen]

I beleive that I've seen it before. One of my relatives had one (family's Polish) but it was apparently part of his medal grouping and I'm quite sure he wasn't a chaplain.

Maybe this has something to do with Polish soldiers collecting all sorts of medals.

Are there an other similar Polish medals to this? I do beleive the ribbon was different.

~TS

[Brian Wolfe]

Hi ~TS,

I got a second medal in the trade but it was not part of a pair (two single and unrelated medals). I too thought that this medal looked familiar but can not remember where I might have seen it. I've spent hours looking on every web site and forum I could think of and so far no luck.

Thanks for your input, the search goes on.

Cheers

Brian

[GregK]

Hi Guys,

This medal is supposed to be a Chaplains medal. Unfortunately I believe it to be a repro. It is lacking the details of an original. I can't remember what the ribbon color is supposed to be (I think blue) but I can't check as it's in one of my books that haven't been unpacked yet. When I find it I will update the thread.

Would very much like to see the Cross of Merit you mentioned.

Cheers,

Greg

[Brian Wolfe]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the information. I'll hang on to this medal and label it as "Possible Repro" in my collection. I would be interested in any more information you might have after you "find" your book. Isn't moving fun?

One of the hazards of venturing into unknow areas of collecting is that the chanches of picking up a reproduction is greater. In this case I'm not out much so the lesson is not all that painful. Please do check out my Cross of Merit, I'd like your opinion.

The Cross of Merit was posted just before this medal a couple of days ago and can be found under, "Other:Communist Countries and States" or something like that (I can't remember the exact wording). I don't want to use up more space on the forum so I won't post it again here. But please do check it out and tell me what you think.

Cheers

Brian

[Lukasz Gaszewski]

Haven't been posting for a while, so it seems a good opportunity to let the folks on the forum know I am alive and kicking.

Yes, the cross is indeed an army chaplain cross, or more precisely a cross of the Military Bishop of the Polish Armed Forces in the West. It was founded, by the Field Bishop of the Armed Forces, Mgr. Gawlina in 1940 in two classes (gold and silver) and awarded not only to chaplains, but also to other military and civilians for merit in organizing priestly service in the armed forces. It is very rare! The badges were made by Spink in London during WWII and privately in Poland after the war.

At the first sight the cross seems to be a Spink made item, although some details (like a thick mounting ring) suggest a modern fake. Perhaps it is a good idea to contact Spink and ask if it is their product.

The ribbon is similar to the original one, although it is not entirely correct. The original first class ribbon should be violet, that of the second class green, both with narrow (2-3 mm) red stripes, 1-2 mm inset.

Hope it will help.

Best regards,

Lukasz

[Brian Wolfe]

Hi Lukasz,

Thank you for the information, I will try to do further research through Spink as you have suggested.

I realy liked this medal when it came up in an offer during a trade. I got my first two Polish medals at that time and I've added a couple of more since.

Cheers

Brian