Hungary Photo question

[Peter Orincsay]

Today i got this old photo of a Hungarian officer, which was sent to my grandparents in 1982 together with the obituary of the officer.

I guess he was some far away relative, friend or so, since he had the same family name as my grandmothers maiden name.

Now i wonder if any of You Gents, may have some more information about the uniform, medal or rank.

I am thankful for any answers!

P?ter

Edited June 18, 2009 by Peter Nyitray

[hunyadi]

Peter -

Wow! That is quite a nice photograph and not one that I had commonly encountered. The individual is wearing the M1951 uniform of the air defense unit. He is a captain. What is interesting is that the photo shows him wearing the Meritorious Service Medal of 1953. This is quite rare as in 1954 they redesigned the medal. Only 785 were ever awarded of which your relative was one. He is also wearing the badge of the Flood Defense Badge of 1954 for service to Hungary during the distructive flood from July 13th - 30th of 1954. So the photo was probably taken in 1954.

I just wish I could have used this for my book!

:jumping:

Edited June 18, 2009 by hunyadi

[bazsi]

Excellent photo with this medal!!! Just a small note: the rank is not cpt. It is 1st Lt, bacause of the soviet style structure.

Regards,

Bazsi

[Peter Orincsay]

Thanks for the great information !

Does anyone have a good photo of the medals mentioned in the thread?

Or the Hungarian name of it.

Would be interesting to see this quite rare medal.

Here is the obituary of the officer.

When he died in 1982 he was a Lt Col. in the air defence. He became 55 year old and was

buried with military honours.

Edited June 18, 2009 by Peter Nyitray

[hunyadi]

Ah! Yes - forgot that little detail about the M51 boards...was recalling the M49 style...

As for the name in Hungarian it is the

Szolg?lati ?rdem?rem (1953) These were the first style of the "Long Service Medals".

Also - I was wondering if you could send me a scan of this photo - I do have space to put it in my book about the histroy and militaria of the HuPR? Send me a PM -

[bazsi]

The Hungarian name of the medal is Szolg?lati ?rdem?rem (1953).

http://medals.extra.hu/modules/myalbum/pho...d=866&cid=6

[Peter Orincsay]

Inspired by the great help i received, i looked for the 1954 Flood defence badge on the internet.

This is what i found!

[Ulsterman]

Very cool. I knew they existed, but did not realize how big they were. Were they numbered?

He must have had the Worker/Peasants 57 medal, a Merit order, several military merit medals, the Liberation Jubilee and at least 4 LS medals as well as maybe another flood medal. Oh to have seen his portrait in 1981!

[Gordon Craig]

Peter,

That is the correct badge.

Ulsterman,

I am im Toronto and far away from my collection but you can get a good idea of the sixze of the badge from the photo. From memory I would say about two centimetres. I have several of these. They are all in pin back and area bronze colour.

Regards,

Gordon

Edited June 19, 2009 by Gordon Craig

[Ulsterman]

Neat! Are they common in Hungary?

Any for sale?

[hunyadi]

Not too common - but you can find them - The problem is finding one with the pin on the back - the solder used on these badges was very poor and the pin is broken off of about every one. I have about three - only one still has the pin on it.

What is interesting is that the badge was intended to go to members of the Interior Ministry (Police, Fire, State Police) and the Ministry of Defense (Military). Then they issued the Flood Defense Medal in 1954 as well, this was to be awarded to everyone who participated in the flood relief efforts in 1954. So technically the badge and the medal could be awarded - but this is the first time I have seen a photo of the badge in wear by a member of the military... :rolleyes:

[Peter Orincsay]

Here´s a photo of the different "Szolgálati érdem érem" medals.

The photo is the courtesy of our fellow gentleman Cimbineus.

Edited August 4, 2009 by Peter Nyitray

[cimbineus]

Gents,

Here is the badge in two versions and the back. Its diameter is 38 millimetres.

Regards,

cimbineus

Edited August 4, 2009 by cimbineus

[Gordon Craig]

Gents,

Here is the badge in two versions and the back. Its diameter is 38 millimetres.

Regards,

cimbineus

cimbineus,

Long time no see! I would really like to see the two badges you mentioned but they did not appear in your post. Perhaps you were unable to upload them? Please disregard this post. The badges appeared soon after I made the post.

Regards,

Gordon

Edited August 4, 2009 by Gordon Craig

[cimbineus]

cimbineus,

Long time no see! I would really like to see the two badges you mentioned but they did not appear in your post. Perhaps you were unable to upload them? Please disregard this post. The badges appeared soon after I made the post.

Regards,

Gordon

Hi Gordon,

Yes, I am quite busy these moths. But the badges are there, I think.

Regards,

cimbineus

Edited August 4, 2009 by cimbineus

[cimbineus]

Here´s a photo of the different "Szolgálati érdem érem" medals.

The photo is the courtesy of our fellow gentleman Cimbineus.

Gents,

The two on the left hand side are the military ones, while the two on the right are the civilian ones. The "Distinguished Service Medal", the "Service Medal", and the "For Socialist Labour" and the "Labour Medal", respectively.

Regards,

cimbineus