Sweden Great medal bar of a Swedish officer who served in the British Army

[Mopsi]

In 1919 Thord was wounded with two bullets through his chest and one through his left arm (see doctor´s certificate below). In 1921 he was wounded in his head while trying to make a coup d´etat in Portugal (and received a Spanish decoration for that).

On 7th January 1926 Thord was given the rank of Lieutenant-General by the Venezuelan rebel movement (Gen Fransisco Alcántara) but did not use that title because the revolution failed.

[Mopsi]

@ Mopsi: Thanks for your great additions! What an eventful and exciting military life and career had Mr. Thord-Gray...

Ciao,

Claudio

Yes, his career was brilliant. His private life was however very complicated. He was married five (5) times and had two sons. The elder son George Thord born 1906 he only saw once in 1951 when the son was 45 years old! The younger son Angus born 1917 he never saw after 1922. He also had a daughter with a local girl in the Philippines born 1909, but nothing is known about her. Not even her name. In a letter to a brother he mentions that he is very glad for this child but ends the letter with "her name?".

[Mopsi]

Captain Royston´s Horse, Natal 1906.

[Mopsi]

Thord wrote:

Notes on the Geology of the Lydenburg Gold Fields, South Africa 1906.

Notes on the Natives of Sekukunisland, Kenya 1907.

Reglemento Provisional para El Ejercicio y Maniobras de la Caballeria, Mexico 1914.

Tactics on Attack and Defense in Trench Warfare, New York 1917.

Bland gudabilder och tempelruiner. Från Mexicos forntid, Stockholm 1923. (On Mexican Archeology).

Tarahumara-English dictionary, Coral Gables 1955. (More than 1 000 pages).

Gringo Rebel, Coral Gables 1960. (Autobyography with 333 pages covering only one year of his life).

PhD Uppsala University, Sweden, 31st May 1960.

Thord spoke English, Swedish, Spanish and Russian plus Bantu languages, Malaysian and Philippine Mindanao dialect. And of course the Tarahumara language, that makes him a noted scientist in Mexico even today.

[Mopsi]

Thord´s Officers´Declaration Paper, Canada 21st Oct 1918. (Canadian National Archieves)

[Mopsi]

Actually, the last one is ringing dim distant bells as one of innumerable unofficial WW1 veterans organizations membership "awards." Cannot see what they are at the end because of being overlapped so much that neither the awards or ribbons are clear.

I suspect he was... an over-dresser.

One of the overlapped is probably Isabella Catolica (Spain) which Thord received in 1921.

[Mopsi]

One more of the overlapped identified. Military Order of Foreign Wars (USA). Thord became a Companion in 1928. The medal is approved by the Congress ans Department of Defense.

[Mopsi]

In 1933 Thord was awarded the Order of the Compassionate Heart. This order was created in 1921 and awarded to Russian WW 1 vetrerans living in USA. The order seems not to have been officially regognized. I cannot find it in Thord´s medals group. Anyhow this is how it looks.

[Mopsi]

THE AMERICAN SCANDINAVIAN FOUNDATION promotes the exchange of people and ideas between the United States and Scandinavia. The idea for such an exchange came from Danish emigrant Niels Poulson who founded the organization in 1910. The exchange got a boost in 1964 with a bequest from the Thord Gray Memorial Fund (approx 4.5 million) to be used for scholarship exchange between Sweden and the U.S. The foundation publishes the quarterly Scandinavian Review and SCAN Newsletter.

[Mopsi]

1909 Captain Philipphine Constabulary

1 Cape Of Good Hope General Service Medal (CGH)

2 Queen´s South African Medal (QSA)

3 King´s South African Medal (KSA)

4 Natal Zulu War Medal 1906

[Mopsi]

1914 Colonel Mexican Army

1 CGH

2 QSA

3 KSA

4 Natal Zulu War

5 Unknown

6 San Fernando (Spain)

Regarding no 6 I earlier beleived Thord got San Fernando in 1921, but that was my misstake. Thord himself has not written when and why he got it. As COS of Mexican 1st Army he had in 1914 an important position in Mexico. It is known that he held back the rebels when they were planning to destroy the foreign legations in Mexico City. Possibly Thord got that decoration for political deeds?

[Mopsi]

Regarding the unknown medal no 5 on picture as Colonel in Mexico 1914. This medal could possibly be Chinese. 1909-1913 Thord was Manager of rubber plantations in Malaya and Borneo. In Perak Malaya he organized and trained volunteers for participation in the Chinese civil war. He also went to China for some months (as reported by the British secret service in Singapore). I remember that somewhere in his papers I found a note that he had got a Chinese decoration, but that it was stolen in a hotel in Shanghai.

It could also possibly be from the Philippines.

[Claudio]

Very interesting additions, Mopsi, thanks!

Here I found some interesting links regarding the Northumberland Fusiliers:

http://www.1914-1918.net/northfus.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/northfus.htm

You can compare with Thord-Gray's service status with the Northumberland Fusiliers:

1914-10-28 Major 3rd Bn Northumberland Fusiliers (NF)

1914-11 Major 2/C 15th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers (NF)

1915-05-01 Major CO 15th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers (NF)

1915-06-18 Lieutenant-Colonel CO 11th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers (NF)

Ciao,

Claudio

[lilo]

1914 Colonel Mexican Army

1 CGH

2 QSA

3 KSA

4 Natal Zulu War

5 Unknown

6 San Fernando (Spain)

Regarding no 6 I earlier beleived Thord got San Fernando in 1921, but that was my misstake. Thord himself has not written when and why he got it. As COS of Mexican 1st Army he had in 1914 an important position in Mexico. It is known that he held back the rebels when they were planning to destroy the foreign legations in Mexico City. Possibly Thord got that decoration for political deeds?

Hi Mopsi,

I have followed your posting about Thord-Gray on various forums for some years by now and I'm trying to reconstruite His full medal entitlement.

I would like to start my discussion about his medals from your above statement and ask you : what let you believe that the ribbon Nr. 6 is that for the Spanish Order of San Fernando ?

Have you found mention of this particular Order on his papers ?

I'm asking this because according its colours (with the predominant white), it looks like -to me at least- that of the 'Spain, Order of Isabella Catholica'.

See also the following link : http://awards.netdia...la/Isabella.htm; Using an on-line translator from the russian it sounds - more or less - :

"The Royal American order of Isabel the Catholic has three classes and was founded by Ferdinand in 1815. This Order, as shows its name, had a special designation - to serve as reward for the manifestation of faithfulness and zeal in the protection of Spanish possessions in America, where national liberation motion proceeded with lift. With the loss of American colonies it became reward for the merits of any kind. ................."

Please let me know the source from what you think that it was, instead, the San Fernando Order.

Regards

Lilo

Edited October 7, 2009 by lilo

[Mopsi]

See page 2. Thord as Russian Major-General 1920. The last cross before the round medals. It is white and looks like San Fernando. Thord did not write what medals he had got. It was made by his nephew MjGen Arne Hallström some 10 years after Thord passed away in 1964.

[Mopsi]

Very interesting additions, Mopsi, thanks!

Here I found some interesting links regarding the Northumberland Fusiliers:

http://www.1914-1918.net/northfus.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/northfus.htm

You can compare with Thord-Gray's service status with the Northumberland Fusiliers:

1914-10-28 Major 3rd Bn Northumberland Fusiliers (NF)

1914-11 Major 2/C 15th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers (NF)

1915-05-01 Major CO 15th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers (NF)

1915-06-18 Lieutenant-Colonel CO 11th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers (NF)

Ciao,

Claudio

In July 1915 Thord was acting CO of 15th Bn NF. This Bn was still training and had not all equipment. However the CO of 11th Bn NF became ill. It was decided that he was transferred to 15th Bn and that Thord took over as CO of 11th Bn bound for France. He left for France 21st August 1915 and arrived Boulogne 25th August. The Bn was transported to the Tilques-area as a part of 68th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier-General Eric Pearce-Serocold).

Thord left 11th Bn NF 30th December 1915. He was 11th February 1916 CO 1/26th Bn Royal Fusiliers (London Regiment) bound for Kenya. This Bn was however dissolved 10th May 1916 and the troops transferred to South-African units. Thord did not want to join South-African Army because he beleived that influential relatives of his ex-wife Edit Kemper Voss should act against him.

Instead he returned to Mexico.

[Mopsi]

I think that Thord wore at least one unofficiel medal. In 1929 he was eleceted vice president of USA:s WW 1 veterans and in 1931 president after he had became an US citizen (certificate no 3386463, New Haven, Connecticut). As such he wore the veteran´s associaltions medel.

Edited October 8, 2009 by Mopsi

[lilo]

See page 2. Thord as Russian Major-General 1920. The last cross before the round medals. It is white and looks like San Fernando. Thord did not write what medals he had got. It was made by his nephew MjGen Arne Hallström some 10 years after Thord passed away in 1964.

Hi,

Also in my opinion and although the Order in the photo on page 2 is not clear, it looks like that of San Fernando.

I can affirm this by comparing the particular suspention of this Order in the photo below with that worn by Thord-Gray.

Can you post an Higher resolution of that photo or do an enlargement of the medal bar worn by Thord-Gray, please ?

Lilo

Edited October 8, 2009 by lilo

[lilo]

Forgot to added the photo of the Order of San Fernando .........

Edited October 8, 2009 by lilo

[lilo]

another one

[lilo]

I think that Thord wore at least one unofficiel medal. In 1929 he was eleceted vice president of USA:s WW 1 veterans and in 1931 president after he had became an US citizen (certificate no 3386463, New Haven, Connecticut). As such he wore the veteran´s associaltions medel.

Thord-Gray received 2 USA unofficial badges (for veteran organizations) that you can find at the end of his medal bar in the first post of page 1.

They are :

1) USA, Military Order of Foreign Wars

Edited October 8, 2009 by lilo

[lilo]

2) USA, Military Order of the World Wars

Edited October 8, 2009 by lilo

[Mopsi]

Thanks! You got them!

I think that he as president of the WW 1 veterans organization felt that he ought to wear these medals.

And now about San Fernando. This is from a 1920 photo.

[Mopsi]

By the way: Thord was reactivated early 1942. US Army Draft Registration Card no U 3834. Greenwich, Connecticut. His task was to organize the counter-espionage in Florida.

[lilo]

By the way: Thord was reactivated early 1942. US Army Draft Registration Card no U 3834. Greenwich, Connecticut. His task was to organize the counter-espionage in Florida.

Hi

Many Thanks.

You have written : 'Thord did not write what medals he had got. It was made by his nephew MjGen Arne Hallström some 10 years after Thord passed away in 1964.'

Can you please let me know if Thord-Gray'snephew (MjGen Arne Hallström) did mentined the Spanish Order of San Fernando between the Orders given to him ?

Regards

Lilo