Beautiful Polish medal in presentation case. What is it?

[mmerc20]

This is a very beautiful commemorative medal I have in the collection, but I don't know anything about it, nor can I find anything online. Can someone enlighten me as to what specifically it is? Has anyone seen one before?

Mike

[Hauptmann]

Hi Mike. I'm not an expert but I did some translation and research and this is what I've come up with. I may be wrong but hoping I'm at least in the ballpark:

Sztandor PSP wraca do kraju = Banner PSP returns to the country

NOTE: PSP stands for - Polskie Sily Powietrzne (Polish Air Forces)

Medal Pamiatkowy dla = Memorial medal for

z okazji = the occassion

Swiatowego = The World

Zjazdu Lotnikow Polskich = Congress of Polish Airmen

komitet organizacyjny = Organizing Committee

Warizawa - Deblin 3-7 September 1992

So it seems that this was a memorial medal to commemorate the occassion of the return of a Polish Airforce banner to Dublin to Warsaw Poland from the 3rd to the 7th of September 1992. I'm assuming both the event and the medal were produced by the organizing committee of the world congress of Polish airmen.

Silly question but is there anything on the reverse? Or perhaps on the top of the case?

Here are some pics and info I found on the return of banners/flags from a Polish Air Force squadron... if you click on some of the links you can see the pics:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=http://odkrywca.pl/pokaz_watek.php%3Fid%3D450591&ei=nvoUS8nPFIS8ngf1rtziBg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBEQ7gEwAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3DSztandar%2BPSP%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX

Anyhow I hope I'm at least near the mark on this. I've got to head to work but if no one else responds when I return I'll see if I can dig up anything else.

Oh, and the eagle with the wreath pictured on the medal is a Polish pilots badge. Here are some examples:

http://www.ww2wings.com/wings/poland/polandpilot.shtml

Hope this helps.

Dan

[mmerc20]

Wow! Great work. I appreciate it. I was trying to upload better pictures of the front and the reverse, but the internet was really lagging and I couldn't do it. I will try again when I get home from work.

Mike

[Hauptmann]

Hi Mike,

No problem. I enjoy working on little mysteries like this. My first Hungarian award was purchased off Ebay as a Soviet award but the seller wasn't sure. It didn't look Soviet but with a bit of research on the wording on it, etc., I was able to pretty much nail it down. Turned out it was a rare piece too which didn't hurt.

I got home about a half hour ago and tried to find more but I think I've pretty much shot my bolt on this one. I do hope some of our other members will pop in and add to this... assuming again that what I've come up with is correct. I've really curious to learn more about this piece.

Will be keeping my fingers crossed in the hope that more comes to light.

Dan

[mmerc20]

Here is the back. I am curious if it is just an unissued piece. It looks like the horizontal line on the card in the case was meant to put someones name.

Mike

[mmerc20]

and here is a better view of the front

[IrishGunner]

Dan's Polish translation and description of the front of this commemorative medal are excellent!

The translation of the reverse is similar:

Cel osiągnięty = "Goal achieved"

Sztandor PSP wraca do wolnej Polski = "Standard of the Polish Air Force returns to a free Poland"

Of course, Poland gained "freedom" in 1989 after Lech Walesa's Solidarity caused the collapse of the Polish communist state. The return of the flag happened in 1992 - when Poland was again free.

After Poland was defeated by the Germans and the Soviets in 1939, Poland's remaining pilots fled the country, first to Romania, then to France, finally ending up in Britain. Polish fighter squadrons fighting as part of the RAF were hugely instrumental in the success of the Battle of Britain. These Polish units (including Army units) fought as part of British forces, but had a unique Polish identity and had there own regimental standards.

This medal commemorates the return of the Polish Air Force Standard to a free Poland from the UK, where it had been all during the communist period. Of course, there was a communist PSP flag, but the Polish Air Force honors reverently the squadrons that fought against Germany with the British. Thus, the return of this particular flag had special meaning.

What you see on the reverse of the medal, in the center, is the PSP Standard itself; it is surrounded by the unit insignia of each Polish Air Force squadron. The location of the event - Dęblin, Poland - is the home of the Polish Air Force Academy. The building on the front is the Academy. Warsaw (Warszawa) is listed on the medal because part of the Congress probably took place in the capital, where Air Force headquarters is located.

These type commemorative medals are popular with the Polish military; I have received a few of them by attending events - most recently the 20th anniversary of the Polish General Staff.

Edited December 1, 2009 by IrishGunner

[Hauptmann]

Rick, many thanks for the assist on this one. So happy to hear I was just about on the mark. The one thing I got wrong was it being Dublin (as in Ireland) instead of Dęblin, Poland. But at least I got the correct gist of it.

I think it's a beatiful piece that Mike has. I wondered if you'd be willing to post at least some of the ones you have as well? I'm sure others would love to see them... I know I would. I tend to love these large medals especially when cased. I've gotten a few DDR and Hungarian ones and am always on the looking for more that interest me.

Again thanks so much for jumping in on this!

Dan

[IrishGunner]

I think it's a beatiful piece that Mike has. I wondered if you'd be willing to post at least some of the ones you have as well?

Dan

Actually, none of the ones I had received are as nice as Mike's... Unfortunately - for posting - I have given most of mine away since this isn't something I really collect. I think I still have the General Staff medallion in my office though; will take a look and try to post. But again, not nearly as ornamental as this one. And I think the case is simply a plastic box.

[mmerc20]

I guess I'm pleased that I have one of the nicer ones out there. I have spent a lot of time online trying to find another example out there but haven't had any luck. I wonder how many were made. I have a few Polish pieces in the collection (3 monte cassino crosses, home army cross, army active service, etc.) but this is by far the most unique! I was thinking about selling it awhile ago, but I have no clue how to even put a value on it. I suppose I will just hang on to it for awhile.

Mike

[IrishGunner]

3 monte cassino crosses

Mike

Now I'm impressed...

:D

[mmerc20]

Irishgunner, see the new topic. I posted pictures of them.

[IrishGunner]

I wondered if you'd be willing to post at least some of the ones you have as well? I'm sure others would love to see them... I know I would. I tend to love these large medals especially when cased. I've gotten a few DDR and Hungarian ones and am always on the looking for more that interest me.

Dan

I finally brought these home from my office to post. Sorry for the poor image quality. My wife is the photographer and I have to be careful in the critique; she works for free!

This first one is for the 90th Anniversary of the Polish General Staff, which was 2008. It comes in a very simple plastic case. The medal is about 3 inches in diameter.

The front: "Sztab Generalny Wojska Polskiego" - General Staff of the Polish Army

[IrishGunner]

The reverse: "Sztab Generalny 90 lat" - General Staff 90 years

The building is the current General Staff Headquarters in Warsaw.

[IrishGunner]

This next one is for the 10th Anniversary (2009) of Multinational Corps Northeast, headquartered in Szczecin, Poland. This corps is available for NATO and actually the corps staff will shortly be serving as the bulk of ISAF Headquarters in Afghanistan.

Again, about 3 inches in diameter; comes in a nice felt/cardboard box.

(PS: This one could be available for trade. )

The front: The corps' emblem.

[IrishGunner]

The reverse: Poland, Denmark, and Germany are the lead nations for the corps; the flags represent all eleven countries that have personnel assigned to the corps headquarters.

[mmerc20]

Thanks for posting the pictures!

Mike