War Medals and Their HistorySteward, William Augustus
History
War Medals and Their History
Steward, William Augustus
Great Britain. Army -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.
On the reverse in the foreground is represented a piece of artillery
captured from the Turks, with the sun in its splendour above, the date
1912 being inscribed on the orb itself, and running with the line of
the medal above is the Serbian inscription, in native characters,
signifying "Kossovo avenged," the field of Kossovo being the place
where the Serbians lost their independence in 1389. The medal, which
bears the Swiss modeller's name, Hugeunin Frères, is suspended from
a silk-woven ribbon, with the national colours, red, blue, and white,
repeated perpendicularly six times.
=The Serbo-Bulgarian War.=--The medal issued for the war with the
Bulgarians is in the form of a Cross--41 millimetres in dimension. This
is a very plain, bronze, gilt Cross, bearing on the obverse the royal
monogram and surmounted by the royal crown, and on the reverse the date
1913. The decoration is suspended from a red ribbon with an edging
of black. Five hundred thousand of these Crosses were issued to the
officers and men who took part in the campaign, and four Crosses were
struck in gold for the Court.
="For Courage."=--The third medal is for valour, and was awarded to
those officers and men who particularly distinguished themselves in the
two campaigns. On the obverse is a strong figure of Obilitch, a warrior
revered by the Serbian people. He has been their national hero since
1389, the ideal and the eternal spirit which inspired and encouraged
the Serbian people to live for the time when they could throw off the
yoke of the Turk. Around the bust of Obilitch is the inscription, in
Serbian characters, Miloch Obilitch, National Hero, 1389. It will
be noticed that the crest or chimera which surmounts the helmet of
the hero helps to give the connection between the shaped ring for
suspension and the decoration. On the reverse is the cross of chivalry,
and a wreath of laurel encircling the legend, in Serbian characters,
"For Courage." Crossed swords fittingly fill the gaps between the
arms of the cross. The medal, modelled by M. Henri Hugeunin, is 36
millimetres in diameter, is suspended from a red silk ribbon. Seven of
these decorations (see facing page 376) were struck in gold, 101 in
silver, 4,000 in silver-plated bronze, and 27,000 in bronze gilt.
[Illustration: FOR SERBO-TURKISH WAR, 1912.
FOR SERBO-BULGARIAN WAR, 1913.
SERBIAN MEDALS.]
=The Sanatory Cross.=--The "Sanatory Cross," which is bronze gilt
and enamelled, and 40 millimetres at its greatest dimension, was
distributed to those men and women who rendered service in the medical
department during the two campaigns. On the obverse is the Serbian
eagle on an enamelled ground, and on the reverse the inscription in
Serbian characters, "For care to the wounded and sick." The inscription
also stands out on an enamelled circle. Four thousand five hundred were
issued with the sky-blue ribbon arranged in triangular form for men,
and 3,500 in tie form for women. (See facing page 376.)
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