Some of you know I have a modest but steadily growing collection of Great War awards from various countries that participated in the conflict. Recently I was lucky enough to acquire a particularly nice set of medals that were awarded to a brave Belgian officer who fought in the Great War.



From left to right:

Order of Leopold, officer class, with swords and a palm on the ribbon for bravery in the field.
Order of the Crown, officer class, with palm for bravery in the field.
Belgian Croix de Guerre, with two palms, each one for a mention in dispatches on the army level.
Yser Medal, for veterans of the Battle of the Yser in late October 1914, in which the Belgian army finally managed to stop the advancing Germans in their sector, stabilizing the front on the Yser line.

The gongs are mounted on a French-style bar.

Unfortunately, as is often the case in this hobby, I do not know the name of the original recipient. But clearly he was a very brave man. The Order of Leopold in particular is a special honor, as it is the highest order of Belgium and was not lightly awarded with a palm on the ribbon.

As always, I'll take this opportunity to encourage the good devs to add the Belgian Aviation Militaire to WOFF. I'd love to fly for Brave Little Belgium.

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That is a beautiful set Hasse and on a correct period hanger bar as well. Very nice addition to your collection Sir, and they could not have gone to a better fellow to take care of them. I have all but the Yser Medal in my own collection of WWI medals. Love these old gongs!

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Thanks Lou, I remember well your own collection and especially your French pilot uniform project.

Interestingly, the Yser Medal on this bar is mounted reverse side up. This is not the first time I've seen such a thing, so I imagine it to have been a relatively common mistake. And perhaps the Belgians were never as strict with the rules as some other countries.

For those of you wondering about the design of the medal, it depicts a wounded lion, symbolizing Belgium, roaring defiantly on the bank of a river (the Yser). The letter A is for the King of the Belgians, Albert I, who was the C-in-C of the Belgian army.

Nice. I am soooo jealous.

Very nice Haase thanks for sharing it