Maritime Medal 1940 - 1945
Medaille Maritime 1940 - 1945
Instituted 17th July 1941 by the
exiled Belgian Government in London. The initial decree defined this
as a bravery award for acts of courage in saving lives or preventing the
loss of a vessel, and could be award to the sailors of the Navy,
Merchant Navy or Fishing fleet. A further post war decree of 13th
August 1948 defined the period covered by the medal to be 3rd
September 1939 to 15 August 1945. New categories of entitlement were
also added which changed the nature of the award including: posthumously, to sailors who had lost their lives due to enemy
action at sea; sailors who had suffered two vessel sinkings due to
enemy action, and sailors who had served an aggregate of two years with
the Belgian fleets or the Royal Navy.
Description; 32.5mm diameter, of patinated
bronze. Suspension is by means of a ring through a fixed decorative
ribbon bow design attachment to the top of the disk. crossed anchors
of matching metal are worn on the ribbon. Obverse depicts the
Belgian lion rampant; reverse, the crowned monogram of Leopold III.
Ribbon; sea green with three narrow white stripes positioned to
each side.
Notes.
The medal was also awarded to native sailors of the Belgian Congo,
under the same conditions and on an equal footing to their European
counterparts. |