Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945

The Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945 (French: "Médaille du Volontaire 1940–1945", Dutch: "Medaille van de Oorlogsvrijwilliger 1940–1945") was a Belgian war medal established by royal decree of the Regent on 16 February 1945 and awarded to Belgian and foreign civilians who voluntarily enlisted in the Belgian Armed Forces during the Second World War. The medal could also be awarded to volunteers serving in the Belgian units of the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy or British merchant navy.[1]

Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945

Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945 (obverse and reverse)
TypeWar medal
Awarded forVoluntary enlistment in the Belgian Armed Forces during the Second World War
Presented by Kingdom of Belgium
EligibilityBelgian citizens and foreign nationals
StatusNo longer awarded
Established16 February 1945
Ribbon of the Medal
Count Charles of Limburg Stirum, a recipient of the Volunteer's Medal

Award description

The Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945 was a 38 mm in diameter circular bronze medal. The obverse bore the relief image of a soldier standing at ease holding a rifle with a bayonet, the soldier is superimposed over a large capital letter V in front of a rising sun. The reverse bore the relief image of the Flemish "lion rampant" below the inscription in Latin "VOLONTARIIS", below the lion, the dates "1940" and "1945".[1]

The medal was suspended by a ring through the suspension loop from a 38 mm wide silk moiré ribbon composed of fifteen 2 mm wide alternating red and blue stripes and two 4 mm wide blue edge stripes.[1]

Notable recipients (partial list)

The individuals listed below were awarded the 1940–1945 Volunteer's Medal:[2]

See also
  • List of Orders, Decorations and Medals of the Kingdom of Belgium

References
  1. "Royal Decree of the Regent of 16 February 1945 creating the 1940–1945 Volunteer's Medal". Belgian Defence Ministry. 1945-02-16. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. "Recipients of the 1940–1945 Volunteer's Medal compiled from the ARS MORIENDI web site" (in French). ARS MORIENDI. 2012-07-06. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  3. Genealogie

Other sources
  • Quinot H., 1950, Recueil illustré des décorations belges et congolaises, 4e Edition. (Hasselt)
  • Cornet R., 1982, Recueil des dispositions légales et réglementaires régissant les ordres nationaux belges. 2e Ed. N.pl., (Brussels)
  • Borné A.C., 1985, Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830–1985 (Brussels)
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