Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945

Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945
Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945
	; Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945 (obverse and reverse)
Type	War medal
Awarded for	Voluntary enlistment in the Belgian Armed Forces during the Second World War
Presented by	Kingdom of Belgium
Eligibility	Belgian citizens and foreign nationals
Status	No longer awarded
Established	16 February 1945
	Ribbon of the Medal

Count Charles of Limburg Stirum, a recipient of the Volunteer's Medal

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]

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]

Baron Charles Marie Jean Joseph Elvire Ghislain Poswick
Antoine Maria Joachim Lamoral, Prince of Ligne, Prince of Épinoy, Prince of Amblise
Baron Philippe Robert-Jones
Baron Paul Halter
Lieutenant General Roger Dewandre
Aviator Lieutenant General Armand Crekillie
Divisional Admiral Léon Lurquin
Aviator Vice Admiral Sir André Schlim
Commodore Georges Timmermans
Count Charles of Limburg Stirum
Count Philippe de Lannoy^[3]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "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)
^ "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.
^ 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)

External links[]

Bibliothèque royale de Belgique (In French)
Les Ordres Nationaux Belges (In French)
ARS MORIENDI Notables from Belgian history (In French and Dutch)

[decree-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "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)

[ARS-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

[1]

[2]

[3]

hide v t Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium
Current orders	Order of Leopold Order of the Crown Order of Leopold II
Former orders	Order of the African Star Royal Order of the Lion
Pre–1914	Iron Cross 1830 Volunteers' Commemorative Cross 1870–71 Commemorative Medal Service Star
1914–1918	Croix de guerre 1914–18 Fire Cross 1914–1918 Yser Medal Yser Cross Volunteer Combatant's Medal 1914–1918 Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1918 War Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1917 African Campaigns Liège Medal Political Prisoner's Medal 1914–1918 Deportees' Cross 1914–1918 King Albert Medal Queen Elisabeth Medal Inter-Allied Victory Medal 1914–1918 Civic Decoration 1914–1918
1940–1945	Croix de guerre 1940–45 Maritime Medal 1940–1945 1940–1945 Military Combatant's Medal Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945 1940–1945 African War Medal 1940–1945 Colonial War Effort Medal Resistance Medal 1940–1945 Civilian Resistance Medal Civilian Disobedience Medal Political Prisoner's Cross 1940–1945 Prisoner of War Medal 1940–1945 Escapees' Cross 1940–1945 Commemorative Medal of the 1940–1945 War Civic Decoration 1940–1945
Post–1945	Medal of Military Merit
Current military awards	Military Cross Military Decoration Croix de guerre (post–1954) Cross of Honour for Military Service Abroad Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations Medal for Services Rendered Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions Meritorious Service Medal Commemorative Medal for the "European March of Memory and Friendship" "Four Days of the Yser" Commemorative Medal
Current civilian awards	Civic Decoration Honour Badge of Labour Labour Decoration
Commemorative medals	Commemorative Decoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Creation of the Railroads Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Leopold II Centenary of National Independence Commemorative Medal Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Albert I
Belgium portal

Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945

Contents

Award description[]

Notable recipients (partial list)[]

See also[]

References[]

Other sources[]

External links[]

Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945
Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945 (obverse and reverse)
Type	War medal
Awarded for	Voluntary enlistment in the Belgian Armed Forces during the Second World War
Presented by	Kingdom of Belgium
Eligibility	Belgian citizens and foreign nationals
Status	No longer awarded
Established	16 February 1945

Ribbon of the Medal