Medals Related to Belgium

The medal's obverse bears pelican (?) sitting on red cross shield; cross in background.

The reverse bears legend. Around, CROIX ROUGE DE BELGIQUE; across, RECONNAISSANCE / AUX / DONNEURS DE SANG

This medal was awarded to blood donors by the Belgian Red Cross. It exists in a French and a Flemish version that differ in the language of the inscription on the reverse.

The circular medal measures 50.2mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. Neither artist nor mintage nor mint are known to me and I would appreciate any additional information.

The medal's obverse depicts the allegory of the blind man and the lame, the seeing-eyed younger man carried on the blind man's shoulders, legs dangling uselessly to one side; thorny thistles to one side.  Around top, AIDONS-NOUS MUTUELLEMENT: LA CHARGE DES MALHEURS EN SERA PLUS LEGERE; signed around lower left, G. DEVREESE. 1916.

The reverse bears enameled red cross shield over laurels. Around top, CROIX ROUGE DE BELGIQUE; across, SECOURS AUX VICTIMES / DES INONDATIONS / 1925 - 1926 / -.- / TEMOINAGE / DE RECONNAISSANCE

The story of the blind man and the lame helping each other became popular in France during the 18th century and is frequently attributed to Aesop, though there is little evidence to support this claim.  The legend around the top translates roughly to: "Let us help each other: the burden of misfortune will be lighter."

Eastern Belgium experienced heavy snowfall during December of 1925, followed by heavy rains in early 1926.  As a consequence, the Meuse River Valley in the Walloon region of Eastern Belgium experienced heavy flooding and there was a wide-spread aid effort in which the Belgian Red Cross played a crucial role.

This medal was given to aid donors and helpers as a token of recognition. The circular medal measures 70mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

The obverse bears bust of Kaiser Wilhelm II with necklace of skulls and iron cross; rifle with bayonett to left. Around, THE FOE OF FREE PEOPLES; below, HIS / ROSARY.

The reverse bears German soldier abducting helpless Belgian woman, callously stepping over child on ground. Around, KULTUR IN BELGIUM; below, MURDER PILLAGE.

The edge is marked MEDALLIC ART CO. N.Y.

This medal was clearly a response to German artist Karl Goetz' satirical war medals which depicted the allied side in a bad light. Goetz' medals were reviled by the Allies and caused a huge backlash, particularly his infamous Lusitania medal. Artistically, Goetz was on the leading edge of realism while French, British, and American sculptors were still depicting war in terms of carefully crafted Art Nouveau imagery, the horror of war often represented by an angel of death, a weeping widow or a cemetery.

Manship obviously decided that Goetz' medals deserved retaliation in kind. His medal is a true masterpiece of propaganda art, yet it was received with some ambivalence. The June, 1918 issue of the American Magazine of Arts reported:

"In some of the shop windows on Fifth Avenue, New York, is now to be seen a bronze medal designed and executed by Paul Manship representing the outrages perpetrated by the German army upon women and children in invaded territory, particularly in Belgium. This is offered for sale at $10.00 a piece and puts into permanent form those things which if possible should not be remembered, but if remembered not visualized."

The medal measures 66.2mm (2 5/8in) in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   Baxter 365, MACo 1918-005, Murtha 103

The medal's obverse bears nurse bent over hospital bed with soldier, table with plant and window in background. In exergue, Au service de la Souffrance; signed in bottom right cotner, G. DEVREESE.

The reverse bears enameled red cross shield over laurel branches.  Around top, CROIX ROUGE DE BELGIQUE; across, EN SOUVENIR / DES SERVICES RENDUS / AU COURS DE LA GUERRE / 1914 - 1919

The medal measures 63.6mm x 69mm and was struck in bronze by the Jules Fonson mint. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears conjoined busts of Marie Depage and Edith Clavell, facing left, with laurel branch behind them. Around, MARIE DEPAGE - EDITH CAVELL; signed on truncation, A BONNETAIN / 1919

The reverse bears legend only, 1915 / REMEMBER

Marie Depage and Edith Cavell were heroines of World War I on the Allied side. Marie Depage was the wife of the prominent doctor Antoine Depage, who was a surgeon to the Belgian King.  In 1907 she founded a laicised non-denominational medical institute in 1907, the Berkendael Medical Institute (also known as L'École Belge d’Infirmières Diplômées), in Uccle near Brussels, with British Edith Cavell as head nurse.

Depage travelled to the US in January 1915 to raise funds for the L'Océan hospital. After raising $100,000 in a few weeks, she received news that her middle son Lucien would be joining her eldest son Pierre at the front, and decided to return to Belgium. She booked passage on the RMS Lusitania, leaving New York on 1 May 1915 for Liverpool via Queenstown in the south of Ireland. The ship was torpedoed by German submarine U-20 at about 2:10 pm on 7 May 1915, and rapidly sank. Depage assisted other passengers to board lifeboats, and treated some injured on the deck of the sinking vessel. As the ship sank, she became entangled in ropes and drowned, one of nearly 1,200 killed from almost 2,000 aboard.

Edith Cavell continued to work at the Berkendael Medical Institute, where she helped hundreds of allied soldiers escape.  Her humanitarian actions, which she freely confessed after her arrest, rendered the normal protections accorded to medical personnel void. She was court-martialed, sentenced to death for treason and, despite international pleas for mercy, executed by firing squad.

Both women were celebrated as martyrs and heroines and monuments as well as medals commemorate their lives and deaths.

The circular medal measures 58mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by Jules Fonson and Company. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears Queen Astrid, facing left. Signed at bottom right, G. DEVREESE

The reverse bears cross in center field. Around, · LA CROIX ROUGE · / RECONNAISANCE

An identical portrait to the one on the obverse appears on a larger medal commemorating Queen Astrid's death, dated 1935.  I would date this medal to about the same time period but would appreciate a Belgian medal or Devreese specialist's opinion on this.

The circular medal measures 45mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by Jules Fonson and Company. No mintage is reported.

The plaquette's obverse bears laurel-crowned young woman, facing right, holding wreath of laurels and stars.

The reverse bears legend, COMITÉ DE BRUXELLES / DE LA / CROIX ROUGE DE BELGIQUE / TÉMOINAGE / DE RECONNAISSANCE / 1934

This little plquette was issued by the Red Cross Committee of the city of Brussels.

The plaquette measures 35.1mm x 55.7mm and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

The plaquette's obverse bears knight with cross-emblazoned tunic, sheathed sword and shield held strapped to left arm, standing in door frame, shielding huddled women and children from billowing smoke or clouds in background. Signed in top right corner, Jean Droit

The reverse bears legend and dedication, CROIX ROUGE / DE / BELGIQUE / (inscribed) MR. A. PIRON

According to the artist's French Wikipedia entry, this is one of two iconic images he created for the Red Cross. This one symbolizes the perfect qualities of the Red Cross helper: the knight without fear and beyond reproach.

The rectangular plaquette measures 57.3mm x 66.3mm and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, facing right; to left, crown over E; signed at lower right, Alfred Courtens / 1953

The reverse bears recessed cross. Across, SA MAJESTE / LA REINE ELISABETH / PRESIDENTE D'HONNEUR / DE LA CROIX-ROUGE / DE / BELGIQUE; engraved, Melle  D. FRISON / 1917 - 1968

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium was the honorary chairwoman of the Belgian Red Cross for many decades.

The circular medal measures 69.9mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by Jules Fonson and Company. No mintage is reported.