WesWorld

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I need your advise.

How to honor braverxy or extraordinary actions in military or civilian service?

Having the problem of running a fictious power I need to have some kind of system at hand how to honor bravery in service for the Empire.

Bad news is I have little knowledge about historical stuff except the Iron Cross thing. Good news is I have at least some ideas. :o)

Ideas:

- Generally (For military service) something like a medal or cross in silver, gold, with diamonds and finally as Great Cross?

- Something similar or a single medal for bravery in civil service (like fire fighting, rescuing people out of a mine etc.)? Could this be awared more than once per single person?

- Different stuff for navy, army and airforce (like in OTL Britain)? Probably something for pilots who shot down 20/40/60...100+ planes or captains sinking x tons of enemy shipping?

- Official named as hero in some great hall of great warriors?

- Being an Empire there could also be something regarding knighthood. Probably somebody can be taken into the Order of Royal or Imperial Knights? What about the highest award being taken into the ranks of the Order of the Empires Greatest Defenders?!

So these are my ideas. What do you think? It is possible to generate some kind of useful system out of this stuff? Can one of you come up with something?

Many thanks!

I've always liked the WWII german award system: progressive condecorations from Iron cross 2nd rank up to Knight's cross with golden oakleaves and swords, and diamonds. You needed the previous condecoration to achieve the next one.

Being an empire opens the chance to award knighthood titles too.

Maybe a mix of both would be a good idea .

My suggestion would be to look up African culture and look for revered symbols that you may be able to use either for symbolic use or for naming. There may be some historical awards already in some of those country's that make up the Wesworld South African Empire.

Creating some sort of ceremonial shrine, cemetary or wall/statue would be good as well. Somewhere to imortalize the fallen hero's.

Since the SAE is, at least to some degree, Germanic, perhaps they still award the Pour le Merite?

I thought the SAE was Dutch in origin, more than Germanic?

Another way to handle honoring actions is to use a series of medals based on the deed: ie, a person can earn the nations highest award without having to step up through lower ranking awards, but the deed has to be of special caliber. This means that a person might earn a number of medals of the same rank, for different actions at different times.

Certainly an empire would seem likely to have knighthoods, or an equivalent system.

All good comments and further idea.

The SAE is mainly of African and Dutch origin with strong German and English influence on the African continent. In South America it´s more Iberian with English influence.

For simplicity´s sake I´m fine with using all English - except Walter comes up with some nice Dutch names for Medals.

Anyway, give all those ideas and my complete lack of understanding why medals were awarded historically (What were the criteria?) and how to stack them should a soldier be brave more than once (probably unlikely in the SAE forces ) or honored posthumously, is anybody out there who is willing to lend his hand and offer a system made of the above including names for the medals? It would be such a great help....

For names I usually look here: http://www.20000-names.com/
I have an English-Afrikaans option with the dictionary on my computer, but the wordlist is rather limited so I thought it would be better to use Dutch...

The Militaire Willems-Orde (Military Order of William) is the oldest and highest honour of the Netherlands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_William

You might want to take a look at the SAE's history of royalty. Not sure how far it goes back, but if it is fairly recent, you could use the name of the first SAE king and stick that to the name.

Example: Let's say that the name of the First King is Joris (a Dutch and Frisian form of George according to the name page), then it would be called the Militaire Joris-Orde, (Military Order of George)

... or you can simply stick to the English names.

Might be an idea to look at the VC and make something like that the second highest award from the SAE. Use the name of the wife of the king I mentioned above

Example: Let's say that the name of the First King's wife is Stefana (= Dutch feminine form of Scandinavian 'Stefan'; sorry but I could not resist using that name, Stephan ), then you would get the SC, the Stefana Cross.

A few simple ideas for you to look at. At the bottom of the Order of William page are links to the Order of the Dutch Lion and Order of Orange Nassau. You could take a look and see if you can alter those two for SAE use. Perhaps combine those with some bits from Germany and a few other bits from the UK... and perhaps look at existing decorations from other nations as well for ideas.

I did run across a couple of pages a while back regarding Japanese awards and made a list of them which I posted on the Navalism Board. The only ones I made up are the two highest awards: the Order of the White Hawk and the Order of the Crystal Cross. The rest are historical and they would be valid for Wesworld Japan as well.

Good ideas, I´ll check those links. Might also be an option to name the highest military order after the first King and the highest civilian order after the first Queen...

Those japanese medals with all their different colors seem dificult to handle. I´ll prefer a more easily approach like with the German Iron Cross. How would you name such a medal which will then be available in silver, gold, with diamond and as Grand (or Great?) Cross. "Medal of Honor" is an option of course but probably associated with the US too much.

For Dutch names I usually look here as the side includes old names too.

Quoted

Might also be an option to name the highest military order after the first King and the highest civilian order after the first Queen

I think that that would definitely work.

Quoted

Those japanese medals with all their different colors seem dificult to handle.

Each of those colours is awarded under certain circumastances (see here). I do think that on that color chart, the Purple and Dark Blue look almost the same. The Purple and Dark Blue ribbons are actially later (1955 and 1919 respectively) so in reality they should not be present in the Navalism Universe... but I just ignored that minor detail. The more the better.

Quoted

I´ll prefer a more easily approach like with the German Iron Cross. How would you name such a medal which will then be available in silver, gold, with diamond and as Grand (or Great?) Cross.

You mean something like this?
German Iron Cross => Duits IJzeren Kruis.
Iron Cross in Silver => IJzeren Kruis in Zilver.
Iron Cross in Gold => IJzeren Kruis in Goud
Iron Cross in Gold with Diamonds=> IJzeren Kruis in Goud met Briljanten (like the German "Brillanten")
Great Cross of the Iron Cross => Groot Kruis van het IJzeren Kruis
Note to some: 'IJ' is one letter, similar to 'Y'

Wiki has a page on the Dutch medals which might give some ideas.

Three kinds- civilian, military, and "House" or Monarch bequeathed.

medals

The Dutch Order of the Crown, as reorganized, sounds a bit like the progression you are looking for.
Order of the Crown

Some of the other orders have grades as well.

Might be a good idea to have a medal for lower ranks and NCOs. Only officers got crosses in most armies.

Civilians only ever really got medals, but a Cross for really brave actions would be a good idea.

Airforces tend to have their own medals too, eg. the RAF had the DFC, DFM (for bravery not in combat) and the Air Medal for uncommissioned airmen. I always like the 'Bar' for second and third awards eg, DFM with two bars.

The Navy too would have its own awards. Navy Crosses with the same ranks as the Army awards would be an easy option.


All this has got me thinking about Argentine awards now. Anyone ever heard of any that I could use? Maybe the San Martin Cross?

Not sure if I like the idea of different medals for lower and higher ranks. In this case I prefer the German system which made no difference....

Here is a wiki page with all nations medals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_decorations

A very useful link, thank you lot....

I worked out something. What do you think?

Medals for extraordinary bravery in military and civilian service

General

The Order of the Imperial Knights is the highest order of chivalry in the Empire of South Africa. The order was founded in 1847. Membership in the order is limited to a small number of knights, and is divided into two classes: members of reigning house and capitular knights. Before 1918, membership was limited to nobles, but after that date the statutes of the order were modified. However, capitular knights who are not nobles are raised to the nobility regulary anyway. Capitular knights are generally high-ranking government officials or military officers. A recipient is entitled to use the post-nominal letters IK. The badge of the order is a golden cross, enamelled in blue, with a diamont between the arms of the cross. The badge is worn from either a sash ribbon or chain. The ribbon of the order is an orange moiré sash worn from the left shoulder to the right hip, with the badge resting on the hip. The chain of the order is worn around the neck, with the badge suspended from it. It features 24 interlocking links, alternating a lion and a device featuring a center medallion with the motto Suum Cuique (literally "To each his own," but idiomatically "To each according to his merits."), a blue enameled ring around this, and crowns at each cross point. The star of the order is a silver eight-pointed star, with straight or faceted rays depending on the jeweller's design. The center medallion features a lion on a golden background, surrounded by a white enamelled ring bearing a wreath of laurels and the motto of the order, Suum Cuique. The lion gripped a wreath of laurels in its right claw and a thunderbolt in its left. At meetings of the chapter of the Order, a red velvet cape with blue lining is worn, featuring an embroidered star of the order on the left shoulder.

Military

The Military Order of the Empires Greatest Defenders is the highest purely military order of the South African Empire. It was founded on January 1, 1806 by King Frederik I. The order comes in three classes - Grand Cross, Commander's Cross and Knight's Cross. The honor to become a member of the order is bestowed to members of the South African armed forces who distinguished themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the South African Empire. Because of its nature, membership is sometimes awarded posthumously. For recipients of the order who are not already members of the nobility, receipt of the order confers a patent of nobility, signified by the title "Knight" added to the recipient's name and the post-nominal letters GD. The badge of the order is a white-enameled gold Maltese cross with balls at the end of each cross point. The center medallion, in blue enamel and edged in gold, featured the monogram of King Frederik I on the obverse and the Latin motto of the order, "Virtuti pro patria" ("Bravery for the fatherland") on the reverse, both in gold. Above the cross was a gold crown. The badge of the Knight's Cross is much smaller than that of many other military orders and decorations. It measures 28-mm in width and 50-mm in height including the crown and ring. It is worn from a ribbon on the officer's medal bar ahead of other decorations or, typically, separately worn through the buttonhole. Since 1918, wear of the Knight's Cross around the neck, an unofficial practice for some time, is permitted by the existing chancery of the order. The badge of a Commander's Cross is somewhat larger than the Knight's Cross, measuring 38-mm by 55-mm. It is worn from a ribbon around the neck. The Grand Cross is still larger (68-mm by 100-mm), and has golden rays between the arms of the cross. The star of the order, which only comes with the Grand Cross, is a silver eight-pointed star (with each point made of five rays). The center of the star features a badge of the order, but with an oversized medallion, bearing the motto "Virtuti pro patria". The ribbon of the order is black moiré with inner white and outer blue edge stripes.

The Order of Distinguished Service is a military decoration of the South African Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat, each award being announced in the Pretoria Gazette. Recipients of the order are officially known as Companions of the Distinguished Service Order. They are entitled to use the post-nominal letters DSO. A bar is added to the ribbon for holders of the DSO who receive a second award. The medal signifying its award is a gold (silver-gilt) cross, enamelled white and edged in gold. In the centre, within a wreath of laurel, enamelled green, is the Imperial Crown in gold upon a red enamelled ground. On the reverse is the South African coat of arms in gold upon a red enamelled ground, within a wreath of laurel, enamelled green. A ring at the top of the medal attaches to a ring at the bottom of a gold "suspension" bar, ornamented with laurel. At the top of the ribbon is a second gold bar ornamented with laurel. The red ribbon has narrow blue edges. The medals are issued unnamed but some recipients have had their names engraved on the reverse of the suspension bar. The bar for a second award is plain gold with an Imperial Crown in the centre. The back of the bar is engraved with the year of the award. A rosette is worn on the ribbon in undress uniform to signify the award of a bar.

The Nkwe ya Gauta (Golden Leopard) is South Africa's highest military decoration. It may be awarded for exceptional bravery during military operations to those members of the South African military forces who were already awarded the Nkwe ya Selefera (Silver Leopard). A bar may be awarded to a recipient who earns the decoration again. A recipient is entitled to use the post-nominal letters NG. The decoration is a gold 5-armed convex cross with rays separating the arms. In the centre is a light blue roundel displaying a leopard's head. The South African coat of arms appears on the reverse. The ribbon is light blue with gold edges. Light blue represents the feathers of the blue crane bird, which Xhosa kings used to present to brave warriors. An arm-of-service emblem is worn on the ribbon to indicate whether the recipient was serving in the army, air force, navy, or military health service at the time of earning the decoration. The NG forms part of a trio of military decorations for bravery, the others being the Nkwe ya Selefera (Silver Leopard) and the Nkwe ya Boronse (Bronze Leopard).

The Nkwe ya Selefera (Silver Leopard) is a South African military decoration. It may be awarded for conspicuous bravery during military operations to those members of the South African military forces who were already awarded the Nkwe ya Boronse (Bronze Leopard).. A recipient is entitled to use the post-nominal letters NS. The decoration is a silver 5-armed convex cross with rays separating the arms. In the centre is a light blue roundel displaying a leopard's head. The South African coat of arms appears on the reverse. The ribbon is light blue with white edges. Light blue represents the feathers of the blue crane bird, which Xhosa kings used to present to brave warriors. An arm-of-service emblem is worn on the ribbon to indicate whether the recipient was serving in the army, air force, navy, or military health service at the time of earning the decoration. The NS forms part of a trio of military decorations for bravery, the others being the Nkwe ya Gauta (Golden Leopard) and the Nkwe ya Boronse (Bronze Leopard).

The Nkwe ya Boronse (Bronze Leopard) is a South African military decoration. It may be awarded for bravery during military operations to members of the South African armed forces. A recipient is entitled to use the post-nominal letters NB. The decoration is a bronze 5-armed convex cross with rays separating the arms. In the centre is a light blue roundel displaying a leopard's head. The South African coat of arms appears on the reverse. The ribbon is light blue with bronze edges. Light blue represents the feathers of the blue crane bird, which Xhosa kings used to present to brave warriors. An arm-of-service emblem is worn on the ribbon to indicate whether the recipient was serving in the army, air force, navy, or military health service at the time of earning the decoration. The NB forms part of a trio of military decorations for bravery, the others being the Nkwe ya Gauta (Golden Leopard) and the Nkwe ya Selefera (Silver Leopard).

iPhrothiya yeGolide (Golden Protea) is a South African military decoration. It may be awarded to members of the South African armed forces for exceptional leadership, or exceptional meritorious service and utmost devotion to duty in case these members are already awarded the iPhrothiya yeSiliva. A bar may be awarded to a recipient who earns the decoration again. A recipient is entitled to use the post-nominal letters PG. The decoration is a 6-pointed gold star, displaying a stylised protea flower on a blue hexagon. The reverse depicts the South African coat of arms. The protea is South Africa's national flower. The ribbon is blue with a centre panel of gold - black - gold stripes. If the decoration is earned during a military operation, an arm-of-service emblem will be worn on the ribbon to indicate whether the recipient was serving in the army, air force, navy, or military health service at the time of earning the award. The PG forms part of a trio of military decorations for meritorious service, the others being iPhrothiya yeSiliva (Silver Protea) and iPhrothiya yeBhronzi (Bronze Protea).

iPhrothiya yeSiliva (Silver Protea) is a South African military decoration. It may be awarded for outstanding leadership, or outstanding meritorious service and particular devotion to duty to members of the South African armed forces who earned the iPhrothiya yeBhronzi before. A recipient is entitled to use the post-nominal letters PS. The decoration is a 6-pointed silver star, displaying a stylised protea flower on a blue hexagon. The reverse depicts the South African coat of arms. The protea is South Africa's national flower. The ribbon is blue with a centre panel of white - black - gold - black - white stripes. If the decoration is earned during a military operation, an arm-of-service emblem will be worn on the ribbon to indicate whether the recipient was serving in the army, air force, navy, or military health service at the time of earning the award. The PS forms part of a trio of military decorations for meritorious service, the others being iPhrothiya yeGolide (Golden Protea) and iPhrothiya yeBhronzi (Bronze Protea).

iPhrothiya yeBhronzi (Bronze Protea) is a South African military decoration. It may be awarded to members of the South African armed forces for leadership, or meritorious service and devotion to duty. A recipient is entitled to use the post-nominal letters PB. The decoration is a 6-pointed bronze star, displaying a stylised protea flower on a blue hexagon. The reverse depicts the South African coat of arms. The protea is South Africa's national flower. The ribbon is blue with a centre panel of white - black - white - black - white - black - white stripes. If the decoration is earned during a military operation, an arm-of-service emblem will be worn on the ribbon to indicate whether the recipient was serving in the army, air force, navy, or military health service at the time of earning the award. The PB forms part of a trio of military decorations for meritorious service, the others being iPhrothiya yeGolide (Golden Protea) and iPhrothiya yeSiliva (Silver Protea).

The Combat Medal is a military decoration of the South African Empire which is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the South African armed forces, shall have distinguished himself/herself by meritorious achievement. Awards may be made to recognize single acts of merit or heroism, or for meritorious service. The medal can be earned more than once by a single person. The medal resembles a bronze compass rose charged with a lions volant carrying two lightning flashes in its pawn. At the top point a stylized propeller, anchor or cannon with a blood-red ruby at its top holds the suspension ring. For every time after the first time the medal is awarded another ruby is added. The points of the compass rose on the reverse are modeled with the central portion plain for engraving the name of the recipient.

The Medalje vir Troue Diens (Medal for Loyal Service) is a South African military medal. It is awarded to members of the South African military forces who complete ten years qualifying service and whose character and conduct have been irreproachable. Clasps are added after further periods of ten years service. The medal is silver-nickel, and has a scalloped edge. The obverse displays the South African coat of arms, and the reverse bears the words "Vir Troue Diens". The ribbon is green edged in red and white (on the left) and blue and white (on the right).

Civilian

The Queen's Medal for Bravery is the highest South African civilian decoration. It was instituted by Queen Stefana on 23 June 1873. The Queen's Medal is awarded for gallantry in saving or endeavouring to save the lives of others. It has two classes: gold and silver. Although it is primarily a civilian award, during war times it is also granted to military personnel, for non-combatant acts of gallantry. The medal depicts a men in 18th-century style cloth on a horse in front of Cape Good Hope, rescuing shipwreck survivors from a stormy sea. As a result, the medal is often humorous referred to as the "Shipwreck Medal". Its ribbon is blue with orange edges, two of the colours of the South African national flag. The medal is rated equal to the Nkwe ya Gauta which is the highest military decoration. However, despite its status, the medal has no post-nominal letters.

The Conspicuous Gallantry Medallion is the second level civil decoration of the South African Empire. It was instituted to recognize civilian gallantry and brave deeds. Announcing the new award, King Phillip II said: "In order that they should be worthily and promptly recognised, I have decided to create, at once, a new mark of honour for men and women in all walks of civilian life. The medallion is granted in recognition of "acts of great bravery". The CGM was originally not issued posthumously, however the warrant was amended in 1918 to for such awards, several of which have been subsequently made. The medal is primarily a civilian award; however the medallion may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct which is not in the face of the enemy. As the King stated: The Medal is intended primarily for civilians and award in Our military services is to be confined to actions for which purely military Honours are not normally granted. Bars are awarded to the CGM in recognition of the performance of further acts of bravery meriting the award. In undress uniform or on occasions when the medal ribbon alone is worn, a silver rosette is worn on the ribbon to indicate each bar. Recipients are entitled to the post-nominal letters GM. The Conspicuous Gallantry Medallion is a circular silver medal. The obverse depicts the crowned effigy of the reigning monarch and a legend. The reverse show a stylised protea flower. The ribbon is red with five equally spaced thin blue stripes.

Obviously it´s good. Either that or the text´s too long... ^^

Myself, I found the multiple award tracks confusing. There are several orders, the Leopards and the Proteas, etc. Myself, I'd probably have a hard time keeping track of them all, but if you can, it will definitely give a different feel to the SAE than what I'd do.

Hmmm... Nor sure if you can follow your comment.

The SAE is a feudal system. Hence there are several orders, some of which are military focused only. I mentioned two examples here, one purely military, one general. There are others most likely like the Honorable Order of the Hour Glass, Knights of the Dinner Table (; oP^^) or others but installing more than two or three might be too confusing. Nevertheless, these orders are more or less "standard" in feudal systems like the UK or the Imerpial Germany....

Then there are two other lines of awards, one focusing of bravery in general (Leopards) and one focusing of superior leadership. By nature the latter is for officers first place but might be awarded to lower ranks too in rare occassions. Providing three levels each (bronze, silver, gold) is nothing special and easy to understand.

The Combat Medal is an award to "count" victories. For 10 planes shot down or freighters sunk, a pilot/captain gets a Combat Medal. Should be easy enough.

Finally there is a medal for loyal service. Nothing special about that too.

What might be missing is some minor award for lower ranks and of course I´ve not spend any time on special badges or bars for participating in a battle, being a remarkable marksman/sniper etc.

The two civilian decorations just round up the picture. I could have added more like a Lifesaving Medal or some kind of Red Cross Medal in Bronze, Silver and Gold but I thought two medals would be enough for storytelling purpose. If I really need more they could be added later.

So why is it difficult to track these awards?