jeremym Posted 4 November , 2008 Share Posted 4 November , 2008 My father, George Oswald Mitchell, whose service in the First World War in the 1/6th Bn West Yorkshire Regiment and the Gas Special Brigade RE is described in Shrapnel and Whizzbangs - a Tommy in the Trenches 1914-18, received four medals. These were Pip, Squeak, Wilfrid and the Territorial Efficiency medal. However, when he died he also left me a bar with two other medal ribbons. One is plain purple, the other red with five apple green vertical stripes, grouped 1-3-1. Does anyone know what medals these two ribbons represent? Is it possible they relate to the Second World War, in which he served in the Home Guard, if they don't relate to 1914-18? Jeremy Mitchell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw63 Posted 4 November , 2008 Share Posted 4 November , 2008 One is plain purple, the other red with five apple green vertical stripes, grouped 1-3-1. The red with green stripes sounds like a Croix de Guerre. The plain purple one ... Victoria Cross? Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 4 November , 2008 Share Posted 4 November , 2008 The red with green stripes sounds like a Croix de Guerre. The plain purple one ... Victoria Cross? That'd have to be the Belgian Croix de Guerre. The plain purple could be the older (pre 1917) ribbon for the LSGC medal. dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 5 November , 2008 Share Posted 5 November , 2008 Belgian Croix de Guerre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremym Posted 5 November , 2008 Author Share Posted 5 November , 2008 Belgian Croix de Guerre Auchonvillierssomme Thank you very much. A great result - it is indeed the Belgian Croix de Guerre ribbon that my father, George Oswald Mitchell, passed down to me. I now have to find out whether he was awarded the medal. In my recently published book Shrapnel and Whizzbangs - a Tommy in the Trenches, based on my father's trench diary and notes (dedicated website http://shrapnelandwhizzbangs.wordpress.com), there is a brief account of how in one engagement he fought alongside the Belgian army in launching a gas attack. Is it possible he got the Belgian C de G for this? It seems unlikely. He certainly never mentioned it. I shall have to do some research to track down a list of recipients of the Belgian C de G. Anyway, thanks again. Jeremy Mitchell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremym Posted 5 November , 2008 Author Share Posted 5 November , 2008 That'd have to be the Belgian Croix de Guerre. The plain purple could be the older (pre 1917) ribbon for the LSGC medal. dave. dave Yes, thanks very much for identifying the Belgian Croix de Guerre. In one engagement, my father, George Oswald Mitchell, took part in a gas attack supporting a Belgian infantry assault, as described in my recent book (see dedicated website at http://shrapnelandwhizzbangs.wordpress.com). I will now have to find out whether it was awarded in connection with that. Forgive my massive ignorance - what is the LSGC medal? My father was a pre-war Territorial (1/6th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment) based in Bradford and was mobilised on the day war broke out. Would he have qualified? Jeremy Mitchell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremym Posted 5 November , 2008 Author Share Posted 5 November , 2008 The red with green stripes sounds like a Croix de Guerre. The plain purple one ... Victoria Cross? Simon Simon Thanks very much for your response. I don't think it can be the Victoria Cross, though. While my father, George Oswald Mitchell (see dedicated website http://shrapnelandwhizzbangs.wordpress.com), was reticent about his medals, I think I would have heard about that! Jeremy Mitchell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pte1643 Posted 5 November , 2008 Share Posted 5 November , 2008 Forgive my massive ignorance - what is the LSGC medal? Long Service Good Conduct. Don't worry about the ignorance... Everyone has to start somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItemCo16527 Posted 5 November , 2008 Share Posted 5 November , 2008 If he was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre, there's a chance that the plain purple ribbon might be for the Belgian Order of Leopold I, Knight Degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 5 November , 2008 Share Posted 5 November , 2008 Not only have you found out a little about the medal ribbons but you've managed to give your book and website a good few mentions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremym Posted 25 November , 2008 Author Share Posted 25 November , 2008 If he was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre, there's a chance that the plain purple ribbon might be for the Belgian Order of Leopold I, Knight Degree. I am very grateful to all who have contributed to this thread and who have made their specialised knowledge available. It is now clear to me that one of my father's medal ribbons that I had not previously been able to identify is definitely the Belgian Croix de Guerre and that the other is possibly the Belgian Order of Leopold I, Knight Degree (I have to do further work on the latter). The circumstances seem to have been as follows. From July 1915 to the end of the war, my father, George Oswald Mitchell, was a member of the RE Special Companies/ Special Brigade. As well as taking part in the massive gas assault at the Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915, he was engaged in many other gas attacks for the remainder of the war. In one such attack in October 1917, he found himself wearing a Belgian infantry helmet. His company, 'M' Company RE Special Brigade, had been temporarily attached to the 2nd Belgian Division, which was holding the line in one of those 'live and let live' sectors, where there was a tacit understanding between the two sides that no serious offensive action would be undertaken. The Allied High Command had decided to bring this to an end, in order to force the Germans to reinforce their line at this point with some of their scarce reserves. A surprise gas attack was planned. To conceal the presence of British soldiers, my father and his 'M' Company comrades wore Belgian helmets while they brought up all the equipment needed to launch the attack. When the gas was launched on 9 October, followed by an assault by the Belgian infantry, the Germans were taken completely by surprise. A modest tactical victory was achieved, with only minor British and Belgian casualties - and a considerable boost to the morale of the Belgian army. The source of this information is "Gas!" The Story of the Special Brigade (1934) By C H Foulkes, who commanded the RE Special Brigade. Foulkes writes (p.227) that '...the Belgian authorities were extremely generous in their awards of decorations to our officers and men'. I don't know for certain, but my hunch is that a batch of Belgian medals 'came up with the rations' and were distributed among the British soldiers involved at the discretion of their unit commander. Once again, many thanks to all those who have helped me sort out a minor mystery in my father's war service and put a label on his previously unidentified medal ribbons. jeremym (Jeremy Mitchell) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craighasten Posted 7 December , 2015 Share Posted 7 December , 2015 Hi Jeremy, Just finished your book and found your message about medals. My great uncle, George Spencer Ferguson also served with M Company from Sept 1915 to Feb 1919. He received 2 Belgian medals: Belgian Order of Leopold Class II Chevalier (gazetted 20/7/18) and the Belgian Croix de Guerre (gazetted 25/7/18), I've also got the letter of citation, which mentions action at Dixmunde and the date of award as 8 December 1917. I've posted scans of these plus some photos of M Company members at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/craighasten/albums/72157651567762012 Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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