Oval silvered bronze medal on foliate ring suspender with plaque inscribed ‘S.B’; the face with a female figure tending a wounded soldier, a cross in the background, inscribed ‘PATRIE DEVOUEMENT’ (Country, Devotion) signed ‘L. Bottée’ (for the artist Louis-Alexandre Bottée, 1852-1940); the reverse with a central plaque, the inscription ‘SOCIÉTÉ FRANÇAISE DE SECOURS AUX BLESSÉS MILITAIRES 1864 1866’ above and below; on original ribbon with embroidered red cross. The Society was founded on 25 May 1864 following the signature of the Geneva Convention in 1863 and declared of public interest in 1866. The many acts of mercy and courage rendered in France and the French Colonies by its men and women volunteer members, placed at the disposition of the Corps de Santé Militaire, helped to make the Red Cross a universal symbol of humanity in times of suffering. A good untouched age-toned example.
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