Circular bronze medal with laterally-pierced ball suspension; the face with the winged figure of Victory, signed ‘PAUL DUBOIS’; the reverse with the arms of Belgium encircled by the arms of the nine Allies within an inscription ‘The Great War for Civilisation’ in French and in Flemish; on original faded ribbon. The idea of an inter-allied medal to commemorate victory in what was termed ‘The Great War for Civilisation’ is credited to the French Field-Marshal Foch. It was agreed that each of the Allies should issue a medal to their nationals featuring a figure representing ‘Victory’ on the front and have a symmetric double rainbow ribbon with red, the colour of courage and sacrifice at the centre, representing the colours of the allies flags and presenting an allegory of calm after storm. The Belgian Victory Medal was instituted on 15th July 1919 and was awarded for service in the Belgian army between 1st August 1914 and 11th November 1918. The award was later extended by Royal Decree to other Belgian citizens who had contributed to victory. This example, signed ‘Paul Dubois’, is of the official issue of the medal.
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