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More Danish medals, beginning with the War Commemorative Medal. This is an interesting series of medals instituted in 1875 but relating to a couple of wars occurring in 1848-1850 and in 1864 between Denmark and German states (chiefly Prussia) over Schleswig-Holstein, which the Danes ultimately lost. The medal was instituted by Christian IX despite the First Schleswig War (1848-1850) having been fought during the reign of Frederick VII… and for the first in the series, for veterans of that war, Frederick VII appears on the obverse. The Second Schleswig War was fought during Christian’s reign and his head appears on the 1864 medal. For veterans of both wars, the third medal bears the heads of both monarchs. Only veterans still alive in 1876 were able to claim this medal, there were no posthumous awards.
Next up, the Commemorative Medal for Aid to Prisoners of War 1914-1919, mostly awarded to members of the Red Cross, and finally the Schleswig Commemorative Medal 1920. After all the fighting in the mid-1800s, the powers-that-be actually got around to asking the residents of Schleswig what they wanted, and they voted to become Danish!
Today we reached the World War 2 period of Danish Medals. First is the Commemorative Medal for Aid to Sick and Wounded in the Finnish War 1939-1940, followed by a series marking Danish involvement in WW2 itself: the Commemorative Medal of 9 April 1940, King Christian X’s Medal of Freedom (more commonly known as the Medal ‘Pro Dania’), King Christian X’s Medal for Participation in the War 1940-1945, and the Denmark Red Cross Commemorative Medal for Relief Work 1939-1945.
Frustratingly I couldn’t find images of the first two. The Commemorative Medal for Aid to Sick and Wounded in the Finnish War 1939-1940 relates to Finland’s “Winter War” with Russia, brief but fierce, and the number awarded is likely quite low. The Commemorative Medal of 9 April 1940 didn’t actually get awarded at all! King Christian X established it later that year, intending to reward the service personnel and border guards on duty when the Germans invaded, the idea was that it would be distributed once the Germans left. By the time they were defeated, the idea was shelved (although I understand that the medals had been minted), and other medals were awarded for WW2 service instead. A restrike of the original bronze design in silver was distributed to the relatives of the handful of people killed on that day.
I did find the other three medals, though – we already had them in the Images Database! I’ve added more images and details to round out the coverage.
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