The Kings Medal for Courage and the Kings Medal for Service

Good afternoon John
I am interested in finding the citation/confirmation/information on the awarding of the KMC to a Belgian lady with surname VERMEIRE, could you possibly help please?

David

 

Hello David.

Is this your lady perchance?

Medal card of Vermeire, Desira Falix Corps: Belgian Agents | The National Archives

If not and I have the wrong person please just say.

Good luck with your quest.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Jim
Thanks for your kind effort, but this one is too early, as the KMC was only instituted in 1945.
All the best
David

 

Just in case this is of help to anyone in the future in relation to confirmation of awards to Belgian Civilians of the KMC- here is what I was able to find eventually, with help, after trawling through previous files. It might be achievable to other nationalities.
Image 1-Go to the FO(Foreign Office) Index to General Correspondence (annual alphabetical volumes) for the relevant year if you know it, if not search each year alphabetically until you find the surname of the recipient your require.
Image 2-Hopefully you will find an entry
Image3-Using the reference supplied from image 2 search for the relevant entries in the archives and request file
Image 4-Locate the relevant entry in the file, which hopefully will confirm the name of award to your recipient

The guys at the archive are very helpful and will assist you on your quest if necessary.

I am intending making one last visit to try to ascertain the citation and will update if I find it. I have copied various pages of other named Belgian civilians in this file but due to size of upload wont post at this time. They may be on previous lists prepared on this thread but I cannot access them.

 

Maybe something in Eugénie's dossier held in Belgium?

Eugénie Vermeire

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

As for finding Eugénie's recommendation/commendation at TNA please see the post of forum member horsapassenger (John) back in 2013.

The Kings Medal for Courage and the Kings Medal for Service

Unfortunately the current day TNA Discovery listing does not give cause for optimism.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11736091

"Missing at Transfer", till it turns up in some other folder maybe.
Kind regards, may good luck in looking be on your side, always,

Jim.

 

Maybe the last reasonable hope of finding something at TNA maybe within WO 208/5454.

There are certainly some Belgian citizens awards mentioned within that series. Who knows but Eugénie's may be a file within a file in there?

Kind regards, needle in a haystack but forever hopeful, always,

Jim.

 

For if you went down the Belgian route (re post #45)

"Please note: fund AA1333 also contains index cards. The contents of most of them can also be found online on the Resistance in Belgium platform. Consultation of these files does not require authorization from the State Security Department.

Once you have received authorization, you can :

Reserve a place in the reading room to consult the file(s).
or
Submit a reproduction request."

See:

Belgian State Security Archives (AA1333). Procedure for consulting and or/reproducing the individual files of intelligence and action agents. | Cegesoma

Good luck with the quest, always,

Jim.

 

Many thanks Jim for your comments and information.

I believe the Belgian resistance files are being added regularly online by CegeSoma. Hopefully they will all be available sooner rather than later.
Very frustrating the obvious file for the answer is missing at transfer.
I have searched through The WO 208/5454 file previously together with 51/52/53/55/56/57/58/59/60 etc, with no reference to her KMC
My last visit will be based on the files preceding the last one with the confirmation, as it appears to me the entries seem to reference back to previous documents in the series, so my thought is that maybe the early entries are the recommendations which have passed through the various stages for approval etc., culminating in the final lists. fingers crossed.

Dave

 

Good luck with it Dave, 'tis a hard road to travel when the destination could be anywhere.

I'd hope that the Belgian archive would at least have a french language copy of Eugénie's commendation.

Kind regards, and again good fortune to you, always,

Jim.