THE AGE OF EQUALITY ?sx The article by Brigadier Stuart Ryder arguing that there should be a new system of gallantry awards to the armed services which takes no account of rank/class differences ( MEDAL NEWS , May 1991 ) , has elicited a good deal of comment and correspondence , some of which is published on this month's 'Letters' page .sx Following the publication of the 'Gulf' London Gazette ( June 28 , 1991 ) , this same theme was elaborated in a lengthy editorial by Alan Chochrane , Assistant Editor of the Mail on Sunday .sx In addition to underlining the fact that class/rank differentials are also fundamental to the system of civilian awards , he suggests that a disproportionate number of 'Gulf' awards went to officers as compared to other ranks and cites in support a recent letter in The Times from Major General Ken Perkins , a much decorated and former senior officer , who voiced concern about just this matter .sx Other commentators on the theme of 'inequality' have suggested that given the number of women who served in the Gulf and elsewhere overseas in support of operations there , they too are under-represented , while awards to civilians who directed operations from the safety and comfort of the UK are unacceptably large in number .sx No doubt we would not all agree on what constitutes a 'well-balanced' awards list , but there is clearly a reluctance by the awarding authorities to keep pace with changing times , much less run in advance of Prime Minister John Major's stated aim to create a classless society .sx MoD comments throw no light on these issues :sx comments from the various Service press desks boil down to " those who deserve awards get rewarded appropriately " - a view not totally in harmony with that of Major General Perkins nor with the knowledge gained from historical records by researchers in this field .sx However , one area where there was a break with tradition was in the gazetting of the Special Forces awards .sx In the past , even for Northern Ireland , recipients serving with the Special Forces have not been identifiable as such as their names have been listed along with the name of their parent regiment .sx The 'Gulf' Gazette adopts a new approach of simply stating that so many of 'such and such' an award were made to personnel serving with a particular Special Force - no name , no parent regiment hence no means of verifying the awards .sx This even applies to Mentions-in-Despatches .sx Why the change ?sx So far no information has been forthcoming ; members of the MoD press desk do not appear to understand that such a change has taken place .sx GULF CAMPAIGN MEDAL .sx The design of the campaign medal and ribbon for the Gulf war has recently been approved by Her Majesty the Queen .sx The medal follows the precedent of campaign medals for WW2 , Korea and the Falklands in that it is made by the Royal Mint in cupro-nickel , and is the same size , and has the same suspender , as earlier medals .sx The obverse bears the David Wynne portrait of Her Majesty the Queen wearing the State Crown .sx The reverse design is based upon the Combined Operations badge of WWII , but with modifications .sx The ribbon is based upon that of the Africa Star ( of WWII ) with the colours of each of the three services at either side of the ribbon , separated by a strip of pale buff , representing the desert .sx The criteria as to who will be awarded the medal are not yet available but should be announced shortly .sx It is envisaged that most of those who served in the Gulf theatre of operations will be entitled to wear it .sx COUNTY MEMORIAL PROJECT .sx Following a generous grant from Hampshire County Council , the Victorian Military Society is now able to undertake a major research project to record all memorials to the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 in Hampshire .sx This county project forms part of a larger initiative to record all Anglo-Boer War memorials in Britain that Tony McCabe and Meurig Jones have been running for three years under the auspices of the Society .sx For Hampshire the specific objectives include discovering the history of the memorials as well as the men and women which they commemorate .sx The results will be published in county and national publications .sx Information covering details of the memorials and those commemorated , together with photographs of each memorial , will be prepared for the County archives .sx Project experience has shown that many memorials exist in parish churches , drill halls , town halls and similar buildings .sx Unfortunately many of these buildings tend to be locked and inaccessible to surveys such as this , therefore volunteers with good local knowledge are needed .sx To supplement the descriptions of memorials which still exist , help is needed from people who know about memorials which may have been lost .sx But for all memorials , the whereabouts of contemporary pictures , postcards , newspaper reports or information on a person commemorated on a memorial will also be of considerable importance .sx Anyone who has information which they think will be of use or anyone who is interested in helping should contact Tony McCabe at 21 Bassano Street , East Dulwich , London SE22 8RU , sending a SAE ( 16x22cms ) for full details .sx SOE - DISTINGUISHED UNDERCOVER SERVICE .sx by Dave Buxton .sx Following my article in MEDAL NEWS ( October 1990 ) on the fiftieth anniversary of the Intelligence Corps , my attention was drawn to the fact that another more combatant intelligence organisation also had its fiftieth anniversary in July , 1990 - albeit an organisation now no longer in existence .sx It was formed during the period of the Battle of Britain in 1940 , as an amalgamation of several separate intelligence organisations , all with a similar goal - the overthrow of the Nazi regime occupying virtually all of Europe , by covert means .sx This new organisation was to be know as the Special Operations Executive , and came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economic Warfare .sx Initial problems due to internal politics and the mistrust of an 'amateur' organisation by the domestic and foreign British intelligence services - M15 and M16 , who controlled it - were soon rectified by SOE becoming independently responsible for subversion , and the propaganda elements transferring to the Political Warfare Executive in August , 1941 .sx Recruiting began in earnest and its personnel were recruited from all walks of life .sx Training was carried out in closed establishments known as STSs ( Special Training Schools) .sx Many of these schools were housed in the stately homes across the country .sx Operations in France .sx The bulk of SOE activities initially were channeled into operations in France .sx The first ones were in 1941 and after a shaky and dangerous start , a project to arm the Resistance was inaugurated .sx A secondary aim was the creation of intelligence gathering networks or circuits , which in the main were successful - at D-Day in June 1944 about 52 circuits were in action , some 30 others had been destroyed by enemy action .sx Of the 480 agents in FSection , 130 were captured and 117 of these were executed .sx The dropping of the 'Joes' as the RAF aircrew called them was primarily the function of the Special Duties Squadrons - No 138 and No 161 , which operated from Tempsford , and flew Lysanders , Whitleys and Halifaxes ( see Flights of the Forgotten by K.A. Merrick , Arms & Armour Press , 1989 ) for an in depth look at these and other Special Squadrons ) sic !sx .sx Other European theatres .sx Operations were also extended into Norway and Denmark with the formation of the Scandinavian section .sx A notable operation in Norway was that of 'Gunnerside' in February 1943 , when the Norsk Hydro plant of Vermork was attacked and vital equipment for the production of 'heavy water' - a component of atomic power - was destroyed .sx In the Netherlands , SOE had a costly disaster , with agents who had dropped into the country in 1941 being captured and their radio sets being used to set up operation 'Nordpol' .sx The German Abwehr counter-intelligence organisation ran the circuit for two years , and 51 agents were captured on landing and executed .sx Mediterranean operations .sx Following the invasion of North Africa in November 1942 , an SOE base was formed near Algiers as 'Massingham' or 'ISSU6' .sx Although secret , occasionally its cover was let slip , as was the case with an ex-officer , who informed me that some of his men drove around in the new American Jeep with 'SOE' emblazoned on the bumper in luminous paint !sx .sx In Cairo , M04 became Special Operations Mediterranean and was responsible for planning excursions into Greece , Italy and the Balkans - known respectively as Forces 133 , 266 and 399 .sx With these new theatres of operation more experts were recruited and trained at Ramat David in Palestine - STS 193 .sx Also political awareness was needed , especially in the case of Greece and the Balkans , where some SOE parties found themselves embroiled in civil war between Royalist Fascist and Communist factions , as well as trying to fight the Italians and Germans !sx .sx With the invasion of Sicily and Italy in 1943 , No 1 Special Force was created to cover all operations in Italy , its base being at Monopoli .sx Far Eastern operations .sx Following the start of the retreat through Burma by the Allied armies in 1942 , 'stay behind' parties had been created by far seeing individuals .sx Some of these men were recruited by SOE and came under Force 136 .sx This organisation was based first in India , then at Colombo in Ceylon .sx Operations were conducted against the Japanese in Burma , Malaya , Java , Sumatra and China in a variety of missions .sx Some of the local population who were trained by SOE were to put their training to further use in the nationalist Communist Combattant Units which emerged after the war and whose activities led to and continued during 'The Emergency' of 1948-60 .sx Aftermath With the end of the global conflict , SOE was wound down and finally 'closed' in January , 1946 .sx Its members returned to their own units , re-entered civilian 'normality' , or joined the intelligence services at home or abroad , using knowledge attained during the war to cope with the new threat of the 'cold war' .sx To keep the camaraderie of those days alive , a club was formed by the head of SOE - Major-General Sir Colin Gubbins .sx This was 'The Special Forces Club' , whose motto " Spirit of Resistance " still flourishes today .sx Awards I first began to look for awards to these undercover men and women back in 1980 , when I purchased 'SOE In France' by M.R.D. Foot ( HMSO , reprint 1976 ) from the local HMSO bookshop .sx I had , through research on Airborne awards , a new interest in other aspects of Special Forces and awards attained .sx As with all medal collecting interests , reference material is paramount , and now I have some 60 books on the subject , with many others still to be consulted , as is evident from the Bibliography sections of the ones I possess !sx .sx On the subject of awards , I should like to thank CW , and especially GC , for helping with some of the verifications , as well as other members of the Special Forces Club for their assistance and interest .sx I therefore list below those recipients I have found , who became Companions of the Distinguished Service Order , as a tribute to all those in SOE , who were responsible for " setting the world ablaze " - bringing the war to the enemy's back door , in distinguished undercover service , often receiving no award for their actions , which in some cases cost them their lives .sx The awards are tabulated with London Gazette date , personal Army number , rank and name .sx In the case of the French awards , the recipient's code name is shown followed by the Circuit with which he was associated .sx As a usual plea , I would most certainly welcome any additional information on those listed or indeed verification of further awards be they DSOs or others .sx ARRANGING ONE'S COLLECTION .sx by Alec A. Purves .sx PROBLEMS often arise as to the order in which a group of medals should be shown in one's collection , and it is not always easy to decide what is correct .sx As regards modern British medals there is no difficulty , as the current official order of wearing has been published in Spink's Catalogue of British Orders , Decorations and Medals , and elsewhere , but in the period following the Crimea War it would appear that frequently officers and men both wore their medals just as they chose .sx