Kiwi Medals

In 1941, with the help of British and Commonwealth troops attacking from British Somaliland, the Ethiopians were able to defeat and drive the Italian occupying army from their soil. I am interested in the East African campaigns in the Sudan, Somaliland and Ethiopia, especially the Battle of Keren.

The medal was made by Mappin & Webb, in London, and is in the shape of a Coptic Cross, surmounted by an Imperial Crown. The Star of the Trinity is in high relief in the centre. A loop is attached to the top of the medal, with a hanger, and a multi-striped red, yellow and green riband. The inscription in Amharic on the medal reads: “Star of Victory 1933 [Ethiopian calendar]. Unforgettable Achievement” and on the reverse “Star of Victory 1941”.

Ethiopian men, carrying captured Italian weapons, gather in Addis Adaba, in May 1941, to hear the announcement of the return of the Emperor Haile Selassie.

This medal, missing its ribbon, commemorates the Italian invasion and defeat of Ethiopia in 1936.

This medal was instituted in 1941 and awarded to all Ethiopian soldiers and irregulars who fought against the Italian occupation between 1935 and 1941. This medal can be found with palm devices on the ribbon to mark each year the fighter was engaged.

This medal was created by Haile Salassie to reward the people who assisted the large number of refugees created by the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 by the Italians and the subsequent struggle until 1941 to expel them.