Lifesaving Medal - 1860
Hejaz Railway Medal - 1901
Fleet Donation Medal - 1913
Army & Navy Pilot Badges - 1914/1917

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Lifesaving Medal (Tahlisiye Madalyasi)

This medal was awarded for saving life at sea. It had a diameter of 36mm, the size that was typical of Turkish medals from the mid-1800's, and was struck in silver.  Although gold examples were known to exist, they were most likely never awarded. The obverse bears the Tughra of Abdulmejid, surrounded by a floral design. The reverse has a stylized decorative border around an inscription which reads "Commemorating praiseworthy action and accomplishment in aiding those who have fallen into danger"

The ribbon of this medal, 35mm wide, could be any of four color combinations, determined by the number of actions for which it was awarded.  For the first lifesaving action, the ribbon was completely red; for the second action, it was solid green; for the third action, solid white; for the fourth action it would have three stripes of red, green and white.  It is possible that the gold medal may have been created for those who performed a fifth action.  Generally, when recipients were "promoted" to a higher ribbon color, it was announced in the official government newspapers at the time.

 

Hejaz Railway Medal (Hamidiye-Hijaz Demiryolu)

The building of a railway was announced by Sultan Abdulhamid II in 1900 that was to be financed and operated entirely by Ottoman subjects (although the principal engineer was German). Suspicious of foreigners, but unable to maintain power without their help, Abdulhamid recognized that the construction of a railway to the holy cities of Medina and Mecca would not only improve his image as Caliph of Islam, but also increase the tenuous hold that the Empire had on the distant reaches of the Arabian peninsula (see 1st Yemen and 2nd Yemen campaign medals). The railway was never completed, however, as violent opposition from Arab rebels prevented the construction crews from reaching Mecca. The Turkish Ministry of War took over administration of the railway in 1911, and during World War I it became the target of Arab guerillas organized by the Sherif of Mecca, Hussein Ibn Ali, his son Prince Faisal, and a British officer named T.E. Lawrence.

Funding for the Hejaz railway came from donations, the largest of which came from the Sultan himself and from the Shah of Persia. Not all of the donations were voluntary, but those who did volunteer were rewarded with this medal. The medal came in both wearable and non-wearable versions ranging in size from 26mm to 50mm. The bulk of the medals had the Hegira date 1318, however special series of medals were issued bearing the dates 1322 (for completion of the rail link to Maan) and 1326 (for the link to Medina).  The wearable medals were 30mm in diameter, issued in gold, silver and nickel alloy. Originally, the ribbon for all of these medals was red, about 20 to 25 mm in width.  Those who had made large enough donations to merit the silver medal felt that they should wear a different ribbon to differentiate their awards, and so a green ribbon was instituted to replace the red ribbon on the silver medals.

Photo Courtesy Craig Dalrymple

 

Fleet Donation Medal (Donanma Ianesi Medal)

Like the Hejaz Railway, the Turkish naval fleet was also being funded by passing the hat among the public and taking donations.  Donations were taken up across the Empire in towns and cities.  The money raised from these donations allowed the Turkish Navy to order ships built in Europe.  First there were two battleships ("Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha" and "Turgut Reis") and two transport ships ("Reshid Pasha" and "Midhat Pasha") purchased from Germany.  Later, two capital battleships were to be built in England starting with the "Reshadieh" in 1913 (later renamed HMS Erin), and followed by the "Sultan Osman I" (renamed HMS Agincourt). Four hundred Turkish officers and crewmen arrived in England to take possession of these last two ships on August 1, 1914 - just as England was mobilizing for the war that had erupted on the European continent. The British Admiralty confiscated the ships and commissioned them into the Royal Navy.  In response, the German government "gave" two ships - the "Goeben" and "Breslau" to Turkey, an incident that sealed the Empire's entrance into the war on the German side. This medal was issued to those who had donated significant amounts of money. It was 36mm, in bronze, silver, silvered bronze, silver gilt, or gold (and has been seen in bronze gilt as well, adding to the confusion). There was also an oversized gold medal for the top level of donors, who numbered probably only a few very wealthy and influential people.  The obverse featured the tughra of Sultan Mehmed V in the center of a sun rising over the water. The image is bordered by a 12-sided polygon. On the reverse, inside of a similar 12-sided border, is the image of a battleship in the water, below which are the words "Fleet Donation Medal". The unique suspension device was in the form of a life ring, behind which was a loop through which the ribbon passed. The ribbon was half white, half yellow.
 

 

Army and Navy Pilot Badges

Although not actually a medal or decoration, the pilot badges created for the Ottoman Air Force during World War 1 were badges of honor, worn with pride by their recipients, and so I have included them here.  The Turkish Air Force came into existence during the Balkan war of 1912-1913, but the Empire did not develop their Air Force after the end of that conflict.  In World War 1, when German Major Erich Serno was given command in early 1915, he faced a complete reorginization of the force.  German pilots were brought in not merely to fly the planes, but more importantly, to train Turkish pilots.  By the end of the war, the Turkish Air Force had grown to 15 Army squadrons and 4 Navy squadrons.

The Army pilot badge was created in 1914 in a style similar to the badges of Turkey's allies in the war, Germany and Austria.  It consisted of a gilt laurel wreath in an oval shape, open in the center, upon which was superimposed a pair of outstretched wings.  The wings were connected in the center by a crescent and star symbol, and the wreath was connected at the bottom by a bow, upon which the A.H. date "699"  appeared, the year of the founding of the Ottoman Empire.  At the top of the wreath was an oval plaque with the Tughra of Sultan Mehmed Reshad V.  The wings, bow and plaque are generally silver in color.  Examples can be found in a number of varieties, made of bronze, silver, and sometimes zinc.  Many have German maker marks or silver marks, but Turkish made pieces (if indeed there were any made in Turkey) are not known to have hallmarks of any kind.  The lack of hallmarks reflects the fact that these pilot badges were not struck by the Turkish national mint.  The pilot badges would have to be considered to hold only semi-official status, as there was never any official law or decree instituting them, and no examples of award documents are known to exist.  It is possible that they were authorized by Enver Pasha (as was the 1915 War Medal), with the intention of having them fully authorized by the Sultan at a later date.  It appears that this later authorization never occurred.

The Ottoman Navy added an Air Service in 1915, setting up a seaplane base at Yesilkoy, on the shores of the Sea of Marmara.  Six Turkish Naval officers were sent to Germany for training.  During the course of the war, four Naval seaplane squadrons were created, and a Naval aviation school was established at Yesilkoy.  The Turkish Naval Air Service was primarily engaged in training of pilots and support personnel, and conducting observation missions to protect the straits and the Sea of Marmara from allied submarines.  In addition, Turkish Naval Air Service personnel provided support for German seaplane squadrons in the Turkish theater.  With the exception of the commander of the seaplane school, all of the officers and staff of the Turkish Naval Air Service were Ottoman Turks or Ottoman subjects.

A Navy pilot badge was supposedly created in 1917 for graduates of the Naval Aviation School.  This badge, like the Army badge, does not appear to have held official status, but a few examples of the badge are known to exist.  The badge is oval in design, with a laurel wreath around the edge, and a Sultan's turban at the top of the wreath.  In the center is the image of a biplane over an aerial view of the Gallipoli peninsula and the Dardanelles. 

Photo courtesy Iskender Mericli