Bent L~sen of Copenhagen, De~mark and his collection of Red Cross A~ards. HoUsed in 22 sho~ c~ses 50 x 60 cm., the collection contains 5~8 Orders and BG~s.ls ~.~±th the n~in zotif of the RED CROSS.

16

MEDALS ARE HIS HOBBY Bent Lar~en .of G0penh~gen nnd his Col~ection

submitted by Jim Wil~’_Inson

In the publication "Tidss~ift for Dansk Rode Kors", nr. 5, 1963 anJ~artlcle appeared about Bent Larsen and his collection of Red Cross Orders and Decorations. From that ~ticle we gleaned the following information.

Bent Lateen acquired an Iron Cross in 1947 ~md from there on in he was a confirmed medal collector. By 1963 ~hen he ~s 35 years old his collection had groom to 132 medals and ~rom 60 to 70 e~bl~m~s.

In the beginning he collected medals of the ~hole ~orld but after seeing the collection of a manufacturer in Holte ~ho had some ~000 itams in his collection, Bent decided to specialize. His choice fell upon Red Gross medals. ~hile in the stray, Bent had served ~_th the Ss~uits~ troops and his interest for Red Cross work stemmed from that t~.e.

His correspondence at this time embraced ~iting to 8~ different countries to receive information about Red Cross medals, as there at the time very little printed material available for the novice collec- tor. ~ gradually acquired comprehensive material, infoE2atlon ~nd photo- graphs ~hich he carefully lint ~.to a book form.

From some countries the Red Cross sent him their zedols. The Red ~oss in Thailand offered h~J~ an honorary membership for life (if he ~ould pay $ 50.00 for the honor), but he could not avail h~ self of this honor at that time. The s~me problem also existed for Ghana.

Bent ~ote to the Red Cross in Geneva, S~zltzerland to~ inquire if he could buy the Florence Hightingale Medal ~jlLich is the most distinguished of all medals, some 300 having been distributed since its inception. Though it ~as impossible to buy one Bent .was compensated in being invited to take part in the World ~ibition honoring the Red Cross.

Today at 44 years of age Bent is still the coli~ector’s collector of Red Cross i~emm. He has 22 large showcases as pictured ~md his collection has gro~n from the Iron Cross to same 548 Orders ~d ~d~ls and some 200 Red Cross badges.

He ~ould be pleased to hear from other sollectors ~_th the same interests. He can be contacted at, Bent l~rsen, Edvard Grie~s~ade, 23.4th, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.

AUTHOR RESEARCH ~D AID~

"I sJ~ rese~rching an article on the Pennsylvania First Defenders IJmdal foF the ~ COLLECTOR and ~ould appreciate the help of all the Society’s members who have any of these medals. There is a theory that the medals were presented with a five stripe red, white and blue ribbon, s~nd that later replacements of the medals, often unnemed, were presented ~ith a red, white and blue tricolor ribbon. I ~ould appreciate very much a note from everyone who has a medal, describing the ribbon, unit, and name if ar~v, so that the question can be answered, at least on the balance of probabilities. Clearly the more medals I can trace the more conclusive the findings." Tony Ayres, 24 Turnpike Place, Crawley, Sussex, England.

SAN FRANCISCO CONVENTION - AUGUST Ii- lZ. 13~ 1972

The 1972 O~A Convention %~_I! take place on the outskirts of San Fre.ncisco, at the Airport F~rina Hotel, 1380 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame. Fifty rooms have been reserves for our members and delegates. The hotel is situated on the edge of San Francisco Bay. From it you will be able tu see the opposite shore, San Francisco International Airport, the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, and the peak of Mount Diablo in the dis --tance. A more romantic, exciting view woul~ be difficult to find.

The convention theme this year wil! be the awards of %he Orient, decorations of Asian countries as well as of countries, which have their histories involved with the Orient. This, of course, ~ill not restrict anyone from sho~ing medals of other countries.

In keeping with the theme, the fol!owing illustrations show two classes of a Japanese Order institutec strictly for lad~s, the Order of the Sacred Crown.

ORDER OF THE SACRED GRONN - SECOND GLASS

This decoration is of solid gold, enamelled blue, in the center, red on the oval circumference, with green stalks upon it, ~srrounded on both edges with real seed pearls. Pink and white blossoms are on the four sides, and a green wreath of white blossoms at the top.