Large Belgian 1914 Gratitude Medal

Sweet!

Yes,this is a very old post,but in case anyone wants more info on this medal,I recently found the following....




BELGIAN GRATITUDE MEDAL



By William C. Edgar



IN March 1915 I was in Brussels, where I went
at the request of Mr. Hoover to witness the dis-
tribution of a ship-load of flour which, through
the efforts of The Northivestern Miller, the Amer-
ican millers had given for the relief of the Belgians,
and incidentally to report on the work being done in
that country by the Commission for Relief in
Belgium.

While there, Mr. Josse Allard, a Belgian gentle-
man connected with the Commission and formerly



a director of the mint, took me to call upon the
sculptor, Mr. C. de Vreese. Among many other
things of great interest, including a medal of our
minister, Mr. Brand Whitlock, which was being
made, Mr. de Vreese showed me a medal which he
had just finished commemorative of the relief given
by America to Belgium.

Its obverse was a medallion of the King and
Queen of Belgium; the reverse, a group in which
America was extending to a Belgian family her



298



THE ART WORLD



January 1918



gift of grain. Below was the date 1914, when the
war began with the ruthless invasion of Belgium.
In the background was a suggestion of an American
relief ship bringing food to the stricken people;
the motto encircling the medal was "Generosite-
Amerique" â€" "Belgique-Gratitude."

It was proposed to manufacture a large number
of these medals, send them to the United States
and sell them for the benefit of the Belgian Relief
Fund, and I was so sure that such a souvenir would
be eagerly welcomed . that I placed an order with
the Commission for several hundred of them to be
sent to me as soon as possible for distribution in
this country.

On my return to London some weeks later, Mr.
Hoover informed me that the German authorities
had forbidden the manufacture of the medals, as
they desired to use all available metal in Belgium
for more sinister purposes. He stated that before
the undertaking had been thus interdicted, a few



of the medals had been shipped to him and prom-
ised that out of this lot some would be sent to me.

Owing to the exigencies of war it was nearly
two years later that this delayed shipment, consist-
ing of a comparatively few medals in two sizes,
reached me. Through the columns of The Bellman
they were quickly disposed of for Belgian relief,
the gross proceeds, amounting to more than nine
thousand dollars, being turned over to the Commis-
sion for Relief in Belgium and used in relieving
the necessities of Belgian children.

From the few medals which I purchased and re-
tained for myself, I presented one to Mr. Augustus
Thomas and the reproduction shown herewith was
made therefrom. William C. Edgar,

Editor of The Northwestern Miller

and The Bellman of Minneapolis

Note â€" Mr. Thomas has presented this medal to the
American Academy of Arts and Letters, of which he is a
member.