FOREIGN VOLUNTEERS IN FINLAND AND THEIR MEDALS

by Jani Tiainen (Published in in finnish in Kaliiberi magazine 1999)

THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1918

Svenska Brigaden (The Swedish Brigade)
The first foreign help to Finland, struggling for liberation, came already during the Finnish War of Independence. The rise of the Bolsheviks in Russia during the revolution in 1917 did not go by without attracting attention in Western Europe. Thousands of men just having been released from the first world conflagration continued their mission in the East, trying to crush the spreading of the new and frightening ideology. The strivings for freedom among the countries breaking away from the Soviet Russia were considered part of the battle against the Bolsheviks, and thus Finland among others got direct and indirect support from the Western countries in her fight for freedom.

The most concrete help in the form of voluntary soldiers came from our neighbouring country, Sweden. In Sweden, Finland's situation was considered important and assistance was felt to be necessary, their own interest in mind. The Swedish activity was diplomatically non-official but accepted. The recruitment center was an association named Finlands Vänner (the Friends of Finland) acting in Stockholm. And quickly, as the operations of war irrevocably came closer, officers arrived from Sweden to the East Bothnia to join the Finnish white forces. Finally, a combat force was put together among Swedish volunteers, the Swedish Brigade, which acted plainly on the frontier. Almost two thousand Swedish volunteers were participating in the operations for the good of Finland eventhough the strength of the immediate fighting squad was only 560 men at the most. The Swedish volunteers had their own equipments in the war. They were using arm bands, on which the colours of their homeland, blue-yellow-blue, were running diagonally in the middle of the band. The flag of the Swedish Brigade was also having the corresponding markings.

 After the war, the volunteers had a commemorative medal made at Sporrong in Stockholm. The pictorial motif on the medal, made of iron and measuring 33 mm in diameter, was the heraldic lion of Finland. Around the upper side of the medal is the text Svenska Brigaden and on the lower side a stylized picture of a sprig of oak. In the mid part, the year 1918 is divided to the left and to the right. The reverse side of the medal carries the Swedish national markings, the three crowns. The ribbon of the medal is designed on the basis of the arm band. In the middle of a white silk ribbon, which gets 35 or 40 mm wide, is a separate, diagonally placed, blue-yellow-blue 21 mm ribbon. The fastening link is a 27 mm wide spruce twig clasp. A two-piece ribbon fastening clasp is an extremely exceptional, but stylish combination. The medals were distributed in red cardboard boxes with the text Svenska Brigaden 1918 on the covers.

 A cockade for the group was also designed by Akseli Gallen-Kallela. There are two quite similar models. Both are round, made of brass, and measure 35 mm in diameter. The red enamel in the center is edged with a golden wavy zone in the same way as in almost all later made Finnish cockades for the army as well as for the civil guard. The writer has in his collection a piece acquired directly from a descedant of a Swedish volunteer, and on this one, the heraldic lion of Finland in the middle of the cockade is loose. In another type, a picture of a lion is painted on the red central part. All subsequent brands of Finnish cockades have probably been influenced just by these cockades.

 The Swedish veterans stayed close in touch with their brothers-in-arms also after the war. In 1930 in connection with the anniversary of the Tampere battles in Stockholm, a veteran association of the Swedish Brigade named Föreningen Finlandskrigare 1918 (the Association of the Soldiers in Finland 1918) was founded. Everybody who had participated in helping Finland in 1918 either at the front or otherwise was accepted as a member. A 18 x 23 mm silvery badge was made as a membership badge. A blue-yellow-blue ribbon leading from the left lower corner to the right top corner in the middle of the badge divides it in two parts. To the left are the insignia of the coat of arms of Finland and to the right the sword hands of the coat of arms of Karelia. The badge has also the year 1918 divided up on both sides. The badges were made by Sporrong in Stockholm in the same way as the commemorative medal.

 Individual volunteers from elsewhere in Scandinavia and Europe were also fighting in the War of Independence. No special badges for them have been recognized. Among the hidden treasures of a few collections, a white enamelled cross has, however, been found, which has the year 1917 on the left arm and 1918 on the right one. In the white enamel on the upper and lower arms is written in Polish Zanasza wolndsc i wasza - For our and your freedom. The round part in the middle has a blue border where it says Legjon Polski Finlandji - The Polish Legion in Finland. In the center is the eagle symbol of Poland in the middle of the red enamel. This badge is very rare even in Poland and it is obvious that is has been manufactured for polish volunteers? The badge is made by J. Michrowski in Warsaw.

FROM THE WINTER WAR 1939 ONWARDS

After the War of Independence, the following ordeal for the Finns came in 1939, when the Soviet Union according to a pact between Molotov and Ribbentrop decided to extend their sphere of interest towards the west. The military readiness in our country was not the best possible, and part of our troops left for the front in a so called Model Cajander fashion, i.e. they were given only a belt, an identification disc, a cockade, and an ammunition bag. As during the War of Independence and mainly because of the same reasons - sympathy and fear of the spreading of the Bolchevism - Finland received lots of help from the Western powers. For the most part the help was material, but also volunteer expeditions were sent. At the end of the war, the group of volunteers from the other Nordic countries consisted of more than 9,000 men, of which 8,200 came from Sweden, 725 from Norway, and 600 from Denmark. Most of those who came from other places in the world joined the Osasto Sisu, organized by the British. When the Winter War was over, there were 717 volunteers of which the biggest groups consisted of 341 Hungarians and 158 Englishmen. Plus three persons without any nationality whatsoever. Different from the Scandinavians, the Sisu men were not prepared for immediate service at the front - nor did they ever reach it. The last men enlisted in the Osasto Sisu arrived in Finland only after the peace agreement.

The Commemorative Medals to the Foreigners

Commemorative medals of the Winter War were given all foreign supporters. Arno Karimo designed two different types of medals, the legendary commemorative medal of the Winter War given to every Finn, and a special medal in three categories for indirect assistance intended for foreigners, and an iron medal for service at the front. The medal intended for foreign supporters differs basicly from the normal type owing to its slightly larger size (34 mm) and to its reverse side. Whereas the reverse side of the original medal intended for the Finnish people carries the text Kunnia Isänmaa (Honour Fatherland), the lion on the reverse side of the medal intended for foreigners is surrounded by this text in Latin: Summo in periculo fautoribus adiutoribus Finlandia memor - To those who helped and supported Finland during utmost danger. Foreigners were granted a little more than 10,000 medals made of four different metals. Scandinavians which had been in active service were given medals made of tarnished, bluish iron. For special indirect merits, the Winter War commemorative medal intended for foreigners was distributed to other persons who had helped Finland, and also in gold, silver, and bronze. Just a few golden ones were granted, and mainly to the heads of the states which had assisted Finland like the Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, the Crown Princess Louise of Sweden, and the President of the United States, Mr. Herbert Hoover. According to the basis of division, a silver or a bronze medal was entitled to be received by :

1. A person, who specially participated in sending a volunteer to Finland.
2. A person, who specially participated in sending war materiel to Finland.
3. A person, who assisted in spreading Finland-minded information.
4. A person, who donated a considerable amount of for instance medicin or foodstuff. 5. A person, who in some other similar way was of a considerable assistance to Finland.

A bit over one thousand Bronze medals were distributed altogether, but only less than a hundred silver medals and these for extremely valuable merits only.

 The Own Commemorative Medals of the Volunteers in the Winter War and the Military Unit Badges

Almost all foreigners participating in the Winter War had some sort of commemorative cross or medal made after the war.

 Osasto Sisu

The multinational Osasto Sisu had their own badge made in Finland in the autumn of 1940. Part of the volunteers had already returned to their own countries, so everybody did not receive their commemorative cross at all. The cross is of the Mantova type and is to be fastened with a scew. There is a picture of an extremely civil guard-like arm shield in the middle of the badge, in which the name of the division Sisu reads on a white bottom, and with a yellow letter S. The black-edged shield is surrounded by 26 rings. The rings or the chain, which surround the shield, symbolize the tight pressure, under which Osasto Sisu and the entire army of Finland was when the superior Soviet Union was knocking at Karelia. The bluish arms of the cross have a thin green edge of enamel. The year 1940 is divided between the left and right arms of the badge. The upper arm has the letter D, the lower arm E. These stand for two words in French "Detachement Étranger" - Foreign Division. The Osasto Sisu did also have a cockade for their own use, which had the letters IN on a heraldic rose.The heraldic rose is one of the insignia of the State of Finland, and IN meant International. The cockade was, however, not made in Finland nor for Finland, but it is a splended manifestation of the British recruitment committee, prime mover, Mr. Harold Gibson, his ingenuity and perfect success with circulating. The badges were namely originally made in 1936 for the international commission acting in the Spanish Civil War. The letters were short for the word Non-Intervention - non-participating (in the Civil War of Spain). When the badge was turned upside down, the rose of Tudor became the heraldic rose of Finland and NI became IN! The Osasto Sisu used a similar badge on the shoulder and slightly smaller ones as buttons. The commemorative medals of the Winter War were also given the men of the Osasto Sisu with the Kotijoukot (Home Troops) clasp.

The Cross of the Danish Volunteers

The Danish volunteers had a commemorative medal of their own made up immediately after the Winter War. It was made by Hopeatakomo Oy in Helsinki. The cross of the Danes was made of silver, shaped as a Mantova cross, and measuring 35 mm in diameter. In the middle of the front side is a golden coat of arms of the State of Finland rivited together with a red enamel shield. The colours of the Danish flag have been used on the arms of the cross. The cross arms have white enamel in the middle and red at the edges. The bottom arm wears the date 1939-40. On the other arms starting from the left are the letters DFB for the Danish Finnish Battalion or Danske Frivillige Battalion. Later on, versions which should be fastened with ribbons were made, and as the colour symbolism was right, the goldsmith Tillander sold from his old supplies the red-white ribbon of the Imperial Russian Order of Saint Stanislaus to the use of the Danes. In September 1940, a veteran association in memory of the Winter War was founded in Denmark. They had an association badge made for them, which is an almost identical miniature version of the commemmoration cross - the only difference being an F on the right arm instead of B. The association badges were made by the jeweller's Heimburger in Copenhagen.

The Commemmoration Cross of the Swedish Volunteers

A commemmoration cross was also made for the Swedes by Sporrong in Stockholm. Different from the other volunteer badges of the Winter War, the cross of the Swedes were given also to those who were volunteering in the Continuation War. The badge of the Swedish volunteers is a silvery cross, basically of the same shape as the St. George cross, with a stylized sprig pattern surrounding the center of the cross. There is an enamel blue-white cockade of the army of Finland in the middle. The ribbon of the cross has two thin, yellow, vertical stripes with a stylized white spruce ornament in the middle. All of the original crosses are numbered. There are also crosses, which have been ordered and made at a later stage. They can preferrably be distinguished by the missing ornament in the middle of the ribbon and by not having been numbered. Compared to other nationalities, the Swedes used their own unit badges, designed for Finland. They all had a homogeneous collar badge made of copper, picturing four hands holding each other by the wrist. In their epaulets the Swedes wore the same type of copper badges as unit badges. The badges of the volunteers on the staff were having the Marshal's batons crosswise, the first squad a stylized crossbow, the second squad an elkhead, the third squad crossing swords, and the depot a thick-edged letter D. The Swedes have at least one interesting front direction badge. The 17th Division Swedes, participating in the activities at the front of Hanko in 1941, had a so called Hanko Clasp made for themselves already during the war. The badge is of copper and is to be fastened to the chest, and in the middle of the crossing spruce twig insignia are three crowns.

The Medal of the Norwegian Volunteers

Immediately after the Winter War, the Norwegians had a medal made for themselves as a memento of the war. They did not, however, have much time to wear it, until it was forbidden, as the Germans had occupied Norway. The badge of the Norwegians is a round, bronze medal with a diameter of 30 mm. The heraldic lion of Finland is on its front side and it is surrounded by the text For Norge med Finland (For Norway with Finland). In the middle of the reverse side is an old Norwegian symbol for cooperation, in which one can find six heraldic roses. The reverse side is surrounded by the text Norske Frivillige (Norwegian Volunteers).The lower edge bears the date 1940. There are two versions of the ribbon of the medal, one for women and another for men. The ribbon of the women is rose-like. The transverse part is red-white-red in accordance with the colours of the flag of Norway. The lengthwise part has the blue and the white of the flag of Finland. The mens' medal was distributed with a full-length ribbon with the main part having three thin stripes - white, blue, and white - between two wide, red stripes. On the upper part of the ribbon there is a thin transverse white-blue-white ribbon, giving the impression of a cross. As regards collections, the Norwegian medal is by far the rarest one of the above medals.

 Other Badges Received for Having Helped Finland

Work was done on many different fields for the good of Finland. One of the most interesting ones is an association called Föreningen Sveriges Blå Stjärna or the Association of the Blue Star of Sweden. It was originally founded in 1917 under the name of The Red Star of Sweden with the purpose of recruiting and training veterinarians for the needs of periods of crisis. The first concrete critical situation in the immediate surroundings of Sweden occurred just as the Winter War broke out, and some of the volunteer members of the association came to help Finland. The FSBS continued their activities for Finland also during the Continuation War. Because of its Finnish activities, the name of the association was changed to The Blue Star of Sweden - as one got certain negative associations about a red star when looking east! The Association has a two-class service medal - one of gold, class 1, and one of silver, class 2. The medal is a traditional Swedish medal at the front side with the picture and crown of the king who happens to rule at the time. The edge on the reverse side is surrounded by the text Svenska Blå Stjärnans Förtjänstmedalj - or the Merit Medal of the Blue Star of Sweden. The name of the receiver and the year when the awarded medal was granted were engraved in the middle of the background. Under the name engraving there is a crossing spruce twig symbol and above a star. For having helped Finland, the receiver got a silver-coloured clasp FINLAND and the year when he had been in Finland. The ribbon of the medal has three vertical stripes of the same width and the yellow-blue-yellow colours of the flag of Sweden.

Collection Badges and Medals

 In addition to the above mentioned badges, there are plenty of different badges sold for the benefit of Finland. And lots of various pins, through which money has been collected for different important purposes. There are also many different kinds of medals - both to be kept on a table or to be worn on the chest - part of them made and donated by a grateful Finland. These badges belonging to the field of numismatics and voluntary work offer a lot to collect for those who are interested and they are even relatively easy to find in comparison with the badges presented earlier in this article.