 |
Cambodian Decorations of Honor
Geoffrey P. Oldham & Brett Delahunt
Review by Brian T.Simpkin, OMRS Journal Volume 44, Number 2, June 2005
This excellent book covers official Cambodian orders, decorations and medals, awarded during the period from 1954, the year of independence, to the present day. It begins with a short chapter on the historical background of the country, stretching from 802 AD to the present, with an emphasis on the last 50 years. Reading this is important as it sets the scene for the various changes of government and regime which often blighted the country during the second half of the 20th century and which naturally had a “knock-on” effect on the medals issued. The book then proceeds to the main body of the work, which is the description of the various orders and medals. It begins with those of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1993-present), methodically dealing with all the orders and medals currently being issued, giving historical background, descriptions, variations with class, variations with regime change, dimensions, ribbons, emblems, mode of wearing etc.; the insignia are all well illustrated in colour and in many cases the award document is also depicted.
Following on from this are those orders and medals from previous regimes, having no direct counterpart in the current awards system, issued by the Kingdom of Cambodia (1954-1970), the Khmer Republic (1970-1975) the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (1979-1989) and the State of Cambodia (1989-1993). A noticeable gap in those dates is that of 1975-1979, this being the period of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot. Its contribution to the medallic history of the state was to execute anyone in possession of a medal from the previous regime; it is not known to have issued any itself. Further on are pages illustrating riband bars of the various orders and medals with associated emblems. A table of contents and medal indexes aid navigation around the work.
I thoroughly recommend the book – it is informative, clear, colourful and an excellent aid to the identification of the medals of Cambodia during the latter half of the 20th Century.
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
|
|
