DescriptionThis Order of Medjidie (fourth class order) was one of 3000 awarded by the Ottoman Empire. This one was awarded to New Zealander A.D Blair for services rendered to the Ottoman Empire in 1911.
The details of the event were recorded in the Poverty Bay Herald Volume xxxix, issue 12708, 11 March 1912, p2.
"Captain A. D. Blair, son of Mr John Blair, Abbotsford, has received from the Turkish Government the decoration of the fourth order of Medjidie. The order was instituted in 1852, and conferred after the Crimean war to a considerable extent on British officers. The service rendered by Captain Blair was the following: On July last he took in his ship 1000 Turkish troops with guns, etc, from Kamaran to a place called Loheiza, which was surrounded by Bedouins, who had captured the wells, and the Turkish, garrison were dying with thirst. Captain Blair happened to have 100 tons of fresh water ballast in his tanks and with the aid of the condenser augmented this supply, which he landed with the reinforcements. For five days he supplied the troops with water, when the wells were recaptured, and thus earned the gratitude of the Turks."
AD Blair's father described the Medel in a 1911 letter. He writes:
"It is the 4th order of the Medjidie a silver sun in seven nails with the device of the crescent & star alternating a circle of red enamel in the centre with inscriptions and inside of that is the Sultan's name in a silver field. It is attached to a red ribbon with green bindess(?). It is to be worn on the left breast. The Turkish Commandant & others all call him Commander Blair Bey but he had no official intimation of the title being conferred on him. He has never inquired if it goes with the decoration so we are not on any account to put it on his address, Let ???? see it I will send ?? to films she can let Jess(?) see it I write who send me to Mum ??? ??? Mr Blair."
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Originally uploaded to the Tauranga Memories website (2011-2020), into the Remembering War basket, or focus group, by Tauranga City Libraries staff (Harley Couper), on 10 30, 2013.
Its original URL was: http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/en/remembering_war/images/show/6273 and its original license was: Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial 3.0 New Zealand License.
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Year: 1911
