(top) and PHILADELPHIA (bottom). Immediately below the building reads: DEDICATION MAY 21, 1895.

Figure 2: Reverse of the Odd Fellows badge.

The reverse (Figure 2) has the all-seeing-eye with rays

radiating behind it as its central theme. In a semi-circular

fashion around the eye is a wreath, which has wild

flowers at the base, cattails making the left side, and

wheat forming the right. Inscribed around the outer edge

is OFFICIAL MEDAL COMMEMORATING THE DEDICATION OF THE ODD FELLOWS TEMPLE.

A decorative brooch depicting the interlocking chain links, with F-L-T (Friendship-Love-Truth) suspends the red silk ribbon, which is fastened to the planchet by claw type suspension device.

Searching the internet about this particular event provided no answers. I did learn, however, that the Odd Fellows began in England in 1748 as a mutual insurance fraternity, concerned with relief, caring for orphans and widows, and burying the dead. The first "officially" recognized lodge in the United States was in 1819 in Baltimore, Maryland.

My next step was a trip to the Pennsylvania State Library to search the Philadelphia newspaper archives, which provided great coverage of the temple dedication.

The cornerstone of the building was laid two years prior to the dedication in 1895. The building, or "temple," was to serve as the Pennsylvania state headquarters, or "Grand

Lodge." At that time, the Odd Fellowship in Pennsylvania numbered 107,708 members with over 1,000 lodges. The dedication day celebration was a huge event, with over 100,000 visitors expected to be in Philadelphia. Around 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 21, 1895, thousands gathered around the new temple building in the pouring rain for the dedication ceremony. Grand Master Harry L. Neall, as well as other officers, presided over the dedication.

An altar was built with stone tablets with the organizations fundamentals inscribed on them: purity, friendship, love and truth. Placed on the altar by the high priest were the symbols of faith, hope, and charity. Finally, the Holy Bible, which was carried by four bearers, was placed onto the altar. After this act the temple was officially dedicated.

A parade was to follow the ceremony, but the downpour of rain necessitated its cancellation. One Philadelphia newspaper estimated that 25,000 people were to have participated.

It is not known how many medals were struck to commemorate this event. It seems that this badge has survived longer than the Grand Lodge in Philadelphia, as the state headquarters is now located in Middletown, Pennsylvania.

References:

The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Odd Fellows." Sunday Morning, May

19, 1895.

The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Welcoming the I.O.O.F." Tuesday Morning, May 21, 1895.

The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Odd Fellows: The Temple Dedicated." Wednesday Morning, May 22, 1895.

The Philadelphia Press. "The Odd Fellows’ Temple Dedicated. "

Wednesday Morning, May 19, 1895.

The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Odd Fellows at work." Thursday Morning, May 23, 1895.

http://www.ioof.org/ioof_history.htm. The Sovereign Grand Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows

http://www.ioof.org/then & now.htm. The Sovereign Grand Lodge Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

38 JOMSA

Medals and Museums in the Middle East Iraq

Owain Raw-Rees

I have over the last few years endeavored to research and through the pages of JOMSA publish hitherto unknown information concerning the awards of the Arab World. Despite my best efforts, information still remains difficult to come by and requests for such information often go unheeded. One means of trying to record and identify awards is by visiting museums and over the last few years I have had the good fortune to visit most of the countries of the Middle East. I detail below the museums of interest:

Bahrain

¯ National Museum, Manama. This is an excellent museum, but unfortunately contains no information relating to the awards of Bahrain.

Egypt

¯ Abdine Palace, Cairo. Formerly the palace of the Kings of Egypt and now housing displays of the weapons and awards collected by King Fouad and King Farouk. A room is dedicated to a comprehensive display of the orders, decorations and medals of the Kingdom of Egypt, including the mounted medal bar of King Farouk. Also displayed are the awards of many other countries. According to the curator only some third of the awards in the collection are on display !

¯ Military Museum the Citadel, Cairo. Formerly a palace but now converted into a museum displaying the military history of the Egypt. The style is somewhat authoritarian - not surprising when one finds out that the museum was set up with the assistance of the Democratic Republic of North Korea. The museum has a good display of the ribbons of the Republic, but very few medals are on display.

Iran

¯ Martyrs Museum, Tehran. Situated across the road from the former United States Embassy, the museum has a well laid out display of artifacts from the Iran-iraq war with much focus on the sacrifice of the Iranian Army. On display are a couple of awards issued by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

¯ National Museum, Baghdad. This is primarily an archive of the archaeological heritage of the nation. The museum featured much in the news after its reported looting following the fall of the Ba’athist regime. Not believed to have had any military awards on display.

¯ Military Museum, Baghdad. Established in A1 A’adhamiya in the 1970’s and later moved to A1 Qasr A1 Abyadh (The White Palace) in Nidhal Street. The status of its holdings are unknown but it would be reasonable to assume that medals would have been on display. Other museums with a military theme include the Monument to the Unknown Soldier and the Shaheed (Martyr’s) Monument in the Zawra Park.

Jordan

¯ Martyrs’ Memorial and Military MuseumAmman.

A well laid out museum with much focus on the Arab Revolt of 1916 and the subsequent formation of the Kingdom of Jordan. Of interest are displays of the Orders of Renaissance, Independence, Star and Military Order along with some medals. Also on display are the be- ribboned-tunics of King Abdullah I and King Hussein.

Kuwait

¯ National Museum.

The museum was looted during the Iraqi occupation prior

to the First Gulf War and as far as I am currently aware

there are no displays of the awards of Kuwait.

Lebanon

¯ National Museum.

It is primarily a treasure house of the archaeological

history of Lebanon. There are no awards known to be

on display.

Oman

¯ Bait A1 Zubair, Muscat This is a private museum, opened in February 1998 and a delight to visit, displaying one of the largest private collections of Omani artifacts, with a key focus of the promotion, preservation and study of the heritage of Oman. Of specific interest is.a highly decorated presentation certificate to Sheikh A1 Zubair bin Ali from

Vol. 56, No. 3 39

1923 for the Noble Sa’eedee Order of Oman and also an example of the 1932 Accession Medal of Sultan Said.

¯ Military Museum, Bhit Falaj. An excellent museum under the auspices of the Omani military displaying in great detail the advances made by the Omani military since the accession of Sultan Qaboos. No specific displays of awards however many of the Omani awards are on view throughout the displays.

¯ National Museum, Muscat. A poorly managed selection of displays of the heritage

of Oman, however a nice selection of the orders of

Zanzibar.

Qatar

¯ National Museum, Doha. A relatively small museum, but it houses a display of the

awards presented to the last Emir and these provide a

good intxoduction to the more modem awards of the Arab

world.

Saudi Arabia

¯ Air Museum, Riyadh.

A superb presentation of the development of aviation

within the Kingdom - a well laid out and spacious

museum; however, the only medal-related display is a

case of ribbons of Saudi Arabia and its allies.

¯ AI Khozam Palace, Jeddah. A somewhat ramshackle museum mostly devoted to the

natural history of the region but recently there has been

opened a display relating to the reign of King Saud and

some of the awards he received.

¯ King Faisal Institute, Riyadh. In addition to the Institute there is fascinating display

relating to the life of King Faisal and the display includes

all of the awards given to him - not only orders but also

weapons and mementos of his visits abroad~. (King Faisal

of Saudi Arabia, His Awards and the Order of King Faisal,

JOMSA, July/August, 1998.)

Sudan

¯ National Museum, Khartoum. An archaeological museum with no awards on display.

¯ Mahdi’s House, Omdurman. A small museum detailing the life of the Mahdi who rose against the British in the 1880s. The only award on dis- play is a gilt example of the locally issued Gordon’s Star.

Syria

¯ Military Museum, Damascus.

A poorly set out museum - more of a storage facility

open to the public. There are some wonderful banners

relating to Faisal’s Arab Army from the Great War, but

these are poorly maintained. What few awards there are

on display are haphazardly laid out.

Turkey

¯ Military Museum, Istanbul.

The museum has an excellent display of the military

history of the Turkey. Many displays of the awards were

made by the Turkish authorities and received by various

senior military personnel. There is an especially good

display of the awards of the modern Turkish republic.

¯ Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

Until the middle of the 19th century, this was the home

of the Ottoman Sultans. It has on display in the jewel

house some of the most extravagant jeweled orders. The

few medals that are on display, are well presented and lit

and make a visit to the palace a must.

United Arab Emirates

¯ Military Museum, Abu Dhabi.

A soon to be opened museum focusing on the

development of the Armed Forces of the United Arab

Emerates from the establishment of the Trucial Oman

Scouts in the 1950’s to the present day. Currently there

is no display of the awards of the United Arab Emerates

but this is being attended to and will be set up in the next

year or so.

¯ Dubai Museum, Dubai. Situated in the A1 Fahidi Fort, this museum dates back to 1878, and displays items relating to the heritage of Dubai.

¯ Sheikh Saeed AI Maktoum House, Dubai. This renovated ruler’s palace, dates from 1896 and opened as a museum in 1996. It is situated by the creek in Dubai and has an excellent display of the coinage and postal history of the Emirate but, alas, no medals.

¯ National Museum of Ras AI Khaima, Ras AI Khaima.

Housed in the old fort of Ras A1 Khaima which formerly was used as the residence of the rulers and later as a police headquarters and prison, the museum focuses on the maritime history and development of the Emirate.

40 JOMSA