Medal For Long Service.

[CtahhR]

Here is a 9th May 1938 dated award of the Bronze Medal For Long Service. Awarded to Stanisław Mleczko a Standing Worker of the State Railway in Lvov.

The Medal was founded on 8th January 1938 and was awarded in Gold (30 years), Silver (20 years) and Bronze (10 years). Strangely if the recipient wished to receive the Medal they had to cover the costs personally.

[Al-muell]

Strangely if the recipient wished to receive the Medal they had to cover the costs personally.

Actually it was the case with most (if not all) the pre-war Polish awards. One could be awarded the e.g. Cross of merit and would get a document for that, but to get the actual award, he had to pay for it (in the case of the cross of merit it was like 4zł - quite an amount of money then, with the monthly salary starting with around 100zł unless I am mistaken). But it was only the part of the problem - for example, officers of the cavalry had to buy all the equipment for them selves after graduating from the academy - from uniform and pistol to the horse. And it was well-seen for the officer to have also another horse for strictly sport use. Also, an officer should have field, practice, parade and evening uniform, as well as take partin cavalry balls, often once a month which cost and usualy covered some fund rising. Those that didn't get promoted soon lived in poverty, and thus were not even allowed to get married unless their wife was tobe from a rich family or they themselves weren'tfrom such.