The Star of Victory 1941 medal was issued after the defeat of the Italians in 1941. The medal was made by Mappin & Webb, in London, and is in the shape of a Coptic Cross, surmounted by an Imperial Crown. The Star of the Trinity is in high relief in the centre. A loop is attached to the top of the medal, with a hanger, and a multi-striped red, yellow and green riband. The inscription in Amharic on the medal reads: “Star of Victory 1933 [Ethiopian calendar]. Unforgettable Achievement” and on the reverse “Star of Victory 1941”.
The first Duke of Harar, who was active during the conflict, had the medal fourth in order of precedence of his campaign decorations, after the Military Medal of the Order of St. George, the Distinguished Military Medal of Haile Selassie I, and the Gold Medal of Haile Selassie I.1HIH Makonnen, Duke of Harar: Life & Records. 1957, Addis Ababa.
Subsequently, in 1966, a medal was issued for (and entitled) the 25th Anniversary of the Victory of 1933. [The date is in the Ethiopian calendar.] This silver medal shows, on the obverse, the standing figure of Emperor Haile Selassie raising the Ethiopian flag at Omedla, where he had re-entered Ethiopia from the Sudan in 1941.
In Amharic, it has the inscription “1933 [Ethiopian calendar], year of mercy. Victory 25th Year Commemoration”, and in the centre, “Omedla”. The reverse has the inscription in English “25th Anniversary of the Victory of 1941” around the outside, with “1966” at the bottom. In the centre is a graphic of the war memorial to the Ethiopian dead. The circular medal is surmounted by an Imperial crown, topped by a circular loop for the riband. The riband is bright orange with a white stripe down the centre.
