- Member of the Order of the British Empire (Military). 2nd type 'M.B.E.' breast badge- Defence Medal- War Medal- Coronation Medal 1953- Ceylon (Dominion): Armed Forces Inauguration Medal 1953 (Lt. Col Bracher, M.B.E.)The Ceylon Armed Forces Inauguration Medal is officially engraved in the serifed block letters style applied on medals issued to qualifying Officers, Warrant Officers and N.C.O.'s of the British Army who were attached to the Ceylon Army at the time of its foundationThe award of the M.B.E. is a rare seen 'Dominion of Ceylon' issue recommended by the Her Majesty's Ceylon Ministers.Quote (London Gazette, Fourth Supplement dated 30 May 1952):CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOODSt. James's Palace,S.W..I. 5th June, 1952.The QUEEN has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of the Celebration of Her Majesty's Birthday, and on the advice of Her Majesty's Ceylon Ministers, to give orders for the following appointment to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire:— To be an Ordinary Member of the Military Division of the said Most Excellent Order :— Major Harold BRACHER, Royal Army Ordnance Corps.Medals Verification: The Second World War, and Ceylon Armed Forces Armed Forces Inauguration Medal medal rolls are not in the public domain as of 2025. However, all awards are confirmed entitled per below following cited references / sources- Member of the Order of the British Empire (Military). 2nd type 'M.B.E.' breast badge: Published in London Gazette Fourth Supplement issue of 30 May 1952- Defence Medal: Recipient commissioned 02/11/1940 and served throughout WW2- War Medal: Recipient commissioned 02/11/1940 and served throughout WW2- Coronation Medal 1953: Coronation Medal Roll 1953- Ceylon (Dominion): Armed Forces Inauguration Medal 1953: Confirmed present in Ceylon Colony post-warInterestingly the M.B.E., 1953 Coronation Medal and Ceylon Armed Forces Inauguration Medal, all awarded for service in Ceylon, while serving with the Armed Forces of the Dominion of Ceylon (formerly Ceylon Colony, and now called Sri Lanka).Harold Bracher, son of Walter Edmund Bracher ( a 'Water Inspector') & Florence Amelia Bracher (nee Taylor) was a native of Hastings, Sussex, England, where he was born in April 1902. Harold (described as a Chemist) married (firstly) Frances Alice May Lawrence at Horsham Surrey, on 6 September 1923. Sadly, Harold's first wife died only 3 years after their wedding. Harold - now a widower - married (secondly), Lucie Elizabeth Lay, at Brighton Chapel Royal, Sussex, England, on 24 September 1931 (interestingly Lucie Bracher served as an Army Territorial Service Officer during the Second World War - and had enlisted before her husband - as she is shown in the 1939 National Register, as a Volunteer serving with the No 8 London Motor Transport Company A.T.S.. At the time of the compilation of the 1939 National Register for England & Wales, Harold is recorded employed as a Pharmaceutical Chemist, and residing at 52 Ruskin Drive, Sutton, Surrey. Harold was first commissioned into the British Army with an 'Emergency Commission' effective 2 November 1940, on which date he was appointed Second-Lieutenant in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. On 1 October 1946 2nd Lt Bracher (War Substantive Captain) was promoted to Captain, with seniority dated from 8 October 1944. On 18 September 1956, Major Bracher relinquished his commission and was granted the hon. rank of Lt.-Col. Harold Bracher is recorded to have died at Clovelly, Plumpton, Lewes, England, on 20 December 1972Ceylon Armed Forces Inauguration Medal: Was instituted in 1955, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II - Queen of the Dominion of Ceylon - and retroactive for award to all service personnel, Officers & Other Ranks, Ceylonese & British who were serving with any branch of the Ceylon Armed Forces from the dates, that the respective branches of the Ceylon Armed Forces in post-independence Ceylon were formally created, as under;- Ceylon Army: 10 October 1949- Royal Ceylon Navy: 9 December 1950- Royal Ceylon Air Force: 2 March 1951Per the published official United Kingdom Order of Precedence, this medal is worn immediately after the Pakistan Medal 1947The Colony of Ceylon gained independence from the United Kingdom on 4 February 1948, in which year Ceylon became the third colony to gain independence from Britain in the post 1945 era. As the Dominion of Ceylon, Queen Elizabeth II remained the monarch and head of state through to 1972, in which year Ceylon became a Republic and changed it's name to Sri Lanka. During the period of 'Dominion' era, British air and sea bases were maintained in Ceylon, and British officers continued to fill most of the upper ranks of the Ceylon Army, assisted by a number of British Warrant Officers, and senior NCO's who were deployed on attachment to the Ceylon Army in training capacitiesThe Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal, and Ceylon Police Independence medals both created in 1955, are the 3rd and 4th ranked 'Dominion' commemorative medals in the official British Order of Precedence (reference The London Gazette), with only the India (1st) and Pakistan (2nd) ranked higherThe medals mounted in the swing-style and as-won by the recipient. The medals hanging on their original silk ribands suspended from a contemporary white metal mounting bar that retains its long hinged pin and clasp fittingsSee item code 24996 for the recipient's companion miniature medal group that has been separately listed for saleCondition: Mostly about EF