Vierdaagse Cross 1959 – 1976
On 3 April 1958 Queen Juliana bestowed the title ‘Royal’ (Koninklijke) on the NBVLO to mark its 50th anniversary. This meant the organisation’s initials had to be changed to either KNBVLO or, as was finally adopted, KNBLO. The Vierdaagse medals were redesigned to reflect this. The new title change came too late to be reflected in the medals awarded for the July 1958 March, although the programme for this year did use the new Royal name.
Medals reflecting the Royal title – both Crosses and Group Medals – were awarded from 1959. Apart from the change of initials on the arms from NBVLO to KNBLO, the design of the cross remained as before. All medals produced continued to be made by Koninklijke Begeer, ‘Kon Begeer Voorschoten’ appearing on the reverse of all crosses. There were no other significant design changes before Begeer ceased making the medals after 1976.
Bronze Cross: first and second successful march
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Made of gilded bronze. Awarded without a crown for the first successful march. For the second year, a separate gilded bronze crown was awarded for attachment to the suspension of the first year cross.
The background behind the letters on each arm was plain on earlier crosses (as for the year one medal above), but given a slightly frosted texture on later ones (as for the year two medal).
Ribbon numbers. Bronze gilt numbers were attached to the ribbon for a third and fourth successful march.