15 SEPTEMBER 1917, Page 3

The King has expressed a desire to recognize specially the

services of the troops engaged in France andBelgium in the earliest stages of the war, up to and including the First Battle of Ypres, which began our October llth, 1014. A distinctive decoration, with a riband but without a clasp, will be awarded to all officers and men of the British Expeditionary Force, including the Indian Contingent, the Royal Naval Division, and other Naval and Marine units that were landed for service during those critical weeks. The families of the many men of the Old Army who have fallen will, we trust, receive their heroes' posthumous decorations.