What were these medals awarded for?

We have just recently been asked by the Ophiem family from Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA,  to try and uncover the meaning behind the photographed medals, and of how they were awarded to military personnel. I have researched the images and have found them to be the following, this information was gleaned from various sources.

The 1939-45 War Medal was awarded to all full time members of the armed forces, wherever they saw service and gave 28 days service in uniform or in an accredited organisation. It could be awarded by itself to personnel who did not qualify for a campaign medal or the Defence Medal.

Members of the Merchant Navy had to have completed 28 days service at sea to be awarded this medal.

The obverse of this cupro-nickel medal bears the crowned head of King George VI and the legend ‘GEORGIVS VI D: G: BR: OMB: REX ET INDIAE IMP:’.

The reverse shows a victorious lion trampling on a dragon with the dates ‘1939-45’ above. The suspender is a straight non-swivelling economy type suspender with a claw mount riveted to the medal.

The ribbon is 1.25″ wide and is striped going from red to blue to white from each edge and a narrow central red stripe in the centre. These colours represent the Union flag.

The medals issued by the Canadian Government were made of solid Silver. There were no clasps awarded for this medal, but those personnel who were Mentioned in Despatches wore a bronze oak leaf on the ribbon.

Defence Medal

Generally speaking, this medal was awarded for three years service in Great Britain between Sept 1939 and 8th May 1945 or six months overseas in territories subjected to, or threatened by enemy attacks. The time was extended to forces overseas until 15th August 1945, the end of the war in the Pacific. In the case of mine and bomb disposal units the time qualification was three months.

This cupro-nickel medal bears the uncrowned head of King George VI and the legend ” GEORGE VI D:BR OMN:REX F: D: IND: IMP”.

The reverse shows the Royal Crown resting above a small oak tree and flanked by two heraldic lions. The words “THE DEFENCE MEDAL” are shown below the crest and the dates 1939 and 1945 appear in the top left and right respectively. The suspender is a straight non-swivelling economy type riveted to the metal.

The ribbon is 1.25″ wide, with green edges to symbolises the green fields of Britain, with a wide a central orange strip to represent the flames of the blitz and narrow black stripes to represent the deaths of people during the bombings.

Italy Star

The Italy Star was originally intended to be awarded to servicemen who saw service in Italy, but actually covered operational service in the Aegean, Corsica, Elba, Greece, Sardinia, Southern France and Austria as well as Yugoslavia during the period 11 June 1943 to 8 May 1945.

Army personnel were not required to have earned the 1939 – 1945 Star prior to qualifying for this medal, unlike their Royal and Merchant Navy counterparts, who had to have qualified for the the 1939 – 1945 Star, unless they entered into the war too late to qualify for this medal.

Members of the Royal Navy had to have completed service in the Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas, as well as operations in the Dodacanese, Corsica, Greece, Sardinia, Yugoslavia and Elba.

Members of the Army who save operational service in the Aegean, Dodacanese, Corsica, Greece, Sardinia, Yugoslavia and Elba. Those members of the Army who served in Sicily after 17 Aug 1943, Sardinia after 19 September 1943 and Corsica after 4 October 1943 did not qualify for this medal.

If personnel entered into Austria during the last few days of the war, they qualified for this medal and not the France & Germany Star.

The medal itself is a bronze six pointed star with the Royal Cipher “GRI VI” in the centre, surmounted by a crown with the inscription “THE ITALY STAR”. The reverse is plain and blank as with all Second World War Stars. Their were no clasps issued with this medal.

The ribbon is 1.25″ in width, with equal stripes of red, white and green, which represents the Italian flag.

Africa Star

To qualify for this medal, members of the Royal Navy had to have completed any service at sea in the mediterranean, between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 or servied in support in Abyssinia, Somalialand and Eritrea beteen 10 June 1940 and 27 November 1941

For the Army, service personnel had to have entered into North Africa with an operational unit. Service in areas such as Abyssinia, Somalilands, Sudan, Eritrea and Malta, but service in West Africa did not count.

For members of the RAF, they needed to have landed in or flown over Abyssinia, Somalilands, Sudan, Eritra and Malta, or territory occupied by the enemy.

The medal itself is a bronze six pointed star with the Royal Cipher “GRI VI” in the centre, surmounted by a crown with the inscription “THE AFRICA STAR”. The reverse is plain and blank as with all Second World War Stars.

The medal ribbon is 1.25″ wide in pale buff, with a broad central scarlet strip, with 2 narrow stripes of dark blue and mid blue either side. These colours represent the desert sands and the three services.

There were 3 clasps awarded to this medal. They were:

8th ARMY – Awarded for service in the Eighth Army between 23 October 1942 and 12 May 1943. The numeral 8 was worn on the ribbon when no medal was worn.

1st ARMY – Awarded for service in the First Army or any unit under its command from 8 November to 12 May 1943. The numeral 1 was worn on the ribbon when no medal was worn.

NORTH AFRICA 1942-1943 – A small silver rosette(which was worn on the ribbon, when no medal was worn) was awarded to Naval, RAF and Merchant Navy personnel as well as members of the 18th Army Group who did not qualify for either of the other two emblems.

Although it was possible to qualify for more than one bar, only the first was awarded.

1939 – 1945 Star

This star was awarded for service between 3 September 1939 – 2 September 1945.

To qualify for this medal, members of the Royal Navy had to complete 6 months service in areas of active operations.

For the Army, they had to have served 6 months in an operational command. If they were airborne troops, they could qualify by participating in an airborne operation, and had completed 2 months in a fully operational unit. If a service personnel had been a POW, then this time counted towards the medal. If an honour, decoration or Mention in Despatches was awarded, then they qualified for this medal, irrespective of the length of service.

If a serviceman had been evacuaated from areas such as Dunkirk, Norway, Greece etc then they were eligble to wear the medal. The only qualification criteria was that they had entered into area of operation.

For members of the RAF, if they were flying crew, then they had to complete 2 months serive in an operational unit. If they were non-aircrew, then they had to complete 6 months serive in an operational area.

There was one clasp issued for this medal, which is “BATTLE OF BRITAIN” and was awarded to RAF personnel who were engaged in the Battle of Britain between 10 July and 31st October 1940. Britain’s war time leader Winston Churchill referred to these men as “The Few, who gave so much”. When the medal is not worn, and only the ribbons on the tunic can be seen, the clasp is denoted by a gilt rosette

The medal itself is a 6 pointed star with the Royal Cipher “GRI VI” in the centre, with an inscription of “THE 1939 – 1945 STAR” around the cipher. A crown is mounted above the cipher. The reverse of the medal is blank as with all World War II medals.

The ribbon is 1.25″ and represents the 3 services (dark blue – Navy, red – Army and light blue – RAF).