British War Medal
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| British War Medal 1914-20 | |
|---|---|
   Obverse (top left) and reverse (top right) of the medal. Ribbon: 32mm, orange watered centre with stripes of white and black on each side and borders of royal blue. |
|
| Awarded by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | |
| Type | Campaign medal |
| Eligibility | British and Imperial forces. |
| Awarded for | Campaign service. |
| Campaign | First World War 1914-20. |
| Description | Silver or bronze disk, 36mm diameter. |
| Clasps | None authorised. |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1919 |
| Total awarded | 6,390,000 silver, 110,000 bronze. |
The British War Medal was a campaign medal of the British Empire, for service in World War I.
The medal was approved in 1919, for issue to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who had rendered service between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. Officers and men of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Dominion and Colonial naval forces (including reserves) were required to have completed 28 days mobilised service - the medal was automatically awarded in the event of death on active service before the completion of this period.
The medal was later extended to cover the period 1919-20 and service in mine-clearing at sea as well as participation in operations in North and South Russia, the eastern Baltic, Siberia, the Black Sea, and the Caspian.[1]
Some 6,500,000 medals were awarded in total, of which 110,000 were bronze. These bronze medals were mostly issued to Chinese, Maltese, and Indians who served in labour battalions.
[edit] Clasps
None authorised
[edit] Notes
- ^ Medals Yearbook 2004, p169
[edit] Bibliography
- Mackay, J and Mussel, J (eds) - Medals Yearbook - 2006, (2005), Token Publishing.
- Joslin, Litherland, and Simpkin (eds), British Battles and Medals, (1988), Spink
