“THESE are nothing special, everyone got these” is a line I hear nearly every day as someone pulls a group of First World War medals from their bag to show me. It is a tragedy that the medallic mementoes of one of the bloodiest and deadliest wars the world has ever seen are so lightly prized; this lack of regard is something that has and always will baffle me.
The medals themselves are relatively simple: two are star shaped, two round. They are ‘campaign medals’, representing a series of actions over a number of months or years that cover an entire campaign of action or a whole war. They were awarded to all those men and women who served (generally overseas) during the First World War; from 4 August 1914 to 11 November 1918, and indeed in some cases beyond.
Each medal was individually inscribed with the name and rank of the recipient, and for other ranks the service number and regiment as well. Stars were engraved on the reverse while onedge and are amazed to find a relative’s details officially inscribed upon the award. Such medals were awarded to both men and women: personnel of the Navy, Army (including the Royal Flying Corps) and then the Royal Air Force, after its foundation on 1 April 1918.
