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1914 & 1914-15 Stars ~ British
War Medal ~ Victory Medal ~ Territorial
Force War Medal
(and some notes on the Silver War & Imperial
Service Badges)
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The medals ~ Medal index cards ~ Gallantry awards ~ The Silver War & Imperial Service Badges
Searches of the service medal records is the starting point for service record research, providing overseas service was seen. (NB There was no minimum period of overseas service with the British Army in order to qualify for WW1 service medals.)
There are a total of five "general service" medals relevant to the British Army during the Great War, though theoretically (some issue mistakes were made) any officer or man could only be entitled to a maximum of three. The medals and their ribbons are as follows:-
1914 & 1914-15 Stars
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Territorial Force
War Medal
The 1914 Star was awarded to members of the British and Indian Expeditionary
Forces (including civilian doctors, nurses, and other personnel employed in
military hospitals) for service on the establishment of a unit in France or
Belgium between 5th August and midnight on the 22nd-23rd November 1914. The
Bar was awarded to recipients of the Star who had actually served under fire
during the qualifying period.
The 1914-15 Star is identical to the 1914 Star excepting that the central scroll
is titled "1914-15" rather than "Aug-1914-Nov". There are
some convolutions with regard to eligibility to this medal, but broadly it was
awarded to all who served in (but not those who simply passed through) any theatre
of war against Germany and her allies between 5th August 1914 and 31st December
1915, except those who were entitled to the 1914 Star. If a man or woman qualified
for either Star then qualification for the British War & Victory Medals
was automatic.
A 1914 Star "Trio" with
August-November Bar and
Bronze Oakleaf for Mentions
in Dispatches. (Second from
left is the British War Medal
and right is the Victory Medal).
The British War Medal was the most widely awarded of the service medals with
almost seven million going into circulation. There are vagaries with the issue
criteria however the core qualification is that the man or woman entered a theatre
of war on duty or left their place of residence and rendered approved service
overseas other than on the waters dividing the different parts of the United
Kingdom between 5th August 1914 and 11th November 1918 inclusive. There were
also some extensions of eligibility beyond 11/11/1918, service in Russia during
1919-20 for example.
Qualification criteria are not the same as for the BWM and there were reputedly
about 3/4 of a million fewer VM's issued, though that is mainly a naval matter
and does not really affect the research aspect of the Army "general service"
medal records. (It was not possible to be awarded the Victory Medal unless you
also had BWM qualification and all recipients of ether the 1914 or 1914-15 Star
automatically qualified for the BW & V Medals).
This medal (the reverse of which is shown here) is far rarer than either the 1914 or 1914-15 Stars, - approximately 34,000 TFWM's were issued against well over two million Stars. The TFWM is also the medal for which issue criteria are most often miss-stated; even to the extent that some guide notes at the PRO get it wrong. The TFWM was awarded to members of the Territorial Force and the Territorial Nursing Service who volunteered for overseas service no later than 30th September 1914 (ie signed Army Form E624) - but - they had either to be serving with the TF prior on the 4th of August 1914 or have had not less than four years service with the TF prior to that date and have rejoined the force and volunteered for overseas service prior to September 30th. Additional to that they must not have been eligible for either the 1914 or 1914-15 Star and they must have had eligibility for the British War Medal (but not necessarily the Victory Medal).
The index cards for Officers and OR's entitlement to the 1914 Star, 1914-15
Star, British War & Victory Medals, Territorial Force War Medal and the
"Silver War Badge" (men discharged as a result of sickness, wounds,
age etc.) will normally give basic information such as which medals were sanctioned,
the Regiment(s) and / or Corp(s) which the man served with, his rank and service
number(s), and, in the case of those entitled to either of the Stars (and many
Officers who did not have Star qualification) the first overseas date and theatre
of war first served in. These index cards also contain the original medal roll
references, this allowing identification and retrieval of the rolls themselves.
The index cards will usually (not always, but "usually") tell you
whether an Other Ranks service medals were successfully issued to him; - if
they werent then the card should show a reference such as "KR 1743 1912"
(or similar, or a later KR para) which means that the medals were undeliverable
and were returned to store for ten years before being broken-up (assuming they
werent claimed in the meantime).
Occasionally there are problems with the card-index system and there may be
difficulty identifying a particular Officer or OR. Miss-filed cards are not
unknown and there have been instances where there seems to be no index card
at all for a man who is irrefutably entitled to service medals. This can sometimes
be resolved by going straight to the relevant medal rolls and trawling through
them until the man's entry is found, although this is extremely time-consuming
if the man was in something like the Artillery or Army Service Corps, etc. Occasionally
it is impossible to make an index identification for an Officer's medal entitlements,
- this is because an Officer (or his next of kin if he was deceased) had to
apply for his medal issues whereas OR's medals were issued automatically. It
is not unusual to find entries in medal rolls showing applications for WWI medal
issues (which have previously been unclaimed) during the mid-late 30's when
the outbreak of WW2 was anticipated.
Sometimes, but by no means always, the medal index card and / or the medal
rolls will mention the fact that the Officer or man has been awarded the Military
Cross, Military Medal, Distinguished Conduct Medal, or some other gallantry
award, - but this is by no means assured and other searches may have to be made.
See "Gallantry Awards" in the main British Army index.
medal rolls In some cases (particularly Officers, and OR's who served in the
Corps, Royal Field Artillery, and some other units) the medal rolls will reveal
no information additional to that shown on the index card, however it is far
from unusual to find additional detail such as the reason for a mans early discharge
(wounded, unfit, etc); the date of his discharge; whether he was discharged
to reserve; changes in Regiment or Battalion; whether he was a prisoner of war,
and other such matters. Some units recorded particularly good information in
their rolls; for example Battalions of the London Regiment generally give the
start and finish dates for a man's posting(s), which can be especially useful
if no service record survives. As a general rule the Medal Office rolls should
always be retrieved and examined rather than relying solely on the information
given on the mic.
- discharge due to wounds, age, infirmity or sickness The Silver War Badge
is not a medal or decoration, however record of it's being awarded to any officer
or man (and later women) is included with his service medal records, and details
given in the SWB rolls can add significantly to knowledge of the man's service.
There are, by the way, probably more "silly stories" told about the
SWB than anything else associated with the service medal records - and almost
as many variations of what public-bar experts will tell you its called; "Silver
Discharge Badge", the "Wounded Badge" etc., etc., - no end of
variations - I've even seen it refered to as the "Silver Warrior Badge"
!
The award was introduced by Army Order AO316 of 1916, titled "Silver War
Badge", which initially stipulated that the award was available to Officers
and OR's of the British, Indian, and Overseas Forces: -
(nb - the identity of a recipient of an SWB can normally be established from
the serial number on the rear of the badge, no other information is needed)
"Who have served at home or abroad since the 4th August, 1914, and who
on account of age, or physical infirmity arising from wounds or sickness caused
by military service have, in the case of Officers, retired or relinquished their
commissions, or, in the case of men, have been discharged from the Army."
These conditions were later expanded, most significantly to include the women's
services. (Nb - by order of the Army Council the Silver War Badge could not
be awarded to a soldier or ex-soldier who was an inmate of an Asylum [men certified
as suffering "general paralysis of the insane", etc], and requests
for such issues from next of kin etc were turned down with advice that the man
should reapply if and when he was discharged).
The rolls for the Silver War Badge generally record the man's date of enlistment and discharge, whether he was discharged as the result of being wounded or through age or "sickness", and often give his age at time of discharge. It was not necessary for an Officer or OR to have had overseas service in order for him to qualify for the SWB, so home service can be established if no service record survives. The badge was to be worn on the right breast when in civilian dress - it was forbidden to wear it on military uniform. The War Office covering note which was issued with SWB's warned that if lost it would not be replaced, but when SWBs were handed in at Police stations (etc) they were returned to the WO and if the original recipient could still be traced at his / her discharge address then the badge was returned to them.
The ISB is not a medal and it's issue to Officers and OR's is nowhere individually
recorded, however it can be a useful device especially when dealing with photographs
of soldiers. Initially it was to be worn on the right breast of trained soldiers
of a Territorial Force unit where all members had undertaken, before the outbreak
of war, to serve abroad if required - the normal commitment for the TF being
home service only.
The ISB was only issued to qualifying men in the Territorial Force, it is not
applicable to men in the Regular or "New" Armies
These stipulations seem to have been relaxed however and the Overseas Service
Obligation (Army Form E624) which was in circulation by September 1914 included
the statement "A badge will be awarded to each individual accepting such
liability for service outside the United Kingdom. This badge may be worn, when
in uniform, on the right breast of the officer or man so long as the liability
continues."
Source: Tom Tulloch-Marshall
Military
Genealogy & Operational Records Of The Great War