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Summary of the medals and eligibility criteria

Six Stars were issued for the campaigns of World War II. The Stars are a six-pointed star, in bronze, with the cypher of King George VI in the centre. The title of each Star appears around the cypher and also a different ribbon denotes each separate Star. The colours of the ribbons have symbolic significance and are believed to have been designed personally by King George VI.

Two Medals, the Defence Medal and the War Medal, were issued in recognition of general service in WWII. These are circular medals made in cupro-nickel.

The criteria for the award of medals to those who had fought in WW II were finalised in 1948. In accordance with the criteria, the medals were issued un-named.

No more than five Stars may be awarded to one person. Regulations relating to the award of the Pacific, Burma, Atlantic, Air Crew Europe and France and Germany Stars prevent this from happening.

Those who would qualify for more are awarded a Clasp with the title of one of the Stars to which they qualify. This Clasp is then attached to the ribbon of one of the other Stars, as laid out in the regulations.

A candidate may qualify for both the Pacific and Burma Stars but is only awarded one of these, which will be the first Star earned. He will then receive a Clasp with the title of the second Star earned which is worn on the ribbon of the first.

Another candidate may qualify for two or three of the Atlantic, Air Crew Europe and France and Germany Stars. In this instance the first Star earned is awarded. He will then receive a Clasp with the title of the second Star earned to be worn on the ribbon of the first. A third Star or Clasp will not be awarded in this case.

The 1939-45 Star, Africa Star and Italy Star can all be awarded regardless of which other Stars are qualified for.

These are the Medals that my Grandfather Sergeant Walter Dixon, Army No: 4529661 - Who served in the Light Infantry BD The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was awarded:

1939-45 War Medal
1939-45 Star
Long Service & Good Conduct Medal
1939-45 Italy Star
France and Germany Star
Defence Medal
Africa Star

The 1939-45 War Medal

 

 

 

Medal
War Medal. The obverse of the medal (shown here) shows the crowned head of King George VI, while the reverse bears a lion standing on a dragon with two heads, above are the dates 1939 and 1945.

Ribbon
In the colours of the Union Flag, a narrow central red stripe flanked by narrow white stripes, wider blue stripes and then red.

Criteria
The War Medal was awarded to all fulltime personnel of the armed forces wherever they were serving, provided they had served for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945.

 

 

 

1939-45 Star
All overseas operational areas

 

Ribbon
Equal stripes of dark blue, to represent the service of the Royal and Merchant Navies, red, to represent that of the Armies and light blue to represent that of Air Forces. Worn with the dark blue stripe furthest from the left shoulder.

Criteria
The 1939–45 Star was awarded for any period of operational service overseas between 3 Sep 1939 and 8 May 1945 (2 Sep 1945 in the Far East).
The criteria are 180 days’ service between these dates, although some special criteria apply when, at certain specified times, just 1 days’ service is required.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long Service & Good Conduct Medal (LS&GCM) for the Army

Medal
Silver and circular in shape with a fixed suspender bearing the words ‘Regular Army’. The obverse (shown here) of the medal shows the crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, while the reverse bears the words ‘For Long service and Good Conduct’.

Clasp
Bears the image of the Army Crest. When the ribbon alone is worn, a silver rosette denotes award of the Clasp.

Ribbon
Maroon flanked at the edges by narrow stripes of white.

Qualifying criteria

A soldier who completes 15 years reckonable service from date of attestation or age 17½, whichever is later, and is recommended by his/her CO, shall be eligible for consideration, though there are a number of offences/misconduct which would normally preclude award of the LS&GCM. Awards are only made after a comprehensive check of a soldier's record of service.

A soldier who, subsequent to award of the Medal, goes on to complete a further 15 years service shall be eligible for award of the Clasp to the LS&GCM provided that the conduct/discipline criteria have been met.

 

 

Italy Star
Sicily and Italy, 1943 -1945

 

Ribbon
In the colours of the Italian Flag, a central green stripe flanked by white and red stripes of equal width.

Criteria

Star awarded for 1 or more days’ service in Sicily or Italy between the above dates relevant to each campaign.

Those serving in Yugoslavia, Greece, Corsica or Sardinia between certain other specified dates will also qualify.

Naval personnel must qualify first for the 1939-45 Star before the Italy Star can be awarded. It is then awarded for service at sea in the Mediterranean between the above dates provided that it was directly connected with active operations in the Mediterranean theatre.

Certain special conditions apply governing award of the Star for those Naval personnel entering service less than 6 months before the end of the qualifying period.

RAF air crew service in operations against the enemy within the Mediterranean theatre will also qualify with one operational sortie.

 

Campaign History

After victory in North Africa, the Allies used the position of Tunisia and Malta to invade Sicily. This campaign in Sicily took place from 10 July 1943 to 17 August 1943.

After this swift victory, the Allies pressed on into Italy, with this campaign beginning on 3 September 1943, and also invaded Italian occupied Greece, Yugoslavia, Corsica and Sardinia. The campaign in Italy itself continued to the end of the war in Europe on 8 May 1945.

 

 

 

 

France and Germany Star

Northwest Europe, 1944 - 1945

 

 

Ribbon
In the colours of the Union Flag, also symbolising those of France and the Netherlands, a central red stripe flanked by white and blue stripes of equal width.

Criteria

Star awarded for 1 or more days’ service in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands or Germany between the above dates.

Naval personnel will qualify for service afloat in the North Sea and English Channel within certain specified boundaries.

RAF air crew, who have not already qualified by service on land, will qualify with one operational sortie over the appropriate land or sea area.

 

Campaign History

Concurrently to the campaigns in the Far East, the Allies were preparing for a final campaign in Northwest Europe. On 6 June 1944 – known as D-Day – British, American and Canadian forces landed on the beaches of Northern France.

Over the next year the British, American and Canadian forces advanced across Western Europe, liberating German-occupied France, Belgium and the Netherlands. At the same time the Russians advanced from the East, through German-occupied Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria towards Berlin.

The German forces surrendered when the Allies reached Berlin, bringing the war in Europe to an end on 8 May 1945.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defence Medal

The 1939-45 Defence Medal

 

Medal
The obverse of the medal shows the uncrowned head of King George VI. The reverse bears the Royal Crown resting on an oak tree, flanked by two lions above the words 'The Defence Medal', with the date 1939 top left and 1945 top right.

Ribbon
Flame coloured in the centre flanked by stripes of green to symbolise enemy attacks on Britain's green and pleasant land, with narrow black stripes to represent the black-out.

Criteria
The Defence Medal was awarded for non-operational service. This type of service in the UK included those service personnel working in headquarters, on training bases and airfields and members of the Home Guard. Home Guard service counts between the dates of 14 May 1940 and 31 December 1944. The Defence Medal was also awarded for non-operational service overseas, for example in India or South Africa.

 

 

 

The table below shows the qualifying time required depending on the area served.

Area	Time required
UK	1080 days
Overseas non-operational	360 days
Overseas non-operational in an area deemed to be closely threatened or subject to air attack	180 days

 

 

 

Africa Star

North and North-East Africa

Ribbon
Pale buff to symbolise the desert, overlaid with a central red stripe and one narrow stripe each of dark and light blue to represent the three services. Worn with the dark blue stripe furthest from the left shoulder.

Criteria
Star awarded for 1 or more days’ service in North Africa, Malta or Egypt between the above dates.

The qualifying areas for the Africa Star also include the earlier areas of conflict against the Italians in East Africa; those serving in Abyssinia, Sudan, Eritrea, Kenya or Somaliland between certain other specified dates will also qualify.

Naval personnel anywhere at sea in the Mediterranean or in harbour in North Africa, Malta or Egypt between the above dates will qualify. Those serving in direct support of the Eritrean and Abyssinian campaigns between certain other specified dates will also qualify.

RAF air crew landing in or flying over an area of an Army operational command or flying over enemy occupied territory in North Africa will also qualify.

Service with either the 1st or 8th Army in North Africa during certain specified dates will qualify for award of the ‘1st Army’ or ‘8th Army’ Clasp to be worn on the ribbon of the Africa Star. Provided neither the 1st or 8th Army Clasps have been qualified for, staff of the 18 Army Group Headquarters who served between certain specified dates under a specified General will qualify for award of the Clasp ‘North Africa 1942-43’.

 

Campaign History

In North Africa, British forces fought against the Germans and Italians between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943.

Italy entered the war in July 1940 when their forces invaded British colonies in East Africa. When the British fought back, Germany sent troops to help the Italians. The British were then weakened after sending forces to aid Greece and German forces advanced, taking control of large areas of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.

The desert conflict continued with the balance of power shifting between the two sides until the British eventually secured victory on 12 May 1943 when the remaining German forces surrendered at Tunis.

Some historians consider the British victory over the German forces here to have been the turning point in the war which led to victory.

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