medal, campaign

Spink: 144 BRITISH WAR MEDAL 1914-20

Documentation: Spink’s British Battles & Medals, p228

Name/title: medal, campaign

Other name: British War Medal 1914-20 / medal name

period: [1914-1920]

Form: circular

Obverse: The coinage head of King George V with the legend ‘GEORGIUS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:’

Reverse: Naked figure of St. George on horseback facing right. The horse is trampling on an eagle shield and cross bones symbolic of death; above the horse’s head is the sun, symbolic of victory. Around the edge are the dates, ‘1914’ and ‘1918’

Size: 36mm diameter

Metal: silver [and bronze]

Ribbon: 32mm wide. A broad orange watered band down the centre, bordered with white, black and blue stripes.

Suspension: By a plain, straight non-swivelling suspender. [Calcutta mint issues have a more substantial suspension claw.

Designer: W. McMillan

Naming: Various styles of rather faint indented block capitals on edge

Bars issued: Nil [circa 40 Naval bars authorised in 1920; no full size bars issued, but often seen on miniature medals and occasionally privately-made full-size bars for Army and Naval service are seen fitted to this medal]

Issue: This medal commemorates some of the most terrible battles the world has ever known. The military war dead of the British Empire totalled over 900,000.

The medal was instituted by George V in 1919 to mark the end of the Great War and record the service given.

Approximately 6,500,000 silver and 110,000 bronze medals were issued. It was issued in bronze to Chinese, Maltese, Indian and other native Labour Corps and also to other native personnel who were mobilised for war service and received pay at military rates.

Naming detail: see p 229