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medal, campaign

On display
human history
  • Other Name

    British War Medal 1914-20, WW1 (descriptive name)

    13/989 Major Robert Gracie Milligan DSO OBE VD m-i-d, New Zealand Field Artillery (NZFA), NZEF (medal awarded to)

  • Description

    British War Medal 1914-1920, WW1

    Medal awarded to Colonel Robert Gracie Milligan DSO OBE VD m-i-d, New Zealand Field Artillery, NZEF, part of mounted set of 11 medals

    silver medal; 36mm diameter; straight non-swivelling suspender, with ribbon

    obverse: 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 Around the edge are the dates, ‘1914’ and ‘1918’

    ribbon: grosgrain ribbon, 32mm wide, orange band in centre, bordered with white, black and blue stripes.

  • Place
  • Associated Place
  • Accession Number
    1997.77.1.4
  • Accession Date
    16 Oct 1997
  • Other Id

    Spink: 144 (Spink 1988)

  • Department
  • Display Room
medal set, front (1997.77.1)

Images and documents

Images

Artefact

  • Display location

    Pou Maumahara drawer bank 9, drawer B, medal position 4

  • Credit Line
    Collection of Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira, 1997.77.1.4
  • Primary Maker

     William McMillan (Medallist)

     Bertram MacKennal (Medallist)

     Royal Mint (Struck by)

  • Place
  • Date
    Circa 1918
  • Associated Notes

    British War Medal1914-1920

    Medal awarded to 13/989 Major Robert Gracie Milligan for WW1 service. Part of set of 11 medals

    He served initially as a Lieutenant with the 3rd Auckland Mounted Rifles, and then with the NZ Field Artillery in France and Belgium. He was promoted to Captain and then as Major-Battery Commander while with the NZFA.

    RG Milligan served with the Volunteers and Territorials between 1910 and 1940. During WW1 he served overseas with the New Zealand Artillery and at the outset of WW2 he was Fortress Commander - Auckland Fortress area, retiring from this position in 1940. His total military service spanned thirty years.

    Career summary:

    Born in NSW Australia in 1891 and immigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1896. He enlisted as a gunner with No 2 Garrison Artillery Volunteers, Auckland, in 1910 and was promoted as Lieutenant at the outbreak of WW1. He then enlisted with the 3rd Auckland Mounted Rifles and sailed with the 5th Reinforcements, serving on Gallipoli until the evacuation. He then transferred to the New Zealand Field Artillery and served on the Western Front where he was promoted to the position of Major-Battery Commander. He was awarded the DSO (Distinguished Service Order) "For distinguished service in connection with military operations in France and Flanders." (London Gazette, 1 January 1919). Post-war Robert Milligan rejoined the Territorials as a Colonel and served as Aide de Camp to Lord Bledisloe. In 1939 he was appointed as Fortress Commander, Auckland, retiring from this position in 1940.

    In 1935 Col. Milligan was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his services to the Territorials. He died, in Auckland, in August 1962.

    For details of career see Personal Record and Cenotaph data-base.

  • Associated Event
    WW1; 1914-1918
  • Associated Person
  • Associated Place
  • Associated Date
    1914-1920
  • Period
  • Media
  • Measurement Description
    medal set: 98x183mm
  • Measurement Reading

    36mm

    32mm

    97mm

  • Classification
  • Last Update
    19 Mar 2024
The development of the Auckland War Memorial Museum online collection is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.

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