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medal, campaign

On display
human history
  • Other Name

    War Medal 1939-45, WW2 (descriptive name)

    Col. Robert Gracie Milligan DSO OBE VD m-i-d, Fortress Commander Fortress Auckland (associated name)

  • Description

    War Medal 1939-45, WW2

    Part of medal set awarded to Colonel Robert Gracie Milligan OBE DSO ED m-i-d (1891-1962)

    cupronickel medal, 36mm diameter, plain straight non-swivelling suspender

    obverse: crowned head of King George VI, surrounded by the legend ‘GEORGIUS VI D: G: BR: OM: REX ET INDIAE: IMP:’

    Reverse: A lion standing on a dragon with two heads, above are the dates 1939 and 1945

    Ribbon: 32mm wide grosgrain ribbon, colours of red, blue and white, repeated in reverse and separated by a thin red band

  • Place
  • Associated Place
  • Accession Number
    1997.77.1.6
  • Accession Date
    16 Oct 1997
  • Other Id

    Spink: 163 (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 6

  • Credit Line
    Collection of Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira, 1997.77.1.6
  • Primary Maker

     Percy Metcalfe (Medallist)

     Edward Carter Preston (Medallist)

  • Place
  • Date
    [1945]
  • Associated Notes

    War Medal 1939-1945 awarded to Colonel Robert Gracie Milligan DSO OBE VD m-i-d

    Part of set of 11 Medals belonging to Colonel Robert Gracie Milligan DSO OBE VD m-i-d (1891-1962)

    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
    WW2; 1939-1945
  • Associated Person
  • Associated Place
  • Associated Date
    1939-1945
  • Period
  • Signature/marks

    PM (medallist's initials)

    E.CR.P. (medallist's initials)

  • Media
  • Measurement Description
    medal set: 98x183mm
  • Measurement Reading

    36mm

    32mm

    99mm

  • Subject Category
  • 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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