1914 Star | |
---|---|
Type | Campaign medal |
Awarded for | Campaign service |
Country | United Kingdom |
Presented by | the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India |
Eligibility | British, Indian and Canadian forces |
Campaign(s) | France and Belgium 1914 |
Clasps | 5th AUG.–22nd NOV. 1914 |
Established | April 1917 |
Total | 378,000 |
Order of wear | |
Next (higher) | India General Service Medal (1909) |
Next (lower) | 1914–15 Star |
Related | 1914–15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal Territorial Force War Medal |
The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British First World War campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914.
The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in November 1917 and by an Admiralty Fleet Order in January 1918, [1] [2] for award to officers and men of the British and Indian Expeditionary Forces who served in France or Belgium between 5 August and midnight of 22–23 November 1914. [3] [4] [5] The former date is the day after Britain's declaration of war against the Central Powers, and the closing date marks the end of the First Battle of Ypres.
Altogether 378,000 1914 Stars were awarded. [3]
A "5th AUG.–22nd NOV. 1914" clasp was instituted in 1919, as published in Army Order no. 361 of 16 October 1919. The clasp, together with two small silver roses, was awarded to those who had served under fire or who had operated within range of enemy mobile artillery in France or Belgium during the period between 5 August and 22 November 1914. [3] An order for 350,000 clasps to be manufactured was placed by the War Office. [6] [3] Approximately 145,000 [7] [8] to 150,000 [9] clasps were issued, although the exact number is unknown since the clasp had to be claimed personally by the recipients, of whom a large number had either been demobilised from the army in early 1919 so were not receiving army orders and thus neglected to apply or had died in the intervening period. [5] [10] Those Army units and formations that were eligible were listed in the appendix to Army Order no. 361 of 16 October 1919. [10]
Admiralty Fleet Order 4036 dated 17 December 1919 concludes with a similar list of formations in paragraph 6, albeit those that are not eligible and therefore do not qualify for the clasp. [11] Paragraph 4 was explicit that 'clasps earned by deceased Officers and men will be issued to their Legatees or Next of Kin entitled to receive them'. [12] [13] [11]
It was proposed that the clasp be automatically issued to the next of kin of the deceased, and this was approved by the Secretary of State for War on 17 July 1919. This was explicitly documented in the aforementioned Admiralty Fleet Order 4036, but was not in Army Order no. 361. Nonetheless, those fatalities whose next of kin were automatically issued a clasp by the War Office are denoted with a green letter "C" on the respective 1914 Star medal roll for their unit. [14]
When the ribbon bar alone was worn, recipients of the clasp to the medal wore a small silver rosette button on the ribbon bar. [5]
The 1914 Star was principally an Army award, although some Royal Navy personnel who served ashore at Antwerp during the qualifying period received the medal. [3] A few women who served in France and Belgium as nurses or auxiliaries during the qualifying period were also awarded the medal. [15] [16]
The majority of recipients were officers and men of the pre-war British army, specifically the British Expeditionary Force, also known as the Old Contemptibles , who landed in France soon after the outbreak of the War and who took part in the Retreat from Mons, hence the medal's nickname "Mons Star". [17] Approximately 1,000 were awarded to members of the Royal Flying Corps, of whom 300 received the clasp. [17]
There were 160 awarded to members of the 2nd Canadian Stationary Hospital who served with the British Expeditionary Force, whose deployment commenced on 6 November 1914. [7] A more significant quantity were awarded to the Indian Army contingent, comprising the I Corps (British India) and the Indian Cavalry Corps. A total of 11,487 were issued by the Admiralty, with 435 issued to the Royal Naval Air Service. [18]
The 1914 Star was never awarded singly. Recipients also received the British War Medal and Victory Medal, but did not qualify for the very similar 1914–15 Star since no person could receive both Stars. [3] The only difference is that the later award bears '1914-15' on the central scroll instead of '1914'; the ribbon is the same. These three medals, with either Star included, were sometimes irreverently referred to as "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred", after three comic strip characters, a dog, a penguin and a rabbit, which were popular in the immediate post-war era. [5] [19] [20]
The medal is a four-pointed star of bright bronze, ensigned with a crown, with a height of 50 millimetres (2.0 in) (62 millimetres (2.4 in) with the ring suspension included) and a width of 44 millimetres (1.7 in). The medal and suspension assembly was struck in one piece. [3] [16]
The obverse has two crossed gladii (swords) with their blades upwards, the points and hilts of which form what might appear to be four additional points to the star. The swords are overlaid by a wreath of oak leaves, with the Royal Cypher of George V at the base of the wreath and a central S-shaped scroll inscribed "AUG 1914 NOV". [5] [16]
The reverse is plain and is impressed with the recipient's number, rank, name and regiment or unit. [5] [16]
The clasp, inscribed "5th AUG.–22nd NOV. 1914", was struck in bronze and is 31 millimetres (1.2 in) wide and 5 millimetres (0.20 in) high, while the ribbon bar rosettes are in silver. The clasp was sewn onto the ribbon. [5] [10] [16]
The ribbon is 32 millimetres (1.3 in) wide and has the red, white and blue colours of the flag of the United Kingdom in shaded and watered bands. The same ribbon was used for the 1914–15 Star. [16]
The order of wear of the First World War campaign stars and medals is as follows: [21]
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) was a military decoration awarded until 1993 to personnel of the Royal Navy and members of the other services, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, up to and including the rank of Chief Petty Officer, for bravery and resourcefulness on active service at sea.
The Pacific Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Pacific Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War.
The Africa Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 during the Second World War.
The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces for service in the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, Battle of Britain and Bomber Command.
The Naval General Service Medal (NGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847, and issued to officers and men of the Royal Navy in 1849. The final date for submitting claims was 1 May 1851. Admiral Thomas Bladen Capel was one of the members of the board that authorised the medal.
The Indian General Service Medal was a campaign medal approved on 1 January 1909, for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies. From 1919, it was also awarded to officers and men of the Royal Air Force, with the Waziristan 1925 clasp awarded solely to the RAF.
The Air Crew Europe Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth air crews who participated in operational flights over Europe from bases in the United Kingdom during the Second World War.
The Burma Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Burma Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War.
The 1914–15 Star is a campaign medal of the British Empire which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the First World War against the Central European Powers during 1914 and 1915. The medal was never awarded singly and recipients also received the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in silver and 110,000 in bronze, the latter awarded to, among others, the Chinese, Maltese and Indian Labour Corps.
The Natal Native Rebellion Medal was a British campaign medal. It was authorised in 1907 for service in Natal during a Zulu revolt against British rule and taxation in 1906. The 1906 Clasp to the medal was awarded to those who had served for more than fifty days.
The Mercantile Marine War Medal was established in 1919 and awarded by the Board of Trade of the United Kingdom to mariners of the British Mercantile Marine for service at sea during the First World War.
The Victory Medal is a United Kingdom and British Empire First World War campaign medal.
The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps were awarded, to indicate participation in particular actions and campaigns.
The Queen's Mediterranean Medal was authorised by King Edward VII and was awarded to Militia troops who had replaced their regular British Army counterparts in the various military garrisons across the Mediterranean, in Gibraltar, Malta and Egypt. This allowed regular troops to be available for the Second Boer War.
The Territorial Force War Medal was a campaign medal awarded to members of the British Territorial Force and Territorial Force Nursing Service who served overseas in World War I. It is the rarest of the five British Great War medals.
The Africa General Service Medal, established in 1902, was a campaign medal of the United Kingdom. It was awarded for minor campaigns that took place in tropical Africa between 1900 and 1956, with a total of forty five clasps issued. The medal is never seen without a clasp and some are very rare. Most medals were granted to British led local forces, including the King's African Rifles and the West African Frontier Force. The only campaigns where European troops were present in any numbers were the various Somaliland campaigns,, and in Kenya.
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The Victory Medal (South Africa) is the Union of South Africa's version of the Victory Medal (United Kingdom), a First World War campaign medal of Britain and her colonies and dominions. The medal, never awarded singly, was awarded to all those South Africans who were awarded the 1914–15 Star or the British War Medal.
Figures given by the War Office show that the following decorations have been engraved and issued to officers, nurses, rank and file in the time stated: — 360,000 1914 Stars… 145,000 Clasps to Stars
Transcription of Army Order no. 361 of 16 October 1919
Transcription of Admiralty Fleet Order 4036
The book includes: – Campaign Medals. Full history of each medal, including Army Orders, Army Council Instructions & award criteria.