The 1914–15 Star is a
campaign medal
A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a h ...
of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
against the
Central European Powers during 1914 and 1915. The medal was never awarded singly and recipients also received the
British War Medal
The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men 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 ...
and
Victory Medal.
Institution
The 1914–15 Star was instituted in December 1918 and was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served against the Central European Powers in any theatre of the Great War between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915, provided they had not already received the
1914 Star
The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British World War I campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914.
Institution
The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in No ...
. The period of eligibility was prior to the
Military Service Act 1916, which introduced
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...
in Britain.
[New Zealand Defence Force – British Commonwealth war and campaign medals awarded to New Zealanders – The 1914 – 15 Star](_blank)
(Access date 27 March 2015)
The creation of the 1914 Star for the original
British Expeditionary Force, who served in France and Flanders up to November 1914, led to demands from the Australian and other dominion governments for medallic recognition for their original contingents who had fought at
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...
and elsewhere. This led to a proposed
Gallipoli Star, for award to New Zealanders and Australians of the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood com ...
(ANZAC), but not to the British forces serving alongside them. Following protests by British parliamentarians and news media, the Gallipoli Star was never awarded and the 1914–15 Star, with its wider eligibility, instituted instead.
No clasp or bar to the medal was approved.
Award criteria
To be eligible for the medal, a member must have served on the establishment of a unit in a theatre of war during the relevant dates of operations in that theatre.
Excluded from eligibility, were all those who had already qualified for the award of the
1914 Star
The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British World War I campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914.
Institution
The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in No ...
, and those who received the
Africa General Service Medal
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 ...
or the
Khedive's Sudan Medal of 1910 for campaigns from 4 August 1914 to the end of 1915.
Recipients
Some 2,366,000 medals were awarded to servicemen and supporting personnel of British military forces and the various forces of the British Dominions, India and the Colonies.
[The National Archives – British Army medal index cards 1914–1920](_blank)
(Access date 27 March 2015) (Members of the
Mercantile Marine qualified only where serving under Royal Naval engagement,
as a consequence of signing a T124x agreement.) This medal breakout included:
* 283,500 to the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
.
* 71,150 to Canadians.
[Veterans Affairs Canada – 1914–1915 Star](_blank)
Access date 27 March 2015)
Like the 1914 Star, the 1914–15 Star was never awarded singly and recipients were also awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal. The only difference is that the later award bears '1914-15' on the central scroll instead of '1914'; the ribbon is the same. The three medals 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. ''Pip'' represented either of the two Stars, ''Squeak'' represented the British War Medal and ''Wilfred'' represented the Victory Medal.
Description
The medal, based on the design of the earlier 1914 Star, is a four-pointed star of bright bronze, ensigned with a crown, with a height of 50 millimetres (62 millimetres with the ring suspension included) and a width of 44 millimetres. The medal and suspension assembly was struck in one piece.
;Obverse
The obverse has two crossed
gladii (swords) with their blades upwards, the points and grips 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 King
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother ...
at the base of the wreath and an overlaying central scroll inscribed "1914–15".
;Reverse
The reverse is plain and is impressed with the recipient's number, rank and name.
;Ribbon
The ribbon is 32 millimetres 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 Star
The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British World War I campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914.
Institution
The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in No ...
.
Order of wear
The order of wear of the First World War campaign stars and medals is as follows:
* The
1914 Star
The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British World War I campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914.
Institution
The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in No ...
.
* The 1914–15 Star.
* The
British War Medal
The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men 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 ...
.
* The
Mercantile Marine War Medal
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 (later renamed the Merchant Navy) for service at sea during the First World War. .
* The
Victory Medal (United Kingdom)
The Victory Medal (also called the Inter-Allied Victory Medal) is a United Kingdom and British Empire First World War campaign medal.
The award of a common allied campaign medal was recommended by an inter-allied committee in March 1919. Each a ...
.
* The
Territorial War Medal
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.
Award Cr ...
.
South Africa
On 6 April 1952 the
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tr ...
instituted its own range of military decorations and medals. These new awards were worn before all earlier British decorations and medals awarded to South Africans, with the exception of the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...
, which still took precedence before all other awards. Of the campaign medals awarded to South Africans, the 1914–15 Star takes precedence as shown below.
[Government Notice no. 1982 of 1 October 1954 – ''Order of Precedence of Orders, Decorations and Medals'', published in the Government Gazette of 1 October 1954.][Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, ]
* Preceded by the Natal Native Rebellion Medal
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 m ...
.
* Succeeded by the British War Medal
The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men 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 ...
.
References
External links
1914-15 Star on the UK Parliament website
Transcription of Admiralty and Military orders for the 1914-15 Star hosted on the Australian DoD website
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:1914-15 Star
Decorations of the British Army
British campaign medals
Australian campaign medals
New Zealand campaign medals
Military decorations and medals of South Africa
Military decorations and medals of South Africa pre-1952
1918 establishments in the British Empire
Awards established in 1918
Military awards and decorations of World War I