![Alfred's War Badge (awarded after his wounding in 1916)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Alfred%27s_War_Badge_%28awarded_after_his_wounding_in_1916%29.jpg)
The Silver War Badge was issued in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and 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 ...
to service personnel who had been honourably discharged due to wounds or sickness from military service in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
History
The badge, sometimes known as the "Discharge Badge", the "Wound Badge" or "Services Rendered Badge", was first issued in September 1916, along with an official certificate of entitlement. If a person served in an active war zone then a King's Certificate of Discharge stating that they "Served with honour" would accompany the badge.
The large
sterling silver
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925.
'' Fine silver'', which is 99.9% pure silver, i ...
lapel badge was intended to be worn on civilian clothes. The decoration was introduced as an award of "King's silver" for having received wounds or injury during loyal war service to
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
's authority. A secondary causation for its introduction was that a practice had developed in the early years of the war in the United Kingdom where some women took it upon themselves to confront and publicly embarrass men of fighting age they saw in public places who were not in military uniform, by ostentatiously
presenting them with white feathers, as a suggestion of cowardice. As the war had developed substantial numbers of servicemen who had been discharged from His Majesty's Forces with wounds that rendered them unfit for war service, but which were not obvious from their outward appearance, found themselves being harassed in such a manner and the badge, to be worn on the right breast while in civilian dress, was a means of discouraging such incidents being directed at ex-forces' personnel. It was forbidden to wear the badge on a military uniform.
The badge bears the
royal cypher "GRI" (for ''Georgius Rex Imperator'';
George, King and Emperor) and around the rim "For King and Empire - Services Rendered".
Each badge was uniquely numbered on the reverse. The
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
maintained a register recording which serviceman each one had been issued to in United Kingdom, and the governments of Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Rhodesia maintained their own registers of issue (which were copied to the War Office in London to provide it with an Imperial master-record).
[This Master List was administratively destroyed by the Ministry of Defence later in the 20th Century, only a few pages of it are extant at ]The National Archives
National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
, in Kew, Surrey. Silver War Badges issued by the Empire's dominion nations had their identification numbers on the reverse prefixed with the first letter of the issuing nation: Australia with the letter 'A', Canada 'C', etc. In the United Kingdom the War Office made it known that it would not replace Silver War Badges if they were lost, however if one was handed into a police station then it would be returned to the War Office, which would seek to return it using its records to its recipient.
A similar award called the
King's Badge was issued in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Although each was issued with a certificate, unlike its World War I counterpart it was not individually numbered.
Silver War Badge - Medal Cards and Rolls
The "SWB List" when mentioned on a medal card refers to a list that is now kept in
The National Archives
National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
. There are two different types of cards on which the List can be mentioned.
*The SWB can be shown on a normal medal card index as in the adjacent picture.
*It can also be recorded on a new medal card issued for the purpose, called a Silver War Badge Card.
If there is no Silver War Badge Card, then the details of the soldier's discharge can be found out by a visit to The National Archives at
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
. There should be a reference to a Silver War Badge Roll, for example in the picture above it says "SWB List TH/345" this refers to the roll in which the man is mentioned. On the Silver War Badge roll it should mention at the very least the number of the badge, the official reason and date of his discharge.
A silver war badge card can be accessed online vi
The National Archives On the card it should mention the date of discharge, the cause and the number of the badge (in many ways just like a Silver War Badge Roll but online, and therefore easier to access)
Records for the
Australian Imperial Force can be accessed via th
Australian War Memorial
King's Regulations For Discharge
There are 29 different ways in which someone could have been discharged under the King's Regulations. On a Silver War Badge Card, it could say KR (xxi) as it does on the example SWB card. This stands for King's Regulations, section 21. The different regulations are:
* (i) References on enlistment being unsatisfactory.
* (ii) Having been irregularly enlisted.
* (iii) Not likely to become an efficient soldier.
* (iv) Having been claimed as an apprentice.
* (v) Having claimed it on payment of £10 within three months of his attestation.
* (vi) Having made a mis-statement as to age on enlistment.
* (vii) Having been claimed for wife desertion.
* (viii) Having made a false answer on attestation.
* (ix) Unfitted for the duties of the corps.
* (x) Having been convicted by the civil power of_____, or of an offence committed before enlistment.
* (xi) For misconduct.
* (xii) Having been sentenced to penal servitude.
* (xiii) Having been sentenced to be discharged with ignominy.
* (xiv) At his own request, on payment of _____ under Article 1130 (i), Pay Warrant.
* (xv) Free, after ____ years' service under Article 1130 (ii), Pay Warrant.
* (xvi) No longer physically fit for war service.
* (xvii) Surplus to military requirements (having suffered impairment since entry into the service).
* (xviii) At his own request after 18 years' service (with a view to pension under the Pay Warrant).
* (xix) For the benefit of the public service after 18 years' service (with a view to pension under the Pay Warrant).
* (xx) Inefficiency after 18 years' service (with a view to pension under the Pay Warrant).
* (xxi) The termination of his ____ period of engagement.
* (xxii) With less than 21 years' service towards engagement, but with 21 or more years' service towards pension.
* (xxiii) Having claimed discharge after three months' notice.
* (xxiv) Having reached the age for discharge.
* (xxv) His services being no longer required.
* (xxvi) Surplus to military requirements (Not having suffered impairment since entry into the service).
* (xxvii) At his own request after 21 (or more) years' service (with a view to pension under the Pay Warrant).
* (xxviii) After 21 (or more) years' qualifying service for pension, and with 5 (or more) years' service as warrant officer (with a view to pension under the Pay Warrant).
* (xxviv) On demobilization.
Issued numbers
Approximately 1,150,000 badges were issued, which had to be claimed and then approved, generally covered by §(xvi) above. The numbers on the back of the badge kept changing during the war.
*Between September 1916 and March 1918, they were issued with just a number and were better quality than most stampings. Around 335,000 of these were issued.
*Between March 1918 and September 1918, these were the second series. This took the number of badges issued up to 450,000.
*Between September 1918 and December 1919, they had a 'B' prefix before the number. Around 450,000 of these were issued.
*Between December 1919 and January 1920, they had a 'O' prefix, around 5,000 of these were issued.
*Between January 1920 and March 1922, they went back to ordinary numbers again. Around 70,000 badges were issued.
*After April 1918 there were several changes;
**
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
men were issued with badges prefixed with 'RAF', over 10,000 badges were issued.
**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 ...
had a separate prefix, which was 'RN', there were at least 43,000 badges issued.
**After this date it became possible for servicemen,
civilians
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...
who served in the
RAMC
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
, female nurses, VADs, QMAAC staff, etc. to get awarded the silver war badge.
** Badges issued to South African Soldiers have the 'SA' prefix and to Canadians have a 'C' prefix
See also
*
Lists of abbreviations used on British Empire World War I medals
References
Notes
Resources
{{Commonscategory, Silver War Badge
Search over 5 million campaign medal cards on The UK National Archives' website.*http://www.1914-1918.net
Links to NAA via AWM– Australian War Memorial with links to the National Archives of Australia, for service and formation specific details.
British campaign medals
United Kingdom in World War I
Wound decorations
Military awards and decorations of World War I