South Atlantic Medal
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The South Atlantic Medal is a British
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 high ...
awarded to British military personnel and civilians for service in the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
of 1982 between 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Over 33,000 medals have been awarded. The South Atlantic Medal Association was formed in 1997 for recipients of the South Atlantic Medal.


Appearance

The medal is made of
cupronickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...
, and is 36 mm in diameter. It was struck by the
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
and issued by the Army Medal Office, Droitwich. It has the following design: The
obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...
bears a crowned
effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...
of
The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
facing right, with the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID:DEF (''"Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and
Defender of the Faith Defender of the Faith ( la, Fidei Defensor or, specifically feminine, '; french: Défenseur de la Foi) is a phrase that has been used as part of the full style of many English, Scottish, and later British monarchs since the early 16th century. It ...
"''). The reverse has the Falkland Islands' coat of arms, which bears the words ''"DESIRE THE RIGHT"'' (an allusion to English explorer John Davis' ship, ''"
Desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...
"''). A
laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...
below and the words ''"SOUTH ATLANTIC MEDAL"'' above make up the border. The initials and surname, rank or rating, service number and unit of the recipient are diamond engraved on the edge of the medal, although those for
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 F ...
officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
, as was the tradition, did not include the service number. The 32 mm ribbon has a central stripe of " sea green" flanked on each side by stripes of white and "empire blue", shaded and watered, symbolising the Atlantic Ocean. The design, attributed to HM the Queen, was based on the ribbon for the British Second World War campaign medal, the
Atlantic Star The Atlantic Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who took part in the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous campaign of the Second World War. Two cla ...
, itself devised by her father
King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
.


Criteria

The medal with rosette was awarded for one day's service within 35° and 60° South latitude or for at least one operational
sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...
south of
Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...
, between 2 April and 14 June 1982 (2 April being the date of the Argentine invasion, 14 June being the date of ceasefire now accepted as the effective Argentine surrender on the islands although the Argentine surrender did not take place until mid August). This, generally, denoted service in the combat zone. Where the rosette was worn on the ribbon, this was both with the medal and on the ribbon bar.Mussell, J (ed) ''Medals Yearbook – 2015'', page 201. Token Publishing. The medal without rosette was awarded for 30 days continuous or accumulated service between 7° and 60° South
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
between 2 April and 14 June 1982 (completing no later than 12 July 1982). As a result of the 2012 Independent Medal Review conducted by Sir John Holmes, from 1 October 2014 the qualifying period for the medal without rosette was extended to 21 October 1982, the date modifications were completed to
RAF Stanley Port Stanley Airport is an airport in the Falkland Islands, outside the capital, Stanley. The airport is the only civilian airport in the islands with a paved runway. However, RAF Mount Pleasant, located to the west of Stanley, functions ...
airfield allowing operation of RAF Phantoms as personnel on the islands post 14 June remained under threat of potential re invasion and the islands required due attention due to mines, booby traps, burial parties and general post conflict rehabilitation. The rosette remains an unusual feature for a British medal and was used partly for economy and speed of manufacture, and also as otherwise fewer than two hundred medals would have been issued to the Royal Air Force. While for other arms the vast majority of the medals were issued with a rosette, over 90% of the medals issued to the
Royal Air Force 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 ...
are without the rosette, with the recipients mainly stationed on
Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...
, some north of the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
and the war zone. An exception being the Royal Air Force Regiment who had one squadron disembark at San Carlos on 1 June. Those
mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
during the campaign wear a bronze oak leaf on the medal ribbon. Service qualifying for the South Atlantic Medal does not count towards the period required to receive the
Accumulated Campaign Service Medal The Accumulated Campaign Service Medal and the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal 2011 are medals awarded by King Charles III to members of his Armed Forces to recognise long campaign service. The original Accumulated Campaign Service Medal, inst ...
.


Recipients

Initially, about 29,700 people were awarded the medal, including
Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...
. Members of the Merchant Navy and civilians were also eligible, for example civil servants serving in Ascension Island,
NAAFI The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs c ...
staff, war artist
Linda Kitson Linda Kitson (born 17 February 1945) is a British artist. She is best known for her work as an official war artist during the Falklands Conflict. Early life Kitson studied at St Martins School of Art and the Royal College of Art, where she sp ...
and journalists attached to the armed forces, including
Michael Nicholson Michael Nicholson (9 January 1937 – 11 December 2016) was an English journalist, specializing in war reporting, and a newscaster. He was ITN's Senior Foreign Correspondent. Early life Nicholson was born in Romford, Essex, on 9 January 193 ...
.
As at 3 November 2017, as a result of an extension of the qualifying period to 21 October 1982, an additional 3,626 medals have been awarded without rosette.


References


External links


The South Atlantic Medal Association (1982)
{{British campaign medals British campaign medals Falklands War Awards of British Overseas Territories