British Campaign Medals of the First World War

by Peter Duckers

Britain has issued medals rewarding war service since at least the early nineteenth century, and increasingly through the period of its imperial expansion prior to 1914, but examples of many of the early types are now scarce. However, few families escaped some involvement with "the Great War" of 1914-18, and many still treasure the medals awarded to their ancestors for wartime service. Today, with a growing interest in British military history and particularly in family history and genealogy, more and more people want to trace their ancestors' past. This book looks in detail at the origin, types and varieties of the British medals awarded for general war service between 1914 and '18, and gives advice on researching the awards and their recipients.

Genres: Military History

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Michael]

When first presented with my grandfather’s World War One campaign medals my immediate action was to find out more about them. This concise volume turned out to be a perfect aid.

The book starts off with a brief history of campaign medals from the first modern designed medal issued for the 1815 Waterloo campaign. But it soon gets to the nitty-gritty of the main WW1 awards: the 1914/1914-15 Star, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal, the Mercantile Marine Medal, and the Territorial Force War Medal.

Details of the allied equivalent medals is also included, as well as a section on how to research British campaign medals that proved useful in confirming his medal entitlement. If you need only one reference book on WW1 campaign medals this slim work should fit the bill.