Campaign Awards for the Second World War (1939-1945)
General service within the British and Commonwealth armed forces during the Second World War was rewarded by a series of eight stars and two circular medals. Although eight stars were issued, a recipient could only wear a maximum of five stars, further entitlement was identified through clasps sewn on to the ribbon. Only one clasp was allowed on any one star. When a ribbon bar only is worn, such clasps are represented by a silver rosette, although the clasp for the Battle of Britain clasp is represented by a gilt rosette, and the 8th and 1st Army clasps are represented by the numbers ‘8’ and ‘1’ respectively.
The ribbons are believed to have been designed personally by King George VI and all have symbolic relevance to the medal they accompany.
The Alantic Star
Air Crew Europe Star – Air Operations over Europe 1939 – 1944
Scott Addington
Author with The History Press, Great War 100 app telling the story of WW1 via infographics.
You can follow Scott on Twitter and Scotts great website and services www.military-research.co.uk
And Scotts new eBook World War One: A Layman’s Guide