Kiwi Medals

Regulations only allow one clasp to be worn with the Star, being the first clasp the recipient qualified for.

• 8th Army
  Awarded for service with the 8th Army between 23 October 1942 and 12 May 1943. An ‘8’ is worn on the ribbon in undress to denote this bar. This award is controversial because Eighth Army was created in October of 1941 and fought in Africa for a year before the award service requirement. The award dates from the start of the El Alamein battle that ultimately led to the German eviction from Africa. Reportedly General Bernard Montgomery refused to allow Eighth

Army soliders who fought under his predecessor, General Auchinleck, from October of 1941, and even his first few months of service starting in August of 1942 to wear the award.

• 1st Army
  Awarded for service with the 1st Army between 8 November 1942 and 12 May 1943. A ‘1’ is worn on the ribbon in undress to denote this bar.

• North Africa 1942-43
  Awarded for service with the navy, merchant navy, or Royal Air Force in specified areas from 23 October 1942 to 12 May 1943. In undress, a rosette on the ribbon denotes this bar.

• Use of rosette emblem
  During the same dates, inshore service by the merchant navy, certain commands of the Royal Air Force and by the personnel of the headquarters of the 18th Army Group earned a silver rose emblem instead of one of the clasps.

The example here is one with a 1st Army bar.

This entry was posted on February 14, 2010 at 11:07 PM and is filed under 1939-1945 Service Medals with tags North Africa, United Kingdom, WW2. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.