Basil’s Medals

There were five campaign medals issued during the Great War and with some minor exceptions these were issued to all of the men, and some women, who served between 1914-1918.

The three medals awarded posthumously to Basil were: the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. As these were awarded after his death they were sent on to his father.

The 1914-15 Star (Pip)

This medal was issued to all of those who served in any theatre of war from 1914 to the end of 1915. The exceptions were those who were awarded the 1914 Star and those awarded the Africa General Service Medal or the Sudan 1910 Medal.

The medal is bronze with a red, white and blue ribbon. The reverse was left plain and had the recipient’s name, rank, number and service unit impressed on it.

The British War Medal (Squeak)

This is a silver medal with a blue, black and white ribbon that has a wider central orange band. It bears George V’s head on the obverse side and a naked St George figure riding a horse on the reverse. The horse is trampling on a shield that bears the Prussian eagle. It was issued to all those who served in the First World War. The recipient’s name, rank, number and service unit were inscribed along the rim of the medal.

The Victory Medal (Wilfred)

Each of the allies on the wining side awarded their own victory medal with a similar design. The British version is cast in bronze with a winged figure on the obverse representing Victory. On the reverse it has the inscription ‘The Great War for Civilisation 1914-1919’. It has a rainbow coloured ribbon with a wide, vertical, red line in the middle. It was awarded to most of, but not all, those who served in the 1914-18 war. The recipient’s name, rank, number and service unit were inscribed along the rim of the medal.

Pip, Squeak and Wilfred

As these three medals were awarded to so many and often in the trio they became familiarly known as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred after a popular strip cartoon that featured in the Daily Mirror from 1919. In the cartoon strip Pip was a dog, Squeak a penguin and Wilfred a rabbit.

If you have being doing any family history research you should check out the British Army medal index records at the National Archives www.nationalarchives.gov.uk . They hold the original records. Similarly if you belong to the www.ancestry.co.uk site or corresponding www.ancestry.com site you should be able to see the relevant scan of the index card for your family member online. This will give you information on the medals they were awarded and if given posthumously, who received the medals on behalf of the deceased.