1939 - 1945 Star

This star was awarded for service between 3 September 1939 - 2 September 1945.

To qualify for this medal, members of the Royal Navy had to complete 6 months service in areas of active operations.

For the Army, they had to have served 6 months in an operational command. If they were airborne troops, they could qualify by participating in an airborne operation, and had completed 2 months in a fully operational unit. If a service personnel had been a POW, then this time counted towards the medal. If an honour, decoration or Mention in Despatches was awarded, then they qualified for this medal, irrespective of the length of service.

If a serviceman had been evacuaated from areas such as Dunkirk, Norway, Greece etc then they were eligble to wear the medal. The only qualification criteria was that they had entered into area of operation.

For members of the RAF, if they were flying crew, then they had to complete 2 months serive in an operational unit. If they were non-aircrew, then they had to complete 6 months serive in an operational area.

There was one clasp issued for this medal, which is "BATTLE OF BRITAIN" and was awarded to RAF personnel who were engaged in the Battle of Britain between 10 July and 31st October 1940. Britain's war time leader Winston Churchill referred to these men as "The Few, who gave so much". When the medal is not worn, and only the ribbons on the tunic can be seen, the clasp is denoted by a gilt rosette

The medal itself is a 6 pointed star with the Royal Cipher "GRI VI" in the centre, with an inscription of "THE 1939 - 1945 STAR" around the cipher. A crown is mounted above the cipher. The reverse of the medal is blank as with all World War II medals.

The ribbon is 1.25" and represents the 3 services (dark blue - Navy, red - Army and light blue - RAF).