Naval General Service Medal (1915)

Description

• The medal is silver and is in diameter. The obverse bears the image of one of three successive Sovereigns, King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.
• The reverse, designed by Margaret Winser, shows a mounted figure of Britannia in a chariot pulled by two sea-horses, her left hand resting on a union shield.
• The name and details of the recipient were impressed on the edge of the medal.
• The wide ribbon is crimson-coloured with three white stripes.
• From 1920 a bronze oak leaf emblem is worn on the ribbon of the medal to signify a mention in dispatches for a campaign for which the NGSM was awarded.

  Obverse variations

Clasps

• Persian Gulf 1909–1914. For operations against pirates, gun-runners and slavers.
• Iraq 1919–1920. For river gunboat service during the Arab revolt.
• N.W. Persia 1920. Awarded to the four members of the Naval Mission to the Caspian Sea.
• Palestine 1936–39. For service during the uprising by Palestinian Arabs.
• S.E. Asia 1945-46. For operations in Java, Sumatra and French Indochina, prior to handover to the pre-war colonial power.
• Minesweeping 1945–51. For 6 months minesweeping service in specified areas across the world.
• Palestine 1945–48. For service during the post-war Jewish insurgency, including coastal patrols against illegal Jewish immigration.
• Malaya. For service in the Malaya and Singapore between 1948-60 during the state of emergency.
• Yangtze 1949. For the attack on and other vessels by Communist Chinese forces.
• Bomb and Mine Clearance 1945–46. For operations by the Royal Australian Navy, very few clasps with these dates being awarded.
• Bomb and Mine Clearance 1945–53. For 6 months spent in clearance operations in specified areas across the world.
• B & M Clearance Mediterranean. For bomb and mine clearance between 1953-60 by divers, and to seamen who moved recovered bombs, mostly in Valletta harbour.
• Canal Zone For service in the Suez Canal Zone between October 1951 and October 1954..
• Cyprus. For operations against EOKA insurgents, 1955–59.
• Near East. For operations during the Suez Crisis of 1956.
• Arabian Peninsula. For service against dissidents and cross-border raids between 1957–60.
• Brunei. For service in Brunei, North Borneo and Sarawak in December 1962, a large proportion awarded to Royal Marines of 42 Commando.