BackStars and stripes
Indian veterans of the Great War returned home with many thingsbroken bodies, bruised souls, shell shock and medals. A historian and an expert on the Indian medals of the war profiles the campaign honours
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During the Great War, the all-volunteer Indian Army massively expanded from just over 155,000 combatants in 1914 to over 570,000 combatants at war’s end in 1918. Indian soldiers served across the globe, including France, Egypt, Palestine, Gallipoli, East Africa, Mesopotamia, Persia, and its own North-West Frontier. Besides earning thousands of decorations for acts of valour, including 11 Victoria Crosses, all Indian soldiers earned one, two, or even three distinct campaign medals for their service in this most terrible of wars. Unlike nearly all other nations, however, medals awarded to officers, other ranks, and civilians of the British empire were individually named to the recipient, making each and every medal unique and often researchable.
1914 Star
Recipients of the 1914 Star were also awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal, and as such the 1914 Star was never awarded singly. One clasp was awarded to those who had come under fire during the qualifying period. This bronze clasp was sewn on to the ribbon, and reads “5th AUG-22nd NOV. 1914". The Star is made of bronze, and the ribbon is made up of equal watered red, white and blue vertical stripes.
The 1914 Star was named in impressed capitals on the reverse in one of several commonly encountered styles. It is important to note that the rank impressed on a 1914 Star was the rank at the time of qualification, while the rank on the accompanying British War Medal and Victory Medal was the highest rank held during the war.
The only difference between 1914 Stars minted in India for the Indian Army and those awarded to the British army was the suspension ring. Indian examples are flat on the reverse, while those to the British army are rounded on the reverse, as on the front. Roughly 378,000 1914 Stars were issued in total to the forces of Great Britain and empire.
1914-15 Star
The 1914-15 Star is very similar in appearance to the 1914 Star. Compared to the 1914 Star, the obverse of the 1914-15 Star is missing the “AUG" and “NOV" scrolls, and the 1914 scroll is replaced with a 1914-15 scroll. The ribbon is identical, as is the naming and suspension ring reverse.
Like the 1914 Star, the 1914-15 Star was always awarded with the British War Medal and Victory Medal, never singly. In several minor African theatres of war, the Africa General Service Medal and Khedives Sudan Medal 1910 were awarded in lieu of the 1914-15 Star. No clasps were attached to the 1914-15 Star. A total of 2,350,000 were issued to the forces of Great Britain and empire.
British War Medal
The British War Medal was issued to anyone who served in a British, Commonwealth or Imperial military formation and in certain recognized volunteer organizations during 1914-18. A few were also issued for service in Russia between 1919-20 and mine-clearing operations between 11 November 1918 and 30 November 1919.
Unlike the other World War I medals, the British War Medal could be awarded on its own. For example, it is fairly common to find British War Medals awarded singly to those who served in India but did not enter a theatre of war. Some of these single British War Medals can be found paired with 1908 India General Service Medals with the Afghanistan NWF 1919 clasp, as many British regiments stationed in India throughout World War I saw service in the Third Afghan War.
While most British War Medals were silver, 110,000 bronze examples were awarded to the Chinese, Maltese and other Labour Corps. Examples awarded to the Indian Army were silver. British War Medals were named in several styles of impressed capitals around the rim. Medals to British Indian Army officers were impressed only with rank and name, while those to Indian officers added the unit, and those to Indian Other Ranks added the unit and the recipient’s regimental or service number. The rank impressed along the rim was the highest rank held during the war.
The ribbon has one large orange stripe flanked on either side by one white, one thin black, and one blue stripe. No clasps were issued for the British War Medal. In total, roughly 6,500,000 silver British War Medals were awarded, though it’s believed that millions of these have been melted down for their silver content over the last century.
Victory Medal
The Victory Medal was named in several styles of small impressed capitals along the rim similar to the British War Medal. The same notes on naming given for the British War Medal apply equally to the Victory Medal. The medal is bronze, and the ribbon is a watered rainbow with red, yellow, green, blue and violet emanating outwards to either side.
Roughly 5,750,000 were issued to recipients of Great Britain, the Commonwealth and empire. In addition, many Allied nations produced their own versions of the Victory Medal with the same ribbon but variations to the design of the medal.
Needless to say, when the guns fell silent on 11 November 1918, peace did not spread to every corner of the globe. Indian soldiers continued to see fighting in Iraq, Kurdistan and Persia, an uprising in the Malabar region of India, a war with Afghanistan, and a series of major and minor campaigns along the North-West Frontier up to 1924. For each of these campaigns, a number of medals and clasps were also awarded, and are often found alongside medals of the Great War.
Christopher Trevelyan has been researching and collecting Indian Army medals of the Great War for over 10 years, and maintains an Indian Army website at www.king-emperor.com
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