British WWII medal naming/engraving? - British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

rcaf*100 · #1 17-08-22, 01:03 AM

Hello all,

Just a general question regarding naming of British WWII campaign stars and whether this was common practice or not. I have seen many examples of First World War medals that were stamped with the recipient's name but not so for Second World War; is that because the practice was dropped or because it only applies to certain types of medals? (i.e. if WWII campaign stars were in fact stamped in this manner were the Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-45 typically stamped on the edge as well?)

Asking in order to gather info on obtaining replacement medals for an RAF casualty.

Thanks,

rcaf*100

Milmed · #2 17-08-22, 05:56 AM

Not all countries named there WWII medals.

As far as I am aware UK did not name WWII Medals

South Africa named all WWII medals with force number, Initials and Surname

Alex Rice · #3 17-08-22, 06:51 AM

Yes, Milmed is correct, UK WWII campaign medals were not named. Boots chemists did offer a naming service where people could bring their medals in and have them engraved/impressed with their details, but that was a personal option. I have seen photos of the naming of some of these but have never actually seen any myself.
Cheers,
Alex

54Bty · #4 17-08-22, 07:47 AM

Named by Boots. Not mine.

Marc

gary1666 · #5 17-08-22, 08:55 AM

https://britishmedalforum.com/viewto...122722#p932311
There is a thread on the British Medal Forum with examples of Boots naming, very informative

dumdum · #6 17-08-22, 11:13 AM

Just a quick comment. I was always told that the only countries that officially named their WW2 medals were: Australia, Canada and South Africa.

I've also seen Indian issues "named" but they look as if they were done by a local workshop, using those number and letter sets that we played with in metalwork class! In other words, they are often very uneven and irregular.

I have seen a nicely engraved set of NZ medals but these would have been privately done.

dumdum · #7 17-08-22, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 54Bty

Named by Boots. Not mine.

Marc

Interesting photos. Not seen this style before.

Alex Rice · #8 18-08-22, 06:34 AM

I thought Canadian medals weren't named? I thought only SA & Aussie medals were named. Indian medals were named but I believe it was done by hand rather than in a jig but I don't know if all the medals were named.

Frank Kelley · #9 18-08-22, 08:05 AM

As already stated, British campaign stars as well as the War and Defence medals were not issued named, if buying original examples of these for an RAF casualty that was entitled to the Aircrew Europe Star, be very careful as they have been copied for many years with original examples now being quite expensive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcaf*100

Hello all,

Just a general question regarding naming of British WWII campaign stars and whether this was common practice or not. I have seen many examples of First World War medals that were stamped with the recipient's name but not so for Second World War; is that because the practice was dropped or because it only applies to certain types of medals? (i.e. if WWII campaign stars were in fact stamped in this manner were the Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-45 typically stamped on the edge as well?)

Asking in order to gather info on obtaining replacement medals for an RAF casualty.

Thanks,

rcaf*100

dumdum · #10 18-08-22, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Rice

I thought Canadian medals weren't named? I thought only SA & Aussie medals were named. Indian medals were named but I believe it was done by hand rather than in a jig but I don't know if all the medals were named.

OK, scrub the reference to the Canadian medals...

rcaf*100 · #11 20-08-22, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dumdum

Just a quick comment. I was always told that the only countries that officially named their WW2 medals were: Australia, Canada and South Africa.

I've also seen Indian issues "named" but they look as if they were done by a local workshop, using those number and letter sets that we played with in metalwork class! In other words, they are often very uneven and irregular.

I have seen a nicely engraved set of NZ medals but these would have been privately done.

Interesting, not sure where that info would have originated from... I have looked long and hard for any named examples in Canada and never come across any. In fact, I was told the UK, AUS & SA would name medals and Canada didn't adopt the practice. Thanks for your input.

rcaf*100 · #12 20-08-22, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 54Bty

Named by Boots. Not mine.

Marc

Very nice Marc, thanks for sharing!

mjw · #13 20-08-22, 03:36 PM

WW11 campaign stars and medals were officially named by the Rhodesian Government for issue to the relatives of airforce personnel unfortunately killed on active service.

Kind regards, Malcolm.

rcaf*100 · #14 20-08-22, 06:35 PM

Thank you all for the valuable input. It seems engraving/stamping was purely voluntary among the UK-based recipients of Campaign Stars & other Second World War medals, and their families. Not the case here in Canada... I think it's a wonderful was to commemorate veterans' service.

dumdum · #15 21-08-22, 11:24 AM

I can probably get hold of the NZ set to photograph if you want.

Nicely done and the sort of thing that any competent local jeweller could have done for you at one time but you would be hard-pressed to get this task carried out for you these days.

Hand engraving has gone the way of oil lamps and hoop skirts....