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The Historical Background to the Manufacture and Distribution of the Campaign
Medals for WWII.
Following
the end of the war there were several articles in the press about the approval
of design, manufacture and time-scale for distribution of these medals.
However the war had almost brought Britain to bankruptcy and both labour
and materials were hard to come by. Much effort was being put into bringing
Britain back to normality, the medals were the frequent source of enquiry by
the public.
Sir
Ian Fraser M.P. was concerned about the lack of information and on December
1st 1947 asked questions in the House of Commons.
"On
12th November of this year I asked the Prime Minister a question about war
decorations and medals. He told me that those granted to individuals,
presumably for acts of gallantry or good service, were given to the
individuals as their names appeared in the Gazette. That is satisfactory so
far as it goes, but I would like to ask the Under-Secretary of State for Air
to tell us whether these awards for gallantry and good service are up-to-date
or whether they are in arrears in any way. I have noticed in the daily
newspapers within the last day or two, since I put down this Question, a
statement that some thousands of decorations due to airmen are in fact in
arrears, and I would like to know how far the Fighting Services are up-to-date
or in arrears, and what steps are being taken to expedite delivery of these
awards.
But
the main matter about which I want to speak is not awards for gallantry and
for exceptional services, but ordinary medals which ordinary soldiers, sailors
and airmen and their women equivalents are to receive for having served
in the Armed Forces; that is, the Campaign Stars, the Defence Medal and the
War Medal. I have looked up the history of this matter very briefly so far as
the period after the first world war was concerned, and I find that on 16th
November, 1920, the right hon. Gentleman the Leader of the Opposition—it is
curious to look up HANSARD over the last 30 or 40 years and to find that,
whether the matter be important
or relatively important, he was answering these Questions—said that
3,000,000 war medals had been struck by 16th November, 1920. On 25th
November he said that the Victory Medal was being distributed.
Within
two years, almost exactly, after the end of the first world war, millions of
medals had been struck and were being distributed.
The
Prime Minister, in answering me last week, said that none of the ordinary
service medals would begin to be issued until towards the end of next
year—three to three and a half years after the end of the war. I ask
the Government whether they cannot expedite this matter, and
whether
it is necessary that there should be so much delay. I have a few questions to
ask the Under-Secretary about this whole subject, because I think it is of
some interest to some seven to eight million people. We must know just where
we stand.
The
Mons Star, the General Service Medal and the Victory Medal were the three
medals issued to the ordinary fellow after the first world war.
The
Mons Star was made of bronze, and the General Service Medal of silver—I
think it was made of the ordinary coinage silver, which is 92 per cent. pure
silver. The Victory Medal was made of a gilding metal 80 per cent, copper and
20 per cent. zinc. It is to be presumed that the Stars for the last war
will be made of bronze. I do not know whether the General Service Medal and
the Defence Medal are to be made of silver, or of gilding metal, but
whatever metal it is to be, there is plenty of copper and zinc about to supply
the tonnage required. As for the silver which might be required, the
Government have taken away all our silver coinage, and therefore must have the
few tons of silver which would be necessary.
So
it cannot be shortage of metal which is causing delay. It may be said that
there is a shortage of labour, or of the plant needed for pressing these
medals, or for "striking" them, as it is termed; but the technique
of mass production has improved enormously in 30 years, so there is surely no
reason why it should take three and a half years this time to do a job which
was well on the way two and a half years after the 1914–1918 war. After the
1914–1918 war, the medals were made at the Royal Arsenal factories and by
private firms, and I want to ask who is to make them now?
My
second question is whether the designs for these medals have been approved,
and whether these designs have been placed in this House for hon. Members to
inspect, or whether they will be placed in the House for such inspection?
I have given the Under-Secretary notice of these questions, so I hope he can
answer them. I want to know, also, of what metals the medals are to be made,
and who is to make them. Do the Dominions make their own medals, do we make
them for the Dominions, or do we send them the dies so that they can strike
their own Medals?
Are
the names of the recipients to be stamped on the side of each medal, as
was the case after the 1914–18 war? Are we to wait until all the medals are
ready before distribution is begun, or will they be distributed as they
are ready? Will those eligible for them have to apply individually, or will
the medals be sent to them in accordance with names supplied by the Record
Offices? Those are the questions I wish to ask. In conclusion, I would say
that I was in Sunderland the other day when there was a British Legion parade
and rally in which some 3,000 ex-Service men and women took part. They were
people who had taken part in the 1914–18 war and the last war. I was
surprised to see that not one was wearing medals, and inquired the reason. I
was told that with the notice convening the gathering was a suggestion
that the older men of the first war should leave off their medals out of a
sense of respect for the younger men, who had no medals to wear. It seems to
me to be a pity to have to suggest to people that they should leave off
their medals for any reason; and it seems to me
to be a pity to disappoint the younger men keeping them waiting unduly long
for their medals After all, whether it is for gallantry or for good
service or whether it is an ordinary medal for serving in the Armed Forces, a
medal is something of which a man has a right to be legitimately proud.
It seems to me that men should be encouraged to wear medals on ceremonial, or
quasi-ceremonial, occasions. Cause for discouraging this should not be given.
Could we not have the medals by next Remembrance Day, instead of waiting until
the end of the year before distribution begins?
It
may be suggested that if we make all these medals in the next few months, we
shall be prejudicing the export drive; but many of those medals will be
exported to men who came from the Dominions and Colonies to help this
country during the war. Whether they pay for them or not, I do not doubt that
the export of medals from the old country will be cherished and the export
will bring a decent reward in loyalty and good feeling. Lastly, this is surely
the time when a little symbolism and a little colour will help those who have
served King and country so well to think well of their service and to
speak well of the Armed Forces, and it may do something to liven up an
otherwise drab and dreary world."
The
response to these questions came from Mr Geoffrey de Freitas.
"General
Service Stars and Medals, that is, Campaign Stars, the Defence Medal and War
Medal, the hon. Member compared the position to-day with the position after
the last war. The conditions of the 1939–1945 war were very much more
damaging to our economy. The industrial effort of the 1914–1918 war was so
different that the manufacture of Campaign Stars actually started during
that war. One Campaign Star—the Mons Star—began during the period of
the war. Furthermore, of course, there were only a few hundred thousand of
them, and it was not long before they were made. Our production task is
very different now, and instead of a few hundred thousand Campaign
Stars, we need eight millions of them. Of course, there was no question of
their being manufactured during war time; but, in spite of that, by the
end of this month we expect to have finished all the Campaign Stars, and the
machines will then tackle the Defence Medal immediately, and the War
Medal as soon as possible.
I
was asked about the Defence Medal. It is ready for striking to start; this
will start very early next year. So far as the War Medal is concerned, it is
designed, and I expect the sample medal will be approved soon. There are
12 million of these medals, in addition to the eight million stars, and I
expect that these 12 million will be finished in two years. This will be a
high rate of production—about half a million a month—and we shall only
reach that because we shall not be stamping the name of the owner on the back
of the medal. With the huge number of 20 million, the manpower needed would be
far in excess of our resources.
The
distribution problem is one which has given us a great deal of thought. We had
to bear in mind the need, in dealing with these 20 million, of speed as well
as accuracy, and at the same time the necessity for using manpower and
materials carefully. One decision which has been made is fundamental. We shall
make one distribution, and one only, to each person. To do otherwise would
involve not only an enormous amount of clerical work, but also the increased
consumption of scarce materials such as cardboard. It might also very well
lead to considerable misunderstanding and disappointment if an
ex-Service man or woman, expecting three or four medals or stars, received
only one, and that in turn would doubtless lead to a great deal of
correspondence. It follows that distribution cannot begin until each of the
distributing authorities has several hundred thousand, at least, of the
medals, and large supplies of the packing boxes. The Prime Minister said that
he did not expect the distribution to start until late next year. I
would like to assure the House that we shall do our best to improve on this,
but I cannot be too hopeful. It may well be that the boxes will hold us up.
The
hon. Gentleman asked me certain specific questions. He asked, for instance,
what the stars and medals are to be made of. The Campaign Star is made of
bronze, and in appearance it will be the same colour as the old Victory
Medal of the last war. The Defence Medal and the War Medal are made of cupro-nickel,
which is the same material as that of which the 1947 shillings, florins and
half crowns are made. The hon. Gentleman further asked me what the stars and
medals looked like, and whether we could have samples in the Library so that
they could be inspected. The public has seen photographs of the Campaign
Stars, for these appeared in most national newspapers in March, 1946.
Photographs of the Defence Medal appeared in some newspapers in August this
year. The War Medal, as I said earlier, has not yet been finally approved. I
expect that approval very shortly, and, of course, photographs will be
available for publication."
In
December 1947 the position was that 20 million medals were to be made, the
Campaign Stars production was almost completed, the Defence Medal was ready
for production to start and the War Medal was at the design stage and
awaiting approval. One fundamental difference was that the medals for the
Great War of 1914-1919 had each been individually named. The Government knew that
this was a very time consuming process and would have slowed down the issue of
the medals for WWII as well as adding to the cost, so the decision was made
not to name the medals issued for General Service in WWII, in an effort
to minimise any delays in distribution. At the end of the day it was the
supply of cardboard that held distribution up, not so much the availability of metals.
Notices
appeared in the press such as this one informing former Servicemen how to
claim for their medals.
On 31st May 1948, The
Coventry Evening Telegraph wrote: "WAR MEDALS ISSUE TO BEGIN SOON - The
issue of campaign stars and clasps, the Defence Medal and the War Medal,
awarded for service in the war, is to begin shortly. Issue will be made
to ex-members of the Regular Army, the R.A.F., and the Army and Air Force
women's services, the Merchant Navy and the Home Guard, as well as
members and -ex-members of the supplementary reserve and of the Territorial
Army. So that up-to-date addresses Will be available, official postcards will
be obtainable from any Post Office in Britain
and N. Ireland. Those eligible are asked to complete and post these as soon as
possible. A legatee or next-of-kin of a deceased member of the Merchant Navy
should fill in a special form which
can be obtained from any Mercantile Marine office. AWARDS TO
"REGULARS" Awards to those serving in the regular Army and Army
women's services will be made through units. The Defence Medal for
service in Civil Defence is being undertaken by the Home Office. Several
months must elapse before many of the issues can be completed. and changes of
address should be notified. The Admiralty will be unable to begin the
issue because the entitlement of prize money has to be determined. It is the
intention to invite applicants for campaign stars, medals and prize money
on a single form.
In June 1948 the
Yorkshire Post published an article: "RUSH FOR MEDALS Leeds Post Offices
have had many applications since the announcement that cards are again
available for notifying Army and Air Force, record offices addresses men
eligible for Campaign Stars, the Defence Medal and the War Medal. Merchant
Navy men should call a Mercantile Marine Office write to the Registrar-
General Shipping and Seamen.
Arrangements for the
Navy will be announced later".
Yorkshire
Post and Leeds Intelligencer
published a letter on 19
June 1948
from, a person who signed themselves as Northener II:
"As
the result of filling and despatching a printed official postcard, I have just
received my ration of medals for the Second World War. It came by post in a
tidy little package, accompanied a courteous note from the appropriate
Ministry. Apart from the fact that the medals do not bear a name—an example
Departmental cheeseparing which I, for one, consider a disgrace—l have no fault
find with the design. The glittering baubles are neat and not gaudy, compare
favourably with those served out after the earlier struggle. At all events
they make no extravagant claim, such as that which Is implicit in the
Inscription on the reverse of the Victory Medal, awarded to Allied troops
after the Armistice of 1918 —* The Great War for Civilisation. That war was
certainly great,
though perhaps not great enough, seeing that we had to take arms again 21
years later. But where the civilisation? "Northerner II.
In July 1949 the
Daily Mirror had a point to make about the campaign medals in its "Live
Letters" section.
"Medals- Wife
of an ex-gunner writes: After reading of the four million unclaimed medals, my
husband remarked that the War Office knew where to find the men to whom the
medals are due when they needed them for active service. The Old Codgers
replied about this to say "The point is lady, that the medals aren't
worth a damn, since they do not bear the name of the recipient a piece of economy
which is a damned insult to the men who won them, and a disgrace to the
Government which so ordained it. Nobody wants the bits of anonymous
iron".
In August 1948 the
Belfast Newsletter wrote:
"UNCLAIMED
MEDALS 1,000,000 R.A.F. Decorations. More than 1,000,000 campaign stars and
medals awarded to wartime members of the R.A.F. still await claimants, it was
revealed yesterday, all, 1,375,000 are entitled to awards, but so far only
about a quarter have applied for them About 86,000 medals have been sent from
the R.A.F. Record Office, Gloucester, but some claimants complain that they
have not received all the medals to which they believe they are entitled. It
Is officially explained that the war-time assessment authorising the wearing
of particular ribbons was only provisional. In cases where qualifications
were involved it was sometimes found that the provisional assessment was
incorrect and all such cases are being carefully examined."
In September 1948 the
Belfast News Letter wrote:" CAMPAIGN STARS AND MEDALS An announcement
from 10, Downing Street, states: If you are eligible for a Campaign Star, the
Defence Medal, or the War Medal for service In the Army or Royal Air
Force during the war of 1939/45 and have not already sent In a notification of
your present address you should do this now on the official postcard
provided for the purpose. “The cards are available again for a few weeks in
all Post Offices. Whatever other claim you may have made awards cannot be
Issued unless this notification
address is
received. Serving personnel of the regular Army need not apply. you were in
the Merchant Navy you should call at Mercantile Marine office or write to the
Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen. Arrangements for the Royal Navy
will be announced later.”
In November 1948 the
Bury Free Press wrote "Unclaimed medals - The War Office announced this
week that large numbers of campaign stars, Defence and War Medals have not
been claimed by ex-Servlcemen or their relatives. Official postcards for
this purpose will be available up to 30th November in all Post Offices".
In November 1848
there was a series of newspaper articles detailing medal claiming such as this
in the Western Gazette:
"WAR MEDALS -
The War Office reminds those who have left the Service and the legal
beneficiaries of deceased soldiers, that large numbers of campaign stars.
Defence and War Medals have not been claimed. Official postcards for this
purpose will be available up to November 30th in all Post-offices and should
be completed by all who have not done so since June lst, 1948, no matter what
earlier claim has been made. Residents outside the United Kingdom should
notify their address letter to the War Office.
In December 1948
Johnson Stores ran a few lines about the unclaimed medals in an advert for
their sores. "UNCLAIMED MEDALS The heads of the Services are worried
because of the enormous number of unclaimed war medals. The Air Ministry
has 300 miles of ribbon and near 3,000,000 stars and and medals awaiting
owners. There's always keen competition for the finer variety of quality
groceries and provisions offered by Johnston's Stores. Benefit by a visit to
your nearest branch of Johnson Stores - KINGSWAY BREAD sale at our
Branches".
As the medals were
sent out various voices were raised giving their concerns about them.
In July 1948, Albert
Cordwell, a well-known authority on medals was interviewed by the press about
the forthcoming issue of medals for service in the 1939-45 conflict. Of the
millions of medals about to be issued for service in World War No.2 (It was
much later that it was named Word War II) , Mr. Cordwell was unimpressed.
Because they are ‘'unnamed” and not to his mind, exclusive enough, they
will be of little value to the discerning collector. Mr. Cornwell said “they
will sell at ten a penny”.
Personnel
from the Army, Air Force and Merchant Navy had a cut off date for medal
application at the end of November 1948. The Royal Navy was in no such rush,
being the Senior Service there was hundreds of years of tradition to consider.
In June 1949
the Gloucestershire Echo published a letter from a Mr A. H. Edwards, to the
Editor, entitled
'No Name'
Medals a 'Disgrace' . The letter stated:
"Sir,—A
friend of mine showed me his three medals which he had received from Records
on Thursday morning-. He, like many of his Service pals, was thoroughly
disgusted with them, and I, as a civilian,
thought they were very shoddy, a disgrace to the nation, and an insult to all
those who receive them. There was no name or number on them to prove that
anyone with the medals was therightful owner. All the 1914-18 medals had the
persons' name and number on, and no one could dispute the ownership. Yet
thousands of these medals have never seen daylight since they were received.
The authorities are crying out because thousands of ex- Service men and women
have never claimed their medals, and if they have seen the sample I did, they
never will want to claim or own them. The least the authorities can do,
to right wrong, is to call all the medals in and reissue them with the name
and number on them of the person who should own them with a certain amount
of pride and pleasure, rather than with disgust. A. H. EDWARDS Coln St.
Aldwyns".
They
had to remind the Government that during the war there had been a number of
Royal Naval captures of enemy ships and materials and just has had happened
after the Great War of 1914-1918, they would be expecting a share of the Prize
money from the Admiralty Courts.
The
history of Prize money went back hundreds of years to the times when there was
a form of legalised looting of captured ships and Prize money was
devised as something to take possessions captured on the high seas and give
them a monetary value ensuring that the Crown had a share of the loot along
with the officers and men who made the capture.
In
Tudor times a prize ship and cargo captured on the high seas was valued and
the Admiralty Black Book records that the King would receive one quarter and
the ship-owners, a quarter and the remaining half was shared out amongst the
crew.
Capturing
ships at sea became very profitable and resulted in the Crown offering
licences for such activities known as Letters of Marque.
It
continued and when Tudor times came it was realised that it had got out of
hand and was now affecting world trade as well as upsetting a number of
nations who also plied the high seas.
In
1649 it was made law that all Prizes captured on the high seas had to be
declared to the Admiralty Courts.
In
1656 Sir Richard Stayner successfully attacked Spanish ships at Cadiz and
brought in a Prize of bullion valued at £600,000.
The
Prize Courts would declare the value of any Prize taking into account the net
value of the sale of all enemy property and contraband captured on the high
seas.
There
were time -honoured rules about who got what. At one time Captains got 60
shares, Lieutenants 20 shares, warrant ranks 12 shares, ordinary seaman 5-6
shares and 1 share to the ship’s boy. There was some unhappiness about these
shares of a Prize among those ordinary seamen, as it was they who did all the
fighting.
At
the Battle of Trafalgar seamen realised they would likely end up with a prize
and this caused one sailor to state that he hoped the “French bullets would
be shared out like any Prize money with the Lion’s share going to the
officers!”
Within
a few hours of the declaration of war in 1914 the German cargo ship S.S.
Belgia was captured at Newport, South Wales and declared a Prize of war by the
Admiralty Courts. Later a crew of 2 officers and 14 men on the British
Submarine B11 sunk, Mesudiye,
a Turkish Battleship and the Prize Courts awarded the crew £3,500 as Prize
money.
In
May 1949 Captain John Crowder M.P., asked the Minister of Supply what
complaints he has received of the poor quality of the medals issued in respect
of the last war, and in particular the quality of the Burma Star and the
1939-1945 Star. In response he replied that to date he had only two written
complaints from those who had received them.
In April 1949 it was announced that from 1st June 1949, Royal Navy
personnel and Royal Marine Crews, (including certain civilians) could go to
the Post Office and fill out a form to apply for their share of WWII Prize
money and their medals if wanted.
Just to complicate matters somewhat, in April 1949 it was announced that
650 officers and men who were serving on H.M.S. Hermes on 25th
October 1939, or the next of kin of those men on board who have since died
were to share Prize money earned by the French Navy in the war when the German
steamship S.S. Santa Fe was captured. The Prize money was around £630 and
this meant that the Captain would pocket £8 and the Ordinary Seamen around
five shillings each. Applicants had to apply to the Director of Accounts,
Admiralty Bath, and include their certificate of service. Ten years on from
the event many seamen could not find their certificates.
On
the 1st June 1949 the Admiralty announced it had £4,000,000 Prize
money to be distributed along with campaign stars and medals. The value of a
unit share was to be about £4 . Prize money was not liable to Income-tax.
These
are examples of amounts to be distributed : — Admiral of the Fleet £40 ;
Admiral General R.M. £36 : Vice Admiral Lieutenant-General R.M. £32 ; Rear
Admiral, Major-General R.M. £28 ; Commodore , Brigadier R.M., £20 ; Captain
, Colonel R.M. £16 : Commander , Major R.M., £15 ; Lieutenant-Commander ,
Captain R.M., £ 14 ; Lieutenant., £ 13 ; Sub-Lieutenant, Warrant Officer
R.N. and R.M. £12 : Midshipman . Chief Petty Officer. Sergeant-Major R.M., £8
; Petty Officer, Sergeant R.M., £6 ; Leading Seaman, Corporal R.M., £5 ;
Able Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, Boy, Lance-Corporal R.M., £4.
There
was also £1,250,000 for the R.A.F. and £2,000,000 for the Commonwealth. The
R.A.F. money had been allocated to the R.A.F. for crews of planes who helped
to locate many of the ships detained by naval vessels. This money has gone to
R.A.F. Benevolent and Welfare funds.
On
1st of June 1949 it was reported that queues had been forming up
outside Post Offices by those who wished to claim for their Royal Naval
service.
The
payouts were not life changing but it was expected that Admirals would get
around £50, a Captain would get around £20 and an Ordinary Seaman around £5.
Mr.
John Dugdale, Financial Secretary to the Admiralty announced in the
House of Commons that the first Admiralty payment had been sent out on the
night of 28th June, he also announced that a review of the monies
held meant that a unit share was now going to be set at 4 guineas and not £4.
There
were qualifying criteria: They had to have served 180 days at sea or died when
at sea and in the latter case the next of kin could make a claim. There were
also around 30 W.R.N.S. members who also qualified for the Prize money.
At
the end of June they Admiralty had received some 430,000 applications.
There
were many members of the Royal Navy who felt hard done by who found their
application for a Prize money share being turned down or by the lack of
response from the Admiralty.
Ex-seaman
Bartram served 24 years in the Navy. During the war he was serving on H.M.
Submarine Starfish which was sunk on 9th January 1940 and he was
taken prisoner. As a result he had only served 152 days and not the full 180
as laid down by the Admiralty.
One
lady who signed herself as “Angry Divers Wife”, wrote to the newspaper
stating that he husband had joined up in May 1943. Qualified as a Diver and
volunteered for submarines but was asked to join the new Commando Force which
was made up of “Naval Repair Parties”. In 1944 he qualified as a deep sea
Diver and in June 1944 took part in the invasion of Normandy
landing at Aromanches. He crossed the Rhine and ended up at
Belsen and finally ended his “Naval Repair Party” service at Ostend. From
December 1944 to January 1946 he was out in a Diving Boat three weeks out of
four clearing mines and repairing ships under water so they could be salvaged.
He often had to hack through 2 inches of ice to get under the water. From
January 1946 to October 1946 he was based at Portsmouth and was clearly
suffering badly with his nerves. He was denied any share in the Prize money.
One other man, K.V.M. from Canton, Cardiff complained to the press that he
submitted his claim in July 1949 and nine months later he had heard nothing.
In
April 1950, R. Melrose, 7 Brandfield Street, Edinburgh who had served in the
Navy for 19 years and through 1939-1945, wrote in to the papers to say he had
applied in 1949 and had heard nothing and had written twice to the Admiralty
with no response. He knew ex-ratings who had been paid months ago.
What
was interesting was that the claim form for the Prize money and the medals was
completed using two separate boxes on the form. You could make a claim for
medals and prize money or just one of the two. By this date many personnel had
seen the medals and there was much displeasure in the fact that they were
issued unnamed. A considerable number of Naval applications were for the Prize
money only. It was thought that the additional lure of Prize money was one
reason why the ex-Naval personnel seemed more enthusiastic about claiming.
In
August 1949, two years and eight months after discarding the uniform of a
Naval Petty Officer Shipwright, 25-year-old Jack Nicholson, of 50 First
Avenue, Blyth, received a letter from the Admiralty. In it there was a slip of
paper announcing that Mr Nicholson, now a photographer, had been granted £6-6s
from the Royal Navy Prize Fund for the Second World War.
The
dislike of the medals supplied for 1939-45 service was demonstrated in
November 1949 when Mr William F. Read, an ex- Master-at-Arms, of North End,
Southampton returned his war medals to the Director of Navy Accounts. With
them, he sent the following letter: "In view of the distressing
condition of the country's finances which render it necessary for the
Chancellor of the Exchequer to tax my pension. I herewith return my war
decorations in an effort to assist the national economy. Unfortunately I had
spent my prize money before I had this happy inspiration, otherwise I could
have returned that as well”.
There
were a number of consequences of the Admiralty payout. In October 1949 George
Close was in court at Hull charged with being drunk and incapable and he was a
serial offender. He explained to the court that “his pal drew some Naval
Prize money and we had a good time!”
Many
ex-Navy men had based their estimates of the Admiralty Prize-money on the
amounts paid to sailors of the First World War were disappointed. During the
years 1914-18, prize money totaled about £52,000,000, compared with £4.500,000
in the recent war. The size of the Navy was then much smaller, against the
record 700,000 strength in the 1939-45 conflict, and a Chief Petty Officer who
received about £70 in 1919 received only one-tenth of that amount 30 years
later.
In
mid-December 1949, Mr. J. Dugdale, Financial Secretary, Admiralty, stated at
Westminster yesterday that distribution of prize money to serving officers and
men in the Royal Navy had been completed. Payment to ex-officers and men would
be completed by the end of April 1950, it was hoped. The R.A F prize fund was
being distributed to charitable and other organisations for the benefit of
past and present members of the R.A.F and their dependants. The Secretary of
State for Air had informed him that he hoped to make the major distribution in
the near future, but It was intended to hold a reserve for future claims.
At
the end of December 1949 the War Office was busy sending out 437,000 letters
to ex-Service men who still have not claimed their war medals. But these are
just the men who were known to be entitled medals and there are thousands more
who had not claimed and were not on the War Office records. About 4,400,000
medals had been sent off in response to claims” said an official, “We
cannot estimate the number still to be claimed but ex-Service men on our
records are being notified by letter”. Out of a million servicemen and women
entitled to medals the Navy had supplied 204,000 but they hoped to speed issue
of medals after April 1950 when the issue of Prize money, which had been given
priority over medals was to end. The RAF had issued 350,000 men with medals
(an average three medals apiece) and were writing to another 350,000 airmen.
Toward
the end of March 1950 the Navy announced that some 100,000 Navy men had not
claimed Naval Prize money to which they were entitled. The total amount
unclaimed was about £620,000. Men who had not claimed included ex-members of
the Royal Navy Royal Marines the Maritime Regiment (Royal Artillery) and the
next of kin of persons qualified. The Admiralty pointed out that all claims
had to made by 31st May 1950 on a form obtainable from the Director
of Navy Accounts, Branch 3D, Admiralty, Bath. The number or payments they had
made so far was nearly 520,000 and the total about £3,000,000.
3
MILLION MEDALS UNCLAIMED Navy Answer Appeals
In
mid-April 1950 about 3,000,000 war medals had not been claimed and the
response to recent appeals to ex-Service men and women had been poor. Ex-Naval
men had made the best response to official appeals that they should apply for
the medals. Their applications had been more numerous than those of ex-Army
and R.A.F. men, but they had the additional lure of prize money, because the
applications for both the money and the medals were made on the same form.
The
Latest figures for the three Services in mid-April 1950 were:—
Navy—To
the end of March 1950, 645,000 claims for prize money and medals had been
received. Some 522,000 money claims had been approved and medals were sent to
277,000 claimants. The estimated maximum number of claimants was 1,000,000.
Royal
Air Force—Some 915,000 medals had not been claimed. The maximum number of
men eligible was 1,375,000; To date 460,000 applicants had claimed their
medals.
Army—1,538,000
men and women had applied and 4,931,000 medals had been issued. About
4,112,000 were entitled to medals.
On
June 1st 1950 Mr Callaghan was asked in the House of Commons:
“When can we expect that the Naval Prize Money will have been paid out to
all those entitled to receive it?"
Mr
Callaghan replied that in the past few weeks there had been a large number of
belated claims for Prize Money and he estimated that there were about 47,000,
eligible claims unsettled. Of these about one-third were relatively
straightforward and should be cleared within two month. The remainder, which
included some 30,000 claims from personal representatives of deceased officers
and men needed special consideration but should be settled before the end of
1950. A certain number of applications were still expected from overseas
countries and he could not forecast when these would be disposed of.
Mr
Callaghan told another questioner that during the war 1,830 fishing vessels
were used by his department and between 10,000 and 12,00 fishermen were
attached in one way or another to the Royal Navy during that period.
EXTENSION
OF PRIZE MONEY ’ Admiralty Civil Lord’s Statement “No Sir” replied t
The
Civil Lord of the Admiralty, Mr W. J. Edwards was asked in the House of
Commons by Brigadier Terence Clarke (Conservative Portsmouth West) if he would
consider extending prize money to all naval personnel who were sunk at sea and
taken prisoner regardless of the length of time they served at sea. Mr Edwards
replied “No Sir” and added that the Prize money was payable only to those
who qualified under the Royal Proclamation which was granted in accordance
with the wishes expressed in the House of Lords during the passage of the
Prize Bill in 1949. Brigadier Clarke asked Mr Edwards if he did not think that
it was time to revise these rules. A small number of personnel in the Navy
were on sunken in the early days of the war and were unable to get either the
Atlantic Star or Prize money. These men could not have done more for their
country other than to have made the supreme sacrifice. Mr Edwards said he had
great sympathy with the point Brigadier Clarke was making but it would be
presumptuous for him to say that these rules should be revised as all this was
taken into account when the Royal Proclamation was considered.
Fraud
was not uncommon. Angus Morrison, age 43, a naval reservist, of Seaview, 9
Calbost, Lochs, Isle of Lewis, was fined £10 at Stornoway Sheriff Court on
Friday, for attempted fraud in trying to collect his naval prize money twice.
It was stated in court that he wrote several times to the Directorate of Naval
Accounts complaining that he had not received his prize-monies He requested
assistance of the police, and an examination of the forms showed that the
signature on the order for the money was Morrison’s.
In
May 1952 Brigadier Terence Clarke M.P. asked the First Lord of the Admiralty
how much money remained undistributed in the Naval Prize Fund, and what the
balance was expected to be after distribution had been completed. Mr. J. P. L
Thomas, in a written reply, stated that the Fund stood at £550,000 and the
balance after distribution was expected to be about £450,000 respectively.
The Royal Naval Prize Fund was closed to fresh applications on August 26th
1951, but payment had still to be made in certain cases where unclaimed sums
are due to the estates of deceased persons, to insane persons. and to certain
categories where similar difficulties existed.
In
January 1953 it was announced that the Royal Naval Prize Fund account for
1951-52 revealed that money paid to naval officers and ratings by direction of
the Board of Admiralty for the year ended March 31st 1952, totalled
£55,627. The balance of the fund was £558,701.
In
January 1954 the Royal Naval Prize Fund account for 1952-53 money revealed
that money paid out to naval officers and ratings by direction of the Board of
Admiralty for the year ended March 31st1953, totalled £32,105. The
balance of the fund was £568,219.
In
March 1954 it seems the Government and the Admiralty had tired of having to
service the Royal Naval Prize Fund. It was announced by Mr J. P. L. Thomas,
First Lord of the Admiralty, in Parliament that a central naval welfare fund
was to be set up with £70,000 of the £500,000 residue of the Naval Prize
Fund. A similar amount goes to Greenwich Hospital and sums of £100,000 each
to King George’s Fund for Sailors and the Royal Naval Benevolent Trust. The
residue was to be used for charitable and welfare purposes for the benefit of
past and present members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and the women’s
services.
The press ran news
items about the rate of medal claiming. The Fifeshire Advertiser ran an
article in February 1950.
"UNCLAIMED
CAMPAIGN MEDALS -Many members of the Services have not yet claimed the
campaign medals which they became entitled during the war. In June. 1945 it
was estimated that more than four million officers and men who served in
the Army were eligible, most of them for two or more medals. far only
4,931.100 awards have been distributed to 1,538,600 recipients. The unclaimed
medals are being stored at the records offices of the various regiments.
Applications may still made to A.G. Records (Medals). Droitwich. A total of
238,000 officers and men who served with the Navy have already received
their medals, and applicants have been received from 663,000. - Salvage money
is being dealt with first, but all medals will sent out April. More than
100.000 have not yet applied. the average, officers and men the R.A.F.
qualified for three campaign medals each, and so far 353,071 have
applied".
In May 1950 there was
a news item in which Mr Attlee stated that 6,480,000 members or ex-members of
the full-time United Kingdom forces were eligible for 20,000,000 campaign
stars, Defence and War medals. Some 2,350,000 personnel have claimed and
been issued with medals and some 630,000 claims are being processed. Some
3,500,000 have not claimed their stars or medals.
Little was done to
promote the uptake. Presumably many men literally gave up requesting their
medals, my own father did not get his until the 1960's.
In August 1950 the
Birmingham Daily Gazette wrote: "Unclaimed medals - Applications for
Defence Medals have been coming in rather faster in recent weeks. This seems
to be a by-product of Civil Defence recruiting. The recruits have a new
reason to ask for their last-war medals. But there are still 300,000 Civil
Defence workers who have not claimed the Defence Medal. Less than half the 6,480,000
men and women who served in the Forces during the war have put in their
claims. Many have not claimed their campaign stars.
The
Government obviously decided that a six month window of time was adequate for
the Army, Air Force and merchant Navy to apply for war medals, it was
obviously not long enough but was probably seen as a way of curtailing
the cost of war medal supply. The fact that the medals were not named is also
a factor in the lack of enthusiasm to apply for them, a decision that
was clearly a mistake.
Even today medals for
WWII are still being claimed but there has been no movement by the Government
to consider impressing names on them or creating additional medals such as one
for Bomber Command.
