These three medals were awarded to Private P. Tudor of the 11th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own), for his service during the First World War. The three medals are mounted on the same bronze plate for display. From left to right, they are: the 1914-15 Star, the War Medal, and the Victory Medal (British Empire version). These are among the most commonly awarded British medals from the First World War.
On the left side is the bronze 1914-15 Star medal, announced on December 24, AD 1918, for all officers and men who served in the period from August AD 1914 to December 31, AD 1915, being eligible for the award. The medal features a four-pointed star with two crossed short gladiuses at the top and an oak wreath with the cipher “V” for King George V at the bottom. In the center is a scroll with “1914-15” inscribed, topped with a decorative crown. The reverse side of the medal bears three lines of text: the recipient’s service number “S-1033,” rank and name “Private P. Tudor,” and the unit “Rifle Brigade,” which also appears at the bottom edge of the other two medals. The medal is suspended by a fixed ring suspension, adopting the red, white, and blue colors of the Union Jack with a gradient design for ribbon. The appearance of the 1914-15 Star medal is like the 1914 Star medal introduced in AD 1917, so the government restricted recipients of the latter from applying for the former.
The War Medal in the middle is made of cupronickel and was announced on October 12, AD 1919, awarded to officers and men who served in the war, members of the merchant fleet, or recognized women’s organizations by the government. Later, in AD 1920, it was expanded to include British forces involved in the intervention in the Russian Civil War. The obverse of the medal features a left-facing effigy of King George V, surrounded by the Latin inscription “George V is King and Emperor of all British people and Indians.” On the reverse side is Saint George riding a horse in a sunrise background representing victory, with the horse trampling the German eagle and a skull symbolizing death, and above on both sides are the years representing the duration of the war. The medal is suspended by a swivel straight bar suspension with claw and attached to a ribbon. The ribbon has a wide central orange watered stripe, flanked by narrow white, black, and navy-blue stripes.
On the right side is the bronze Victory Medal of the First World War. This medal was proposed by Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France, who served as the Chairman of the Allied High Command in AD 1919. Under his suggestion, each country issued a commemorative medal for the “The Great War for Civilization,” featuring the most symbolic motifs of their respective nations. The British version of the medal depicts the winged figure of Victory on the obverse side, while the reverse side bears the inscription “The Great War For Civilization 1914-1919” within a laurel wreath, adorned with nine pearl-shaped decorations below. The medal is suspended by a fixed ring suspension, and the ribbon attached to it features a symmetrical double rainbow pattern in the colours of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
During the First World War, Britain emerged as one of the major combatants, gaining control over numerous German colonies overseas and marking the final expansion phase of the British Empire. However, this four-year-long conflict exacted a heavy toll on Britain, resulting in the loss of approximately 6% of its adult male population, amounting to 880,000 lives. Additionally, the war left Britain heavily indebted to the United States, leading to a gradual shift in global dominance from the British Isles to the New World across the Atlantic, signaling the beginning of the end of the era of the British Empire where the sun never set.
左側是銅質的1914-15之星獎章,於公元1918年12月24日公告,參與公元1914年8月至公元1915年12月31日戰事的全體官兵皆有獲獎資格。獎章的外觀為一個四角星,上方有兩把交叉放置的短劍,還有一個底部寫有英王喬治五世縮寫「V」的橡葉花環。正中央有一個寫有1914-15的卷軸,最上方則有一頂皇冠裝飾。獎章的背面刻有三行字,分別是得獎者的兵籍號碼「S-1033」、軍階和姓名「二兵 P. Tudor」跟兵種「步兵旅」,上述訊息同樣出現在另外兩枚獎章的底部邊緣。獎章以固定環形懸掛跟綬帶銜接,綬帶採納米字旗的紅白藍配色,並且有漸層的設計。此1914-15之星獎章外觀跟公元1917年公布之「1914之星獎章」一樣,故政府限制後者的綬勳者不得再申請該獎章。