Item number: M128-1

Year: AD 1918-1919

Weight: 104.6 g

Provenance: Spink 2022

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.

物件編號: M128-1

年代: 公元 1918-1919 年

重量: 104.6 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2022

這三枚獎章是第一次世界大戰時，服役於英軍阿爾伯特親王步槍旅第11營的二等兵P. Tudor得到的紀念獎章，三枚獎章被固定在同一片銅板上展示。從左至右，分別是：1914-15之星獎章、一戰獎章和第一次世界大戰勝利獎章(大英帝國版)，上述皆是頒發最為普及的一戰英國獎章種類。

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。

中間是白銅製的一戰獎章，公布時間為公元1919年10月12日，頒發給曾參與戰爭的官兵、商船隊員或政府公認的婦女組織，後續公元1920年參與干涉俄國內戰的英軍也得以擴大申請。獎章正面是喬治五世的左臉浮雕，周圍帶有拉丁字「喬治五世是所有英國人和印度人的國王和皇帝」銘文。獎章背面是騎著駿馬的聖喬治在代表勝利的旭日背景下，馬踏代表德國的老鷹和死亡的骷顱，兩側上方則標示戰爭的始末年份。獎章以帶爪旋轉直桿懸掛和綬帶相接，綬帶中央有一寬闊的橙色水紋帶，兩側依序向外是狹窄的白色、黑色和海軍藍條紋。

右側是銅質的第一次世界大戰勝利獎章，此獎章是公元1919年擔任協約國最高軍事委員會主席的法國福煦元帥建議下，各國各自頒發一枚紀念此次「保衛文明的世界大戰」獎章，正面是各國最具象徵的圖案。英國設計的版本，正面是擁有翅膀的勝利女神像，背面則在月桂花環中間刻有「保衛文明的世界大戰 1914-1919」字樣，並在底下帶有九粒珠形裝飾。獎章的上方則以固定環形懸掛銜接綬帶，由內而外是「紅、橙、黃、綠、藍、靛、紫」雙道彩虹的對稱配色。

英國作為第一次世界大戰的主要參戰國，獲得多數德國在海外的殖民地，完成大英帝國的最後一次擴張時光。然而這場長達四年的戰爭，讓英國本土就失去6%成年男性，即88萬人的犧牲。戰爭也讓英國欠下美國大筆的外債，使得世界霸權的位置逐漸從英倫三島轉移至彼岸的新大陸，標示日不落帝國的結束開端。