Whatever the criteria let's hope it's an improvement on the trashy bauble that is the 2002 Golden Jubilee medal. It appears to have been designed to make adjacent UN/NATO medals look almost respectable.

Jubilee medals 1977 and 2012
 

AARON O'DICKYDIDO (7 Oct 21:36)

I simply propose the retrospective award of, for instance, the 1977 medal in the case you posit. Not having been alive at the time is just one of many reasons why the awardee was not originally awarded the medal. Being Brave or Valuable makes up for any such considerations.

Old-Duffer (today 06:31)

I was on a MOD(PE) outstation in 1977. The Superintendent wisely instituted a station ballot (as I remember it) which nominated a much-respected civilian contractor for the one Silver Jubilee medal allocated to the station. General acclamation. That was what I had in mind when I referred to the poor man’s MBE.

So I would narrow the criteria you suggest to:

I think LT Sasser would have understood the difference between the two after 3 years with the SAR forces.

I've just remounted a retired PO RN's medals for him in time for today's parade. He already had the GSM with clasp 'Malay Peninsula' and his Naval LS & GC. Now a very nice quality copy Silver Jublilee Medal 1977 sits between them. He is not entitled to this medal but has decided that as he was serving at the time he is just stretching a point. He certainly fits Risbutler's criteria for a retrospective award.

This is not something I would do for myself (I came out in January 1977 anyway, so could never have got the medal), but I dont really have much problem with others doing it if that's what they they want. I think this is a different thing to those Walts who claim gallantry and campaign medals to which they are not entitled, but others may disagree.

At first I took issue with the phrase 'majors and above' as major seems to be a base rank in the Army whereas sqn ldrs and lt cdrs reach that rank much later.

As a long-distance award however you are really back to the '5-years-served' criteria albeit for a longer time like 12 years or so.

Then the RAF does not have WO II. They also have WO fast-tracked commissioned to flt lt who will, I expect on that criteria, already have a LS medal.

Caution - serious thread drift!....However,

TTN - over the years Ihave encountered chaps with some 'interesting' medals including some displaying self-purchased commemorative trinkets. Some people take great offence at these; for the most part I believe that they are harmless old fogeys who want to show what they did in their years Serving.

However, there is a collection of 'walts' that big themselves up with real campaign medals/clasps. If I have a few minutes, I read www.anzmi.net - an Australasian group who expose wannabees - and these wannabees are invariably guys in their 60s who have claimed to have been SF in 'Nam. Some succesfully manage to get veteran's benefits as well.

There's also a few ex UK guys who claim dark deads on behalf of HMG; of course Arrse has a veritable Pantheon of walts. Last night I watched - albeit briefly - 'the Battle of Arnhem' where a group of teens had to live and fight like the Paras. This included mixing it with re-enactment walts, including SS paras. Hmmmmmm. Wouldn't let them around my kids.

PS Simion Bryant is a top bloke, by the way (thread back on track!)

Medals not issued or not approved
 

TTN - your PO friend has taken a liberty with which I for one am not comfortable. I might have done what you did, to oblige a friend, but I would have kept quiet about it. He ought to remember that he would not have done this while he was serving. He is wearing his medals this week for those who can do nothing to change whatever they were allocated.

You will know of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM). Many thousands of ex-servicemen have accepted this medal from the Malaysian government for service during Confrontation. The medal itself is a most impressive production, the presentation ceremony has been very proper and enjoyable and we recipients have been proud to receive it in a circumstance of mutual respect ... except ... our own government, with a curl of its lip, only very slightly approves.

The MOD tells us that for us to wear the PJM on the left breast would be offensive to Her Majesty and, in so doing, briskly insults the head of state of a friendly nation. So, I assume, almost all of us put the medal away unworn. The MOD is wrong but we live with that, remembering bigger decisions they have got more disgracefully wrong.

Yes I've seen plenty of PJMs and have mounted quite a few for guys whose attitude has been "sod the MOD, I'm retired and I'll wear my medals where I want". I very much doubt if Her Majesty would be offended, but of course I may be wrong there.

They are a bugger to mount, though, as the ribbon is quarter of an inch wider than the usual British width, and therefore they have to be squeezed on to standard brooch bars with a bit of judicious overlapping!

Very well done Tanker

Several of us also received Saudi and Kuwaiti medals for service in GW1 - together with a scruffy little piece of paper from some faceless penguin at Binnsworth which read:
andHowever, although some bauble entitled 'The Sultan of Oman's Glorious 20th National Day medal' was authorised for wear, no UK servicemen have been authorised to wear their Saudi or Kuwaiti medals. Why? Other nations' personnel were certainly permitted to do so.....

What a load of rubbish. I've had any number of these pass through my hands over the years, all unissued. I've got one on eBay at the moment, and can't get a £4.99 bid for it! That's what collectors think of the Saudi and Kuwaiti baubles!

Different story for the British Gulf War Medal, though ;)

I think LT Sasser would have understood the diff between the AFC and the QCVS after 3 years flying with the RAF.