I never could understand how, as a career officer, you could get a medal for merely undertaking that which you had promised to do. Crosses were different!

Anything for other than gallantry is just cigarette card collecting TBH ................

Not true! At least cigarette card collecting exposed one to an element of danger!

Haraka - is that not what politicians and civil servants do

Haraka - is that not what politicians and civil servants do.

Indeed. But wasn't that what was supposed to make us different?

Where did you get that from? you were merely requested to stop pushing the party line, but then again, perhaps you don't have an opinion of your own!

No I am not pushing the party line. I am expressing my view, which I've reached after having done some research, talked to some experts and tried to understand the deeper issues behind why this isn't as clear cut as it seems. I have a firm opinion on this, it just happens to be different from other posters here.

I'm sorry if people can't accept that others here have views which they don't like, or which they think is spreading the party line, and that rather than engage with them, they demand they stop posting their views. I'm quite happy that my views are my own - if you'd rather we turned this into a thread where we all go 'isnt everything rubbish, how dare the RAF/MOD/HMG not do exactly as I want them to do' then thats fine, although I think it would be a fairly dull thread to read.

I wonder how much they cost to mint, after all minting a 50p piece surely has to cost less than the value, same with a 10p coin, though admittedly there is the ribbon etc and the hanger, plus the actual metal content.


..

I was medically discharged from the RAF on 31 May 14, after 35 years and 10 days of service - due to an injury caused by my service! I've emailed Mr Fallon letting him know my thoughts, and asking him for his. I've not received a reply, but, then, he is a busy man.

You haven't included the personalised engraving!

Does boy's service count (?), you appear to hae joined at age 13!

:confused:

As has already been mentioned, the chosen date is that of the Written Statement to Parliament. For those who disagree with the date chosen but agree with the concept, what would you deem a more appropriate start point?


MB

Indeed, M_B ... any other date would be totally arbitrary, despite my preference for the start date being the day I joined!

MB
As a start point of regular volunteer service, I suggest that the qualifying date should coincide with the end of conscription in the U.K. - 31st Dec 1960. The last National Serviceman left the services in May 1963.

Never thought of that, I wonder will that include the rank at the cut off date for those that qualified on that date, their current rank if still serving, rank on leaving if they have left, or simply be bereft of any markings as some other medals are..

Your're a genius Sugarplum

Nut

it will have all of those dates and will be approx. 10 cms across....................

Nutty
If we are staying with officers, they should be able to handle that, as the only change that I know of in the commissioned rank is the cessation of MoRAF.

With the 50 year delay in the awarding of the GSM for Cyprus 1963-64, and the cut off date of less than a week before the demise of technical ranks such as Cpl/Tech and Senior/Tech has proved too difficult for Innsworth to handle correctly.

Taking the last point first, issuing a long service medal unnamed would be a departure from established practice. Long service medals date back to the reign of William IV, and have also been issued named to the recipient. In general terms, long service medals are always named, as well as campaign medals (with a few exceptions, notably those awarded for service in WW2). Coronation and Jubilee Medals are always issued unnamed, with the exception of the 1953 Coronation Medals awarded to members of the successful Everest expedition that year. Other than the Victoria Cross, officers gallantry awards were not named, whereas those issued to other ranks always were. Now that crosses are awarded to all ranks I assume that they are still unnamed, although I am not certain on that point. This all refers to British medals, recipients of UN and NATO medals, etc, will already know that these are not named, as is common with most foreign awards.

Taking Ian's point, medals should show the rank of the recipient at the time of qualification for the award. Innsworth's inability to recognise ranks which were existence at the time he was serving in Cyprus is an error, plain and simple.

One correction, as has already been pointed out, the naming is not "engraved" but impressed, using a machine with a collar which fits around the medal.

There is a chap on flypast thinking of getting a ww2 DFC engraved, I always thought that would detract from its value, I think he is now looking at framing.