Regalia of War

The medals presented here were among those presented to New Zealand airmen for valour or meritorious service. The descriptions are extracts from "Allied Combat Medals of World War 2 - Volume 1: Britain, the Commonwealth and Western European nations" by Christopher Ailsby, and "By Such Deeds" by Group Captain C.M. Hanson, OBE, RNZAF (Rtd) 

The Victoria Cross (Valour)

This decoration is possibly the the most renowned of any in the world, its simplicity belying the unequivocal acts of bravery required to receive a bestowal of this award. From its inception in 1856, it has become progressively more difficult to win, to such an extent that up until 1987, only 1,354 Crosses and three first Bars have been awarded. The last two Crosses were posthumous awards for the attack on Goose Green by the Paras in the Falkland's conflict. In fact the Cross is becoming almost always a posthumous award.  
 
Queen Victoria's Prince Consort Albert first suggested the award to reward the bravery of troops in the Crimea for which no other distinction existed. The design of the Cross is attributed to H.H. Armstead, although reference has been made that Prince Albert had a great hand in its development.  
 
It is usually made from the barrels of Russian guns captured in the Crimean War.  
However, during the First World War, it is suggested that the Cross was produced from Chinese cannon. It is also believed that the supply of bronze from the Russian guns was exhausted in 1942.  
 
The design of the Cross has not changed during its life, but the ribbon has. Initially awards to the Navy had a dark blue ribbon and those of the Army a crimson one. However, with the introduction of the RAF as a formal arm of Britain's military forces in 1918, it was decided that the Victoria Cross should be the highest award rendered to all three services and that the ribbon should be the same for each service. It was deemed appropriate that the Crimson ribbon be the one adopted. 
 
The Cross was issued named, and in the case of those awarded during the Second World War, name, rank, serial number and unit are engraved in plain capitals on the reverse of the bar, while the date of the award is engraved in three lines on the central medallion. For subsequent awards, a Bar similar to that of the suspension bar was added as a slip-on. There were 182 awards of the Cross and one first Bar during the Second World War. 
 
The Cross can be conferred upon officers, non-commissioned officers and men of all three armed forces as well as members of the merchant marine and auxiliary forces under military command. Women are also eligible for the awards, although none have so far received one. Civilians can also be awarded the Cross if they are caught up in fighting and come under the control of the armed forces.  
 
The original warrant was extended in 1920, with the words of qualification, ’Most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy’. 
 
Recipients are entitled to the use of the letters VC after their names, and bars may be awarded for further acts of valour.  
 
The first airman to receive the Victoria Cross was William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse (RFC) in 1915, whose mother was a New Zealander.  
 
Three members of the RNZAF have been awarded the Victoria Cross: Sergeant J.A. Ward, Flying Officer L.A. Trigg, DFC, and Squadron Leader L.H. Trent, DFC, all of Bomber Command. In addition, Major H.J. Laurent, who was awarded the VC in 1918, served in the RNZAF from 1943 to 1945 in the Air Training Corp. In New Zealand the Victoria Cross has been replaced by the Victoria Cross for New Zealand - it is identical in all respects to the existing decoration.  
 

The 1939-1945 Star (Campaign Medal GB.D017)

This campaign medal was to reward service in the Second World War between the dates of 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. Army and Navy personnel had the general qualification of six months in an operational area. The RAF aircrews had to complete two months’ service in an operational area and to have been involved in flying operations against the enemy. RAF ground forces had to complete the six month qualification period in an operational Army command. Service that was terminated by death or disability due to service, rendered the recipient eligible for the award of the Star. An award of a decoration, Mention in Dispatches (GB.D027) or a Kings Commendation (GB.C010) also qualified the recipient for the Star.  
 
The ribbon comprises three equal stripes of dark blue, red and light blue, representing the Navy, Army and Air Force. 
 

The Pacific Star (Campaign Medal GB.D021)

The qualifying period for this campaign medal was between the dates of 8 December  
1941 and 2 September 1945. The recipient had to be engaged in operational service in the Pacific theatre. As with the other stars, winning one precluded the award of a second until a clasp had been awarded.  
 
The ribbon comprises a 32 mm band with red edge stripes. These are flanked on the left by a light blue stripe and on the right by a dark blue one. The central panel is forest green with a central yellow stripe. The colours emblematically represent green for the jungle, yellow for the Pacific beaches, red for the Army, dark blue for the Navy and light blue for the Air Force. 
 

The Italy Star (Campaign Medal GB.D023)

This campaign medal rewarded troops who were involved in the Italian campaign from 11 June 1943 through to 8 May 1945. The Star could also be awarded for services rendered in the Aegean, Dodecanese, Corsica, Greece, Sardinia, Yugoslavia and Elba, while entry into Austria during the closing stages of the war even counted for the award.  
 
The ribbon comprises a 32 mm band made up of the national colours of Italy in five equal stripes of red, white, green, white and red. 
 

The War Medal (GB.D026)

The War Medal was to reward military service during the Second World War. The qualifying period was the same as for the Defence medal, but it was only necessary to serve for 28 days in any of the armed services to gain entitlement. . Provision was made for operational service terminated by death, wounds, disability or capture. In such cases, if the person had previously qualified for one of the campaign stars, the recipient was also entitled to the War Medal. No bars were awarded with this Medal, but there was provision for the wearing of the Mentioned in Despatches device on the ribbon.  
 
The ribbon comprised a 32mm band that had five nearly equal stripes of red, blue, white, blue, red. The central white stripe contained an inner central stripe of red 2mm wide.