SERVICE STARS

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 24022, 10 August 1943, Page 4

SERVICE STARS

AFRICA AND 1939-43 CONDITIONS OF AWARD “ The Press ’ Special Service AUCKLAND. August 9. Details of how the Africa Star and the 1939-43 Star will be granted to members of the armed forces and the Merchant Navy have been made available. These awards, which were announced by the King in June, will commemorate the expulsion of the enemy from North Africa and recognise services rendered in operations all over the world in the first four years of the war. No individual may qualify for both. The Africa Star will be granted for services in North Africa from the date of Italy’s entry into the war—June 10, 1940—t0 the final expulsion of the enemy from Tunisia on May 12, 1943. The ribbon is pale buff in colour, symbolising the desert, with a central red stripe representing the Army, a dark blue narrow stripe for the Navy and Merchant Navy, and a light blue narrow stripe for the Air Force. Bth and Ist Armies The qualification for the Army is entry, as part of the establishment, into the operational command in North Africa, including service in operations in’ Abyssinia, Somaliland, Eritrea, and Malta. The qualification for the Air Force is landing in a North African Army operational command, including Malta, or service in the air over such a command or over enemy territory, provided the individual is not eligible for the 1930-43 Star, which takes precedence in the Air Force. Qualification for the Navy and Merchant Navy is service on shore or in harbour in the same area. Clasps, in the shape of an Arabic 8 or 1, will be restricted to soldiers who have served in the Bth and Ist Armies from the beginning of the battle of El Alamoin on October 23, 1942. to the cessation of operations in Tunisia. An Air Force clasp, denoted by a silver rose emblem, will be awarded to air crews who operated in the Western Desert and Malta, or in cutting Rommel’s and von Arnim’s communications, in the same period. Naval Qualifications The 1939-43 Star, which will be granted for service in operations from the start of the war to the end of this year, has a ribbon consisting of three equal stripes, dark blue to mark service in the naval forces or Merchant Navy, red for the armies, and light blue for the air forces. Naval qualification for this star is six months’ service afloat in an area of active operations. These areas are;— from September 3, 1939: Atlantic, North Sea, Arctic, and Baltic, and tnat part of the Indian Ocean south of 15 degrees south and west of 55 degrees east. From June 1, 1940; the same areas, with the addition of the Pacific Ocean and the rest of the Indian Ocean. From June 10, 1940; anywhere at sea. Naval personnel not eligible by length of service afloat, vvht served in operations and command! raids, also qualify. Dunkirk and Norway Army qualifications will be six months in an operational command, as well as shorter periods to cover commando raids and evacuations, such as Dunkirk and Norway. Service in India is rejected, except operations in Burma and on the north-west frontier. Passage through dangerous waters counts toward the six months’ period. The 1939-43 Star will be awarded to all air crews who have taken part in operations against the enemy, subject to completion of two months in an operational unit. It will also be awarded to non-crew personnel serving in the area of an Army operational command, the qualification being six months’ service in the area. The Merchant Navy will receive the star under the same conditions as the Navy, except that six months’ service at sea will qualify, provided at least one voyage has boon made through one of the specified areas of active operation. Servicemen will qualify in cases where death, wounds, or other disabilities due to service shorten the qualifying period. A clasp to the 1939-43 Star will be restricted to the Navy. Air Force and Merchant Navy for North African service.