WAR MEDALS.

Northern Advocate, 4 September 1919, Page 4

WAR MEDALS.

IN .PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE,

NO ISSUE FOR SOME TIME.

In addition to the 1914 and 1914-15 Star which will be issued to soldiers who served in accordance with the (nullifying' conditions already published., every soldier who entered <i theatre of war will be entitled to receive two medaSs:-—(1) The British "General Service" Medal; (2) the Allied "Victory" Medal. It will be a considerable time before these medals are ready for issue, as they are now being manufactured in England, and will require to be engraved in the Dominion before being made available for presentation. Supplies of the "General Service" Riband have bee"n ordered from Home, and will shortly arrive, when a'sufficient quantity will be sent to each district to enable anyone entitled to the same to obtain his allowance from the nearest Defence Office on presenting his discharge document, or paybook, or giving other satisfactory evidence of his having qualified for tihe medal. The "Victory" Medal Riband has a red centre, with rainbow colours on each side. This riband will not be available for issue for some time., as adequate" supplies are difficult to obtain. All soldiers of the Allied armies who have served in a theatre of war will receive this medal and riband.

The presentation of war imedals will be a big' question, as there are at least 200,000 medals to issue in the whole Dominion. It is usual for the. presentation of war medals to be made by the general officer comananding, or the officer commanding the district at special parades. Victoria Crosses, and all honours conferred by His .Majesty tihe King are presented personally by His Excellency the Governor-General. Presentations of medals for gallant conduct or merit- ; oriou-s service are made by the Hon. the Minister of Defence, a general officer, or may be "presented by municipal or other local authorities at the discretion of the general officer commanding. They should usually be presented at 'military parades. Returned soldiers entitled to medals for gallantry or meritorious service, and who have not yet received them, (may, if they so desire, have them, forwarded by registered post on application to the officer in charge of Base Records. The same procedure may be adopted in the case of the General Service" and "Victory" Medals, when they are ready for issue. It is advisable, however, for soldiers to have them formally presented if they can possibly attend. Presentation to next-of-kin of deceased soldiers should usually be made by the Hon. the Minister of Defence, a general officer, or officer commanding the district, at parades of troops. No relative or parent of a soldier who has lost his life is entitled to wear decorations, medals, or the ribands awarded to the man for service in the fields They may only be worn by ■the individual on whom they have been conferred, and that right in no case.passes to any relative .after the death of the recipient. It is the same with awards made- posthum ously; the decoration or medal, though handed to a relative, tmust not be worn. Posthumous awards are practically limited to the Victoria Cross. The Defence authorities point out that it should be the custom for exsoldiers to wear their medals when attending public functions in plain clothes, or if the latter have not been issued, to wear the ribands. Although it is not customary to wear regularly the ribands when in plain clothes, there is no reason against doing so. In evening dress clothes a- returned soldier may wear miniature medals, whatever his ranis, and when attending military entertainments, or other military or semi-military functions, he should invariably wear either miniature medals or miniature ribands. If neither of these is available, the full-sized ribands should be worn. War medals and ribands are the insignia of honourable service rendered to the State, and should be worn on all suitable occasions.