Medal Tech

The terminology and technicalities associated with medals and ribbons including advice on the maintenance, security and storage of medals.

1. Terminology
2. Parts of a Medal
3. Medal Naming
4. Medal Mounting 
5. Replacement, Duplicate & Replica Medals 
6. Medal Maintenance & Storage
7. Security & Safeguarding Medals

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1. Terminology

• Medal – For the purposes of this page “medal” means any medal and ribbon designed to be suspended from a medal brooch bar, whether full-size or miniature, designed for official military and civil use.  Medals in the past were made from bronze, silver, copper, brass, lead or amalgams of the foregoing.   Modern medals are one of three types – Silver (mainly Long Service awards); Rhodium plated (most modern campaign medals, e.g. NZ Operational Service Medal, East Timor medal) and Bronze (e. g. the NZ General Service Medals, NZ Defence Service Medal)
• Official medal – any medal of an officially approved design and manufacture included in the NZ Order of Wear.
• Unofficial medal – any medal not listed in the NZ Order of Wear.
• Commemorative medal – a medal produced to commemorate an event or anniversary, whether authorised or not, by a commercial or private organisation for the purpose of profit.  Commemorative medals generally require the owner to pay for it. 
• Medal group – a medal group refers to two or more medals suspended from the same brooch bar.
• Split Group – one or more medals are missing from the group.
• Full-size – medals as issued, designed for day wear.
• Miniature – smaller representations of full-size medals designed to be worn with formal evening attire.
• WW1 medal ‘nicknames’ – the issue of First World War service medals in the 1920’s coincided with a popular British comic strip in the Daily Mirror newspaper.  The cartoons featured PIP the dog, SQUEAK the penguin and WILFRED the rabbit.  Soon the three main medals (1914 Star or 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal) were nicknamed ‘Pip, Squeak and Wilfred’.  When only the British War and Victory Medal appeared together, they were referred to as ‘Mutt and Jeff’ after another pair of newspaper cartoon characters.

2.  Parts of a medal

• Obverse refers to the face (front) of a medal, many of which depict a bust of the Sovereign (with or without Crown/Coronet), a Royal Cypher or a Coat of Arms.  When worn, the Obverse of a medal is at all times visible to the viewer.
• Reverse refers to back or rear side of a medal which may be decorated, engraved or blank. 
• Edge of a medal is the 4 mm flat surface around the circumference of a medal upon which naming details can be found.
• Rim of a medal is the raised part of a medal’s Edge that prevents damage to the face of the medal when laid flat.
• Claw / Clip is the name given, depending on style, to the metal piece affixed to the top edge of a medal that provide the link between the medal and means of ribbon suspension, be that at bar, ring etc.

• Ribbon or Riband? – the piece of coloured fabric from which a medal is suspended.  Manufactured originally from silk, this has been largely replaced by man-made materials such as polyester and poly-cottons which are stronger, colour-fast and age well (negligible fading).  Stick with term RIBBON as ‘Riband’ has alternate meanings that involve ship building and the parts of a palisade fence.
• Watered Ribbon– colours are described as ‘watered’ when each colour merges into the edges of its adjoining colours along its entire length, e. g. 1914 and 1914/15 Stars, Victory Medal and Atlantic Star.
• Ribbon Bow – an alternate style of medal suspension where the ribbon  is configure as a bow with/without fluted tails, reserved for decorations awarded to women. 
• Ribbon Bar – the ribbon bar is a small metal bar approximately 12 mm long and the width of the ribbon, attached to which is a medal ribbon.  worn usually on a uniform, the ribbon bar is worn when the medal is not.  Both are never worn together.
• Ribbon Brooch Bar, Buckle – the ribbon brooch is attached to the top of a medal’s suspension ribbon and which has a pin attached to the rear in order to attach the medal to clothing.  A Buckle was an ornate metal, silver or gold  suspender similar in shape to a shoe buckle by which medals were attached to clothing.  Rarely seen these days, these were largely a 19th century or earlier item, often of personal design, used to attach a medal to clothing. 
• Ribbon Suspender or Suspension Bar / Ring – that part of the medal attached to the Claw/Clip, through which the medal ribbon passes and thereby linking the medal to the ribbon and brooch. 
• Clasp – a Clasp is a metal plate, slightly wider than the medal ribbon, used to denote a particular campaign, operation or significant date with the details embossed on the plate.  Most Clasps are designed to be permanently fixed to a medal by means of “ears” at either end of the Clasp with which to attach it to either the medal’s ribbon suspender or to an existing Clasp, thereby forming ladder-like rungs through which the medal ribbon passes.  Some Clasps were/are made without “ears” and designed to be sewn directly onto the ribbon.  WW2 examples are the campaign Stars which had a series of Clasps that could be worn in deference to the award of a second medal for a similar operation or region, e. g. Battle of Britain, Bomber Command, France & Germany etc.  Contemporary examples of Clasps include East Timor, the NATO medals and many of the United Nations medals.  Clasps are normally positioned on a medal ribbon at the mid-point of the length.  These may need to be staggered to accommodate multiple Clasps when medals are overlapped during mounting.  Sew-on Clasps are a convenient space saving alternative that prevent ugly distortion of a medal group which occurs when multiple medals with permanently fixed Clasps (those with “ears”) are Court mounted.  Sew-on Clasps permit the Clasp to be seen and the ribbons overlapped whilst remaining relatively flat against each other.
• Bar – the term BAR is used to denote a second or subsequent award of the same medal where it is both impractical and necessary to wear a second or even third identical medal to represent a subsequent award.   Most often it is used in connection with gallantry, bravery or long service awards, i. e. the holder of the Victoria Cross, NZ Gallantry Star, NZ Bravery Medal etc is recognised for a second and equivalent act.   In the case of Long Service awards, a BAR indicates a second qualifying period of service has been completed entitling the person to a second award of the medal.  Bars generally take the form of a metal plate approx 38 mm x 7 mm shaped to form an endless loop, designed to slip over a medal ribbon and slid down to a central position before mounting.
• Bars do not carry any embossed wording and are most often characterised with either a decorated pattern of flora (laurel leaves, ferns, acorns etc) across the entire bar, or are a polished plain bar that may have a central device affixed, e. g. a crown, crest, emblem or similar.   For awards that have post nominal letters, when a Bar for example is awarded for a gallantry medal,  in written form the second award is acknowledged by the placement of an Asterisk* after the post nominal letters of the award, e. g. NZGS*  The letters of an award, represent the FIRST award; the first Asterisk represents the SECOND award and so on. 
• Device – the name given to any small metal emblem attached to a medal ribbon and/or the ribbon bar only.  Devices are most often used to denote a gallantry award (VC, NZSG) or an honourable mention for service (Mention in Dispatches (MiD, Commendation for Brave Conduct or Valuable Service in the Air), the award of a BAR for some medals, multiple Tours of Duty to the same operation, or a second / subsequent number of years of qualifying service (long service awards).  A common device seen today on many UN medal ribbons are Numerals which denote a second of subsequent Tour of Duty for which the medal has already been awarded.

 General

• Medals are worn in a single row suspended from a medal brooch bar with pin for attachment to clothing.
• Veteran men and women (not in uniform) wear their medals in same fashion.  If a Ribbon Bow decoration is worn, it is placed immediately above a  medal brooch bar if worn. 
• The maximum width of a medal brooch bar with full-size medals attached, should be no greater than 16 cm in width (14.5 cm for miniatures), with the medals overlapped so as to be evenly spaced on the brooch bar.
• The length of a medal ribbon used to suspend a medal, is cut/mounted so that the distance from the top of the ribbon to the bottom of each medal measures 9.5 cm for full-size medals (5 cm for miniatures).  Adjustments are necessary to accommodate medal design.  Medal ribbon width and quality can also vary with manufacturers.

Medal Ribbons 

• Colours of medal ribbons can represent many things.  The use of Navy Blue, Red and Sky Blue to represent the three military services is the most common.  National colours of participant nations, or some other factor unique to an operation, the geography or climate.  Some of the WW2 Stars were indicative of night bombing, searchlights, blackout, England’s green lands, the sea, firestorms etc
• Medal ribbon bar – a row of ribbons of specified length (approx 5 mm) fixed side by side (not overlapping) to a ribbon bar.  The bar is worn in uniform pinned to the cloth.   Ribbon bars are NOT worn when medals are worn.  It is not normal to wear a ribbon bar when in civilian attire.
• Four medal ribbons per row (the NZDF has altered its rule to “three” ribbons to accommodate both arm swing and weapons drill) is the maximum before an additional row is started immediately above.
• When medal ribbons alone are worn,  the highest ranked award is worn closest to the centre of the chest; any single ribbon or incomplete row of 2, 3 or 4 ribbons are placed centrally above the top row of ribbons.
• When a medal ribbon bar is worn, medals are NOT worn.

3.  Medal naming

Medals awarded in the 19th and very early years of the 20th Centuries were far fewer than are awarded today, most being awarded to soldiers.  The Waterloo Medal of 1815 was the first British medal awarded to all participants irrespective of rank, and was also the first medal that was universally named to each soldier.  The sequence of naming these medals was: First and Last Name, Rank, Unit.

Impressed – Waterloo Medals were impressed, meaning a hand operated pressing device was used to force a metal boss bearing a letter, name or simple  decoration, into the edge of the medal – hence the word “embossed.” Impressions were often blackened to highlight the detail.  Some later medals of the more obscure campaigns had letters and numbers individual impressed by hammer and boss rendering the finished product with numerous miss-aligned characters and a variety of rank and unit abbreviations being very left to the devices of the tradesman. 

Engraved – Many of the earlier named medals were engraved by jewellers or other artisans contracted for the purpose.  Military contracted jewellers used a prescribed style of font which varied in style – Serif, San Serif, Script etc.  The standard details included the soldier’s service number, rank, initials, last name and regiment however there was no particular standard of either font, layout or abbreviations used, particularly when it came to naming the soldier’s unit.  A number of British Army units have quite extensive unit titles that reflect their long history over a number of centuries.  Realistically these had to be pared down to something that would easily fit on the edge of a medal. 

Laser Etching – a contemporary method but not widespread.  Naming presents as an immoveable, black (burned) number etc, flush with the surface.

• Standardised Naming

First World War – By the time medals for First World War service were issued in the 1920s (1914 Star, 1914/15 Star, British War Medal 1914/18, Victory Medal and Mercantile Marine War Medal), all medals issued by the British Empire had a standardised sequence of naming, abbreviations and font.  Medals were issued in bulk as blanks to participating nations to be named by them in a hand operated naming press devised for the purpose, before issue to veterans.  The results were patchy with miss-aligned names and characters reflecting an unrefined process that was not rectified until automation produced a consistent result.   A recipient’s medal group might also show a variety of ranks on different medals.  The rank impressed in the naming represents the rank that was held at the time the person qualified for the medal.  

Naming of Mercantile Marine War Medals was different again.  Names consisted of only a recipient’s first and last names, or alternatively, first initial – last name, or first name – initial – last name.  This could be a matter of choice, whilst no provision was made to include mercantile service rank or appointment titles, not even for a ship’s Master (Captain).

Second World War – WW2 campaign and service medals awarded to British, Canadian, New Zealand and Pakistan were issued un-named. while Australia, South African and India medals were all issued officially named.  

Naming responsibility – Medals awarded for first and second world war service were made and distributed by the UK as blanks (un-named) to the  participating Allied nations of the Empire.  After WW1, two medals (British War Medal and Victory Medal) were the most prolifically issued of the five available, around 6 million of each.  Those who had entered a war zone before 30 Dec 1915 additionally qualified for the 1914/15 Star.

Contemporary naming – Since 1946, most official New Zealand medals issued to uniformed personnel and citizens are named before presentation.  Medal naming for NZDF personnel continues to be the domain of Personnel Archives & Medals (PAM) at Trentham.  Number, rank, initials and last name remain the standard configuration as is the font used – a Block Capital (Sans Serif) style ensures naming clarity, regularity and quality.  The move is now is towards Laser Etching although some official medals/decorations will remain un-named by design such as those of limited circulation that are sponsored by the State, e.g. state & dynastic orders plus selected decorations and medals, e.g. All classes of the Order of New Zealand, Order of St John, the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal and the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993.  Most official foreign awards are also issued un-named as are all United Nations service medals.

Un-Named medals – WW2 veterans routinely qualified for between four and six medals each.  In NZ, these had to be applied for.  Once in receipt of the medals it became each veteran’s responsibility to have their medals named but there was no compulsion to do this.  This was a short-sighted decision bought about by the perceived cost of the increased estimate of medals from the WW1 average of two medals, to the estimated of 4-6 WW2 medals for each person.  As a consequence, the recovery of WW2 medals that have been lost, sold or stolen unless privately engraved or accompanied with a known named medal, e.g. gallantry, meritorious or long service medal, is almost impossible as the remain untraceable.

Historical impact of un-named medals

The perceived indifference of the Government to both the person’s voluntary service for a war that had also cost many thousands of NZ lives, angered many  Veterans who considered it an insult from an ungrateful Prime Minister and Government.  What made the situation even worse was that Veterans were required to apply for their medals, unlike those who returned from WW1 who had their medals not only named but automatically posted to them.   The Government held firm to their contentious decision.   The anger and disgust among the returned men was so deep-seated that many rejected their medals altogether and went to their grave having never claimed them.  The year 2020 continued to highlight the inadequacies of the post WW2 decision.  A significant cultural consideration that had been completely overlooked resulted in a large number Maori soldiers from the Hawkes Bay / East Coast iwi not applying for their medal entitlements after the war.  Only in 2021 – 75 years after the fact – was this situation rectified with a rolling presentation  of unclaimed medals to the families of veterans of the 28th Maori Battalion. 

The impact of the poor management and distribution policy of the Second World War medals to NZ veterans has and will not ever go away, not at least until the last Veteran is gone and their immediate descendants are deceased.  While the majority of WW2 veterans are now dead, it is their descendant families who are now alert to the medal entitlements of their ancestors.  The power of the internet is fueling both access and knowledge of a family’s military service.  With this access invariably comes questions of medals and for some the revelation of an entitlement that remains unclaimed!  

Un-Claimed medals

As a result of the foregoing including numerous individual circumstances that have resulted in medals not being claimed, such as the lack of a known descendant at the time, there remains a number of Second World War medals yet to be claimed.  The Gallipoli Landings on 25 April 1915 inspired the creation of the Anzac (Gallipoli) Commemorative Medallion struck to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Landings, in 1967.  This medallion was a joint Australian and New Zealand government initiative to recognise the contribution and sacrifices Gallipoli Veterans had made, and was available to NZ Veterans (including the Next of Kin of deceased Gallipoli Veterans) upon application from August 1967 onwards.  A number of medallions remain unclaimed as many of the soldiers who survived Gallipoli and returned to New Zealand died prior to the medallion’s introduction, and Next of Kin being unaware of  entitlement.  Any descendant may submit a claim for an unclaimed medallion if they believe an entitlement exists.  Proof of Kinship is required with each application. (refer NZDF Medals, NZRSA or Veterans Affairs NZ websites for an application) 

4.  Medal mounting 

Men and women wear their standard medals on a single brooch bar, overlapped as required.  Higher Royal honours are worn as specified in the Rules set down in the NZ Order of Wear (DPMC Honours Unit) and may include Neck Decorations, Sashes and Breast Stars.  Royal honours awarded to females not in a uniformed service of the Crown will usually be presented with the ribbon fashioned as a ‘Ribbon Bow’, with or without ‘tails.’

Full-size and Miniature medals are mounted on a single brooch bar in one of two styles –  COURT style or SWING (or Free) style.  The choice of style if no longer employed in a Crown uniformed service, is up to the individual.

COURT Style

Medals are overlapped where necessary with the ribbon of each partially visible and running down behind the medal.  The medals are wired to the mounting board at the Claw to avoid ‘clinking’ or excessive damage when worn.  The only disadvantage of this mounting method is the Reverse is partially obscured so cannot be read or seen.  

SWING (or FREE) Style 

Medals are overlapped as necessary however swing freely from the brooch bar as issued.  The medals are not restrained from ‘clinking’ together which can result in damage, or the loose medals being inadvertently obstructed or torn from clothing .

• Medals awarded up to and including WW2 were traditionally worn ‘swing/free’ style – ‘court’ style mounting was reserved for those required to attend (the Royal) Court.  
• Traditionally R.N. and R.N.Z.N. personnel wore their medals mounted in the ‘swing/free’ style as a point of difference (still permitted) however R.N.Z.N. personnel while still serving conform to NZDF guidance, most commonly ‘court’ style in order to minimise damage or causing obstruction when performing weapons drills.  Some ex-R.N.Z.N. personnel return their medals to ‘swing/free’ style mounting after release from military service.
• With the exception of those in the Defence Forces and other Crown uniformed services, the style of medal mounting style is the owner’s choice.

RIBBON BOW (ladies only)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ribbon Bow awards, e. g. QSO, QSM, RRC 1st Class, NZ Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 etc, come in both full size and miniature arrangements, with or without ‘TAILS’.  A Ribbon Bow award is worn in the same position as standard medals are, on the left chest.  On occasions when a woman has both a Ribbon Bow award (one or more) plus a suspended medal (or more), the two types can be worn (mounted) together as shown below.   Should  an ex-Service woman for instance have at lease four or more standard medals on a medal brooch bar, it is appropriate to wear any Ribbon Bow award above the medal brooch bar.  A medal mounting specialist will determine the best arrangement according to the mix of awards you have. 

Notes:  

1. A professional medal mounting service will NOT mount unofficial medals with official awards.  If they are prepared to do this because they want your money, you should reconsider and look for a reputable service.
2. MRNZ can advise you of reputable medal mounting services nearest your area who can also re-ribbon, replace and repair medals.

References:

1. http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/info/documents/nzdfmedalmountingstandard-approvedbycdfon28may2012.pdf 
2. https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/search-results?search_api_views_fulltext=order+of+wear 

5. Replacement, Duplicate & Replica medals

Terminology: 

ORIGINAL – any official medal (named or un-named) awarded to the entitled recipient 

OFFICIAL REPLACEMENT – an NZDF official issue medal to replace a lost/stolen original medal, and marked (R)

DUPLICATE – a second or subsequent medals of the same quality as the original(s)

REPLICA – a facsimile of an original medal (usually of superior quality to a copy)

COPY – commercially produced likeness of a medal (inferior metal, finish & ribbon)

FAKE – any medal (original or other) that has been artificially enhanced, aged, degraded to falsely represent its genuinity or provenance. 

MEDAL GROUP – two or more medals fixed to the same medal bar.

• Official replacement medals are only available only during the lifetime of current and former NZDF serving members, the cost of to be met by the applicant.  Personnel Archives and Medals will issue a quote for the cost of replacing the lost medal(s) when your request is received. Official replacement medals are identified by the addition of the letter R for “Replacement” after the naming on the medal.  To obtain official replacement medals, you can email NZDF Personnel Archives & Medals (PAM) at [email protected] including a scanned copy of this Statutory Declaration swearing that you have lost your medals.  Alternatively you can post your request and completed Statutory Declaration to:

            NZDF Personnel Archives and Medals
            Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force
            Private Bag 905
            UPPER HUTT 5140

• Duplicate & Official replacement medals – for those wishing to duplicate a single medal or medal group of original medals, these cannot be provided by the NZDF under any circumstance.  Duplicate medals and replacement medal ribbon may be obtained from commercial providers which you will find by searching Google   Duplicate medals and ribbons can be obtained from the internet or commercial military medal retailers.

 

• Non-Official replacement medals – these are sometimes required to replace a lost or damaged genuine original medal.  This  frequently occurs for deceased persons medals where there is no entitlement to obtain an official replacement.  Decide whether the replacement needs to be a genuine original medal or whether a commercially produced replica medal will do the job.  Genuine un-named replacements (particularly WW2 campaign Stars and war service medals) can usually be sourced from the internet (e.g. Trade-Me, eBay, or a military medal retailer) or if you are not particularly concerned about maintaining the authenticity of the group, a Replica replacement is generally a much cheaper option.  
• Replica medals – quality varies vastly and is dependant on the source of both the medals and the ribbons.  To avoid disappointment, I urge you to seek professional advice before buying (or contact us), particularly when considering medal ribbons as these vary in quality, construction and colour to a much greater degree than the medals.
• Medal Naming / Engraving – If the medals require engraving (and I recommend they are for insurance and tracing purposes should they go missing or are stolen), ensure you find out what the prescribed format, font style and location for naming is on each medal.  You are welcome to contact MRNZ for advice.

Use of named medals:  Original medals will usually have the recipient’s name impressed/engraved on them.  It is not illegal to buy a named medal or to use it to replace a lost, damaged or stolen medal from your medal group – these are called ‘fillers’.  WW2 campaign Stars were issued to NZers un-named and these are readily available.  I urge any buyer of a named original medal NOT to have the original recipient’s name erased; you the have the honour of representatively honouring two deceased service persons when the medal is included with a deceased veteran’s medal group.  If you decide a Replica medal will suffice as the replacement, consider sending the named ‘filler’ to MRNZ for return to a descendant of the recipient. 🙂

6.  Medal maintenance & storage

Routine cleaning

Medals should always be treated with respect, be safeguarded and maintained in a clean but ORIGINAL condition, particularly old medals.  Condition is reflective of a medal’s history (much like the patina of an antique) and should be maintained at all costs if you value their history.  

NEVER clean medals with a metal polish of any type!  This will degrade the surface and remove any protective coating that has been applied.  Once started it will also necessitate continual upkeep.  Professionally mounted medals have treated surfaces to remove the necessity for polishing. The majority of medals can be cleaned by the following method:

• To Clean:  Use plain warm water to dampen a soft cloth ~ clean the medal surfaces of dirt, rain spots etc.  Take care not to wet the ribbon as the colour may run, or your cloth may discolour these.
• To Dry:  Pat with absorbent paper towel if required and buff with soft, dry cloth such as fleecy track suit material. Stiff or new cotton/polyester/rayon type materials may scratch any mirror polished surface such as the NZ Operational Service Medal.

If your medals need more attention than the cleaning outlined above can resolve, seek professional advice.

Silver 

Silver is a soft metal that will tarnish to black if not maintained or the surface is not treated by a professional medal mounter.  Very light polishing with a silver impregnated polishing cloth is recommended.  If the medal requires anything stronger to remove stubborn spots etc, a commercial silver dip solution will not do any appreciable damage as long as the instructions are followed.  Sonic cleaning is another option but best left to a jeweller.  

Nickel Plate & Cupro-nickle

Silver coloured medals manufactured between the 1930s and mid-1960s can be a mix of the above which generally will remain shiny for much longer than pure silver.  Use only a proprietary impregnated polishing cloth designed on these metals.   There are ways to treat the surfaces to prolong the new appearance but this is best left to a professionals to do

Rhodium Plate

More modern silver coloured medals from the 1970s onward have surfaces of high quality rhodium plate.  The rhodium plate gives the medal its ‘mirror’ bright finish which requires very little maintenance.  Remove any fouling with a warm, damp cloth and buff dry with a soft cloth.  Be aware the ‘mirror’ finish surface on these is very susceptible to scratching.

Bronze 

Bronze medals such as the WW1 1914 “Mons” Star, 1914/15 Star, the WW2 campaign Stars and United Nations service medals are not designed to be polished!  Stars should be left to age naturally which will give them their characteristic dark coloured patina.  To clean any of these, remove any surface dirt/stains with warm water and buff dry. 

The WW1 Victory Medal is also made of Bronze coated with a ‘gold wash’ to give it its characteristic shiny gold colour.  The ‘gold wash’ is VERY THIN and easily removed by using metal polish or rubbing too vigorously with a cloth.  Again, use only warm water to remove dirt and rain spots.  Pat dry with paper towel and buff with a soft, dry cloth.  Failure to do this can quickly lead to pitting or corrosion of the medal surface.  If left unattended for some weeks, verdigris (green corrosion) spots may develop, particularly on bronze medals.  Stubborn stains may need careful use of a polish impregnated cloth – proceed with care!  

If unsure what to do, seek the advice of a professional

as any damage you do may be irreversible!

Storage

Keep medal ribbons in good repair and store your medals in a rigid container.  Using a tin is not a good idea since condensation can form on the inside of the metal as heat and cold conditions change around it.  Plastic boxes with snap shut seals are fine for short term storage or transportation however, remember they are not fire proof. There are many purpose built commercial examples also available on-line.

Always dry medals off if they have been dampened by rain and give them a light buff with a soft, dry cloth.  Ensure the ribbons are dry and the medals wrapped in tissue or a paper towel before replacing your medals in their storage container.  Keep the container in a warm, dry place (the hot water cylinder cupboard or linen press is ideal).

7.  Security & safeguarding medals

Prevention 

SNAP –  photograph your medals, both sides and the naming.  These are particularly useful for insurance purposes or to give to police in the event of loss or theft.  It also helps MRNZ and other like agencies to advertise, identify and prove ownership of your medals if found.

SECURE – when wearing the originals, ensure they are firmly attached to the medal bar, securely pinned to your clothing and that you keep a close eye on them at all times.  Attaching a safety chain to the brooch bar is also a very good idea.  Lock your medals away when you get home!

INSURE – old and valuable family medals should be insured separately.  Recovering some monetary value if lost or stolen is better than FREE total and permanent loss.

‘Five-finger discounters’ …

At any event where medals are worn, particularly large gatherings such as Anzac Day, Armistice Day, a commemorative church service, a veteran’s funeral and other military occasions, there are always persons interested in the medals that are being worn.  Original (incl current) old and rare medals such as from the Crimean or European/Asian 19th Century wars, Boer War and First World War, together with those that are highly collectable and valuable, such as gallantry or meritorious service medals are of particular interest to the ‘five-finger discounter’ … the medal thief! 

While an opportunist thief will seize any unattended medals, a ‘professional’ or practised thief is in a league of their own.  These people are characterised by showing inordinate interest in what medals you (or someone else) are wearing, and particularly if your group is uncommon, unique or bears a gallantry medal.  Occasionally they will unwittingly identify themselves by direct questioning about your or someone else’s medals.  They may try to engage you with small-talk whilst their eyes fixate on your medal rack, or furtively follow your movements  about the room.  

Play it safe:  either keep your medals on, or remove them from public view as soon as you are able. 

Children and medals

Watch your children wearing medals!  Family medals given to unsupervised children (e. g. on your Boy Scout, Cub, Guide, Brownie or a child in ordinary civilian clothing) to wear on occasions such as an Anzac Day or Armistice Day parade are particularly susceptible to losing medals, or having them stolen from an opportunist or determined thief.  I have seen children on various occasions wearing medal groups with a Distinguished Conduct Medal, a Distinguished  Flying Cross and Bar, another with a Military Medal and British Empire Medal group, playing with other children whilst climbing trees and generally doing what kids do.   Parents can be oblivious to where their kids are or what they might be doing while attending the ‘after-match’ function.  It is all too easy for valuable or irreplaceable medals in these circumstances to be lost, or even stolen.  If you value the medals you give your kids to wear, watch them and remove the medals as soon as the official part of the occasion is over or, …. give them Replicas to wear.

Security of medals at home

An overt display of your family medals at home (e.g. a framed wall frame) is a personal choice however do consider the impact of passive ‘advertising’ to non-family visitors, tradesmen and the like who may come into your home, and the potential for future theft.  Opportunist as well as ‘steal to order’ thieves can be found in every community.  These people are generally are not your cat-burglar type who will break into your house and steal anything and everything of value, particularly your treasured family medals that have been left unsecured on the table in the kitchen.  This type of thief knows the value of medals and will often know where medals can be accessed easily, such as those invitingly hung on a wall in the family home that can be clearly seen through a convenient window. 

Medal loss and recovery

Named medals that have been lost, sold or stolen and subsequently found/recovered and reunited with descendants is a relatively rare event.  If auctioned on the internet, serious medal collectors (or profiteering opportunists!) tend to snap these up as soon as they surface on the open market.  Some collectors are unconcerned where the medals come from if they have a particular need in their collection.

If you locate, or are aware of the location of medals that are missing from your family, that are in the possession of another person or organisation, you have little chance of recovery unless: they were stolen and the theft was reported to the Police at the time the medals were taken.  Should this situation arise, tell the Police immediately and they will assess what, if any, action can be taken.

If your medals were not NAMED you also have next to no chance of proving ownership even in the event the medals are found.  If you follow the PREVENTION advice at the top of this section, you may just have a fighting chance of recovery.

>>>>  Your inattention or poor personal security of your medals could result in a lifetime of anguish and regret – know where they are at all times and secure them when not in use.

SNAP ~ SECURE ~ INSURE