- Time Period: The Great War
- Year of Institution: 1918
- Country: Great Britain, Australia
The Mercantile Marine War Medal was awarded by the Board of Trade of the United Kingdom to mariners of the Merchant Navy for one or more voyages through a war or danger zone during the course of the First World War.
During the period between 5 August 1914 and the armistice of 11 November 1918, 2,479 British merchant vessels and 675 British fishing vessels were lost as a result of enemy action. 14,287 and 434 lives were lost. Along with the medal, the next-of-kin of those men and women who lost their lives as a result of enemy action, were presented with a memorial plaque and memorial scroll.
The Mercantile Marine War Medal Design
The design of the medal is a disk, struck in bronze and measuring 36 millimeters in diameter. The straight clasp non-swiveling suspender is attached to the medal with a single-toe claw mount and a pin.
The obverse is (like the British War Medal) shows Sir Bertram Mackennal’s bareheaded effigy of King George V facing left, and the legend “GEORGIVS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:”. The reverse shows a merchant steamship plowing through heavy seas, with an enemy submarine sinking on port side and a sailing ship in the background.
The text of the condolence slip which accompanied the plaque reads: “Buckingham Palace. I send you this Memorial on behalf of my people and myself. We all desire that the brave and loyal service of the Mercantile Marine in war-time shall be gratefully recorded, and that the names of those who gave their lives for us shall be handed down with honor from one generation to another. (Signed) George RI“.
The recipient’s name is impressed on the rim in sans-serif capital letters and the first given name is often in full.
