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The 1939-1945 Star

Average Price:

£15 to £25
($19.50 to $32.50)

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Time Period: World War II
Institution: 8 July 1943
Country: Great Britain, Australia

The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal instituted on 8 July 1943 by the United Kingdom to award to subjects of the British Commonwealth for service in the Second World War during specified periods of operational service overseas (between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945). The broad criteria was 180 days of service with more specific criteria depending on the service arm.

The 1939–43 Star was awarded to 1,600,000 officers and men. The order of wear of the Second World War campaign stars was determined by their respective campaign start dates and by the campaign’s duration.

The 1939–1945 Star Design

The set of nine campaign stars was designed by the Royal Mint engravers. They are six-pointed stars, struck in yellow copper zinc alloy to fit into a 44 millimeters diameter circle.

The obverse of the 1939-1945 star has a central design of the Royal Cypher “GRI VI“, surmounted by a crown and a circlet in which is inscribed “THE 1939–1945 STAR“. The reverse is plain and, as with the other Second World War campaign medals, a no-engraving policy was applied by all but three British Commonwealth countries (but the recipient’s name was impressed on the reverse for Australians, Indians and South Africans).

The 1939–1945 Star Clasps

There are two clasps for the 1939-1945 Star: The Battle of Britain clasp and the Bomber Command clasp. Both clasps were struck in bronze and had a frame with an inside edge resembling the perforated edge of a postage stamp. The clasps are denoted by a golden or silver-gilt rosette worn on the ribbon bar. There were two clasps instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon: A Battle of Britain clasp and a Bomber Command clasp.

The Battle of Britain clasp was awarded to those who had participated in the Battle of Britain military campaign. This is the rarest one as it was given to aircrew members of stipulated squadrons of Fighter Command who had flown at least one operational sortie between 00.01 hrs 10th July and 23.59 hrs 31st Oct 1940. A total of 2,936 men qualified for it.

The Bomber Command clasp was instituted on 26 February 2013 (belated) and given to those who played a central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II, participating in at least one operational sortie in a Royal Air Force Bomber Command operational unit between 3 September 1939 and 8 May 1945 inclusive. In total 364,514 operational sorties were flown and 8,325 aircraft were lost in action.

The 1939-1945 Star Ribbon

Ribbon with rosette for the Battle of Britain

Ribbon with rosette for the Bomber Command

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More WW2 British Campaign Medals

During World War II (1939–1945) British campaign medals were awarded to members of the British Armed Forces and civilians for active service in specific military campaigns or operations. These included: