General Service Medal 1915-62

[MichaelH]

I have the fragement medal ribbon worn on the uniform of my deceased uncle for the NGS Medal 1915-62 but not the actual medal. He joined the navy in 1916 and was invalided out in 1942. How can I find out what he was awarded the medal for?

Also before the 2nd WW he was on a shore base in Aden. What was that about?

[Blaydon]

The MOD still holds records for this period and may be able to provide details of his service and his medal entitlement.

Contact details here http://www.veterans-uk.info/service_...oyal_navy.html

As for that medal it was awarded for campaign service in the smaller conflicts and was always awarded with a Bar indicating the theater of operations for which it was awarded.

These are:-
Persian Gulf 1909-14
Iraq 1919-20
SE Asia 1945-46
Minesweeping 1945-51
Palestine 1945-48
Malaya
Yangtze
Bomb & Mine clearance 1945-53
Bomb & Mine clearance Meditteranean
Cyprus
Near East
Arabian Peninsula
Brunei
Canal Zone

From the dates given I guess his was for Iraq

As for being shore based not all naval postings are at sea what he was doing would depend on his trade but if for example he was a Writer then he had as big if not a bigger chance of being shore based. If you manage to get the summary sheets from MOD this might give some clues.
Hope this helps

[Odin]

You missed one bar - Palestine 1936 - 1939. I would be almost certain that is the medal he would have received - there were 13,600 issued to the RN/RM. A photo is included below. Minor point but the correct name is the Naval General Service Medal 1915-62 - the General Service Medal (1918-62) is the term used for the equivalent Army and RAF medal.

I doubt very much that he had the bar for Iraq 1919-20 as only 128 were issued to the Navy and they are as rare as hen's teeth, as only part of the crews of three small ships received that clasp. And I haven't got one in my collection either.

[Blaydon]

Sorry not an expert just trying to help out from the little I could pick up to get him started.

If he can get some records that will help a lot.

[Odin]

Yes his records would help. For information the following ships qualified for the NGS clasp Palestine 1936-1939:

HMSs ... Aberdeen ... Active ... Adventure ... Agate ... Ajax ... Amethyst ... Antelope ... Arethusa ... Beagle ... Blanche ...Boadicea ... Boreas ... Brazen ... Brigand ... Brilliant ... Bulldog ... Cedar ... Clyde ... Cornelian ... Cyclops ... Delhi ... Despatch ... Douglas ... Durban ... Emerald ... Galatea ... Gallant ... Garland ... Gipsy ... Glowworm ... Grafton ... Grenade ... Greyhound ... Griffin ... Hardy ... Hasty ... Havock ... Hawthorn ... Hereward ... Hero ... Holly ... Hotspur ... Icarus ... Ilex ... Imogen ... Imperial ... Impulsive ... Inglefield ... Intrepid ... Isis ... Ivanhoe ... Jasper ... Keith ... Laurel ... Lilac ... Maine ... Magnolia ... Malaya ... Narwhal ... Pangbourne ... Pearl ... Porpoise ... Protector ... Reliant ... Repulse ... Ross ... Ruby ... Sapphire ... Severn ... Sussex ... Sutton ... Syringe ... Thames ... Topaze ... Tourmaline ... Turquoise ... Valiant ... Weston ... Willow

The medal I posted earlied in this thread is to a Surgeon Commander RN. He served on HMS Cyclops which was the submarine depot ship.

[Blaydon]

Its wierd how things link up my grandfather served on Laurel and amethyst in 1935- october 36 but he has a different general service medal for what i believe is this period he must have missed out on this one for some reason.

[Odin]

I'm a little confused here. The Army and RAF also recieved a (different) medal for this same campaign which is the General Service Medal 1918 with bar Palestine (without any dates). However if your uncle was in the Navy he should have recieved the NGS and not the Army/RAF issue, even if he served ashore. The Army/RAF medal is shown below. There are cases where the RAF got the Naval GS with bar Yangtze because there was no equivalent award of the General Service Medal 1918, also a few Army Officers got the NGS with the bar Persian Gulf 1909-1914. Likewise some Royal Indian Marine Service sailors got the GSM 1918 for South Persia because there was no NGS awarded for that campaign.

[Blaydon]

I had assumed that this medal in his collection was for the period 35-36 but it may have been when he was TA post war but I don't think he went anywhere during those years.

[MichaelH]

Thanks for all of the information. My uncle was a Torpedo Gunner's Mate and his Service Record reads Pembroke (Havock) 15.1.1937 to 31.1.1937; St Angells II (Havock) 1.2.1937 to 4.8.1939; Pembroke (Havock) 5.8.1939 to 31.5.1940. (Does any one know what St Angells II refers to?) Family recollection is that he was stationed ashore in Aden but when I do not know. He as wounded whilst serving aboard HMS Havock at Narvick on 10.4.1940.

His service record only makes reference to the Victory Medal and to his Long Service and Good Conduct medal. I have those medals and the 1914-1918 Medal which bears his name and service number and a fragment of tunic which also has the NGS Medal.

As I have said I have an original document which is his Service Record. Would he have had this document in his possession during his sevice? Would there be another record kept in an administrative centre?

Regards

MichaelH

[Blaydon]

I believe that his service record would have been given to him when he left the service but the MOD may still have information regarding his medal entitlement and pension etc.

I believe that Pembroke was Chatham. And Angells may have been Alexandria as the main Med fleet base.

some info herehttp://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chr...27H-Havock.htm

[DAVE H (ex RN)]

Hi
Just a thought ,could St Angells be St Angelo ? HMS St Angelo ( Fort St Angelo Malta) was for a period of time RN HQ Med.

[MichaelH]

Yes, I believe it was St Angello. His previous posting had been Egmont(Keith) which was a hulk on Malta giving its name to the shore base. It was renamed St Angello which was relocated to Alexandria at the start of the war because of Malta's proximity to Italy. The writing is difficult to decipher on his service record hence the St Angells.

Thanks for your interst,

Mike

[Rorqual]

Originally Posted by MichaelH

Thanks for all of the information. My uncle was a Torpedo Gunner's Mate and his Service Record reads Pembroke (Havock) 15.1.1937 to 31.1.1937; St Angells II (Havock) 1.2.1937 to 4.8.1939; Pembroke (Havock) 5.8.1939 to 31.5.1940. (Does any one know what St Angells II refers to?) Family recollection is that he was stationed ashore in Aden but when I do not know. He as wounded whilst serving aboard HMS Havock at Narvick on 10.4.1940.

His service record only makes reference to the Victory Medal and to his Long Service and Good Conduct medal. I have those medals and the 1914-1918 Medal which bears his name and service number and a fragment of tunic which also has the NGS Medal.

As I have said I have an original document which is his Service Record. Would he have had this document in his possession during his sevice? Would there be another record kept in an administrative centre?

Regards

MichaelH

I think possibly that your uncle has another service document somewhere
He has the Long service medal--which was issued after 15 years good conduct and you say he has a WW1 Medal aswell.
So he has done service from 1918 till 1942 minimum .
I think there was a change of record keeping in about 1930 so you may be able to obtain his records online from the Nat. Archives - for your uncles
ww1 service and up to the 1930's.

Good hunting anyway

Fred.