ww2 star

[deanC]

hi ,

my grandfather Robert e reed served in ww2 ,he was awarded the italy star ,the war medal and the war star .

why the war star ?

i can only find that ,if he had died or was wounded he would have been awarded this medal .
i have his discharge papers and they show no injuries or illness .
he was in the signals reg ,he passed away in 1996 .

can anyone enlighten me ?

dean

[gasser]

Does this piece of info help?
"1939-45 Star - This star was awarded for service in the Second World War between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. The recipient was awarded this star if their service period was terminated by their death or disability due to service. Also the award of a gallantry medal or MID also produced the award of this medal, regardless of their service duration."

[Andrewb]

Dean

One of the qualifications for the 1939-45 Star was 180 days operational service in an area that qualified for a 'campaign' star (i.e. Italy Star). In your grandfather's case I'm guessing that he spent the requisite 180 days in Italy between 3 September 1943 and 8 May 1945. The 180 day period is waived, as gasser has already pointed out, in the circumstances he mentioned. It was also waived in cases of wounds received in action.

Andrewb

[Rachel2]

My query is similar to that of Dean's so hope you don't mind my adding to this thread.
My father was a POW in Germany/Poland for 5 years. I have just received a copy of the form he filled in when he arrived back in Britain. On this he said that he had 2 decorations, one for 1939 and the 1943 star. I am a bit puzzled as I know that POW's were given the 1939 - 1945 medal but don't understand why he would mention 1943 specifically. Can anyone help?
Rachel

[cfww2]

Hi Rachel

Originally the medal was the 1939-43 Star as the authorities had approved the award in 1943. From 1943 all eligible personnel were allowed to wear the ribbon, though the physical medal was not issued until 1945. At the same time as the 1939-43 Star the Africa Star was also instituted.

theyworkforyou.com/debate/?id=1943-08-03a.2091.4
CF

[mariner]

My query is similar to that of Dean's so hope you don't mind my adding to this thread.
My father was a POW in Germany/Poland for 5 years. I have just received a copy of the form he filled in when he arrived back in Britain. On this he said that he had 2 decorations, one for 1939 and the 1943 star. I am a bit puzzled as I know that POW's were given the 1939 - 1945 medal but don't understand why he would mention 1943 specifically. Can anyone help?
Rachel

Lets see if I can help, the 1939/45 star was originally the 1939/43 star, then the powers that be decided to extend it to 1945, I have the 39/45 star, but my discharge book shows that in 1943 I was given the 1939/43 star. As was said earlier you had to have 6 months service in a war zone or be wounded to get the campaign medal for that zone

[Andrewb]

Hi Rachel

If your father was a POW for 5 years I'm guessing he was captured in France in 1940 and not repatriated until 1945. In that case he would have been entitled to the 1939-45 Star (previously the 1939-43 Star as already mentioned) and the War Medal 1939-45. As well as the qualifying conditions already mentioned in earlier posts, the 1939-45 Star was awarded for 180 days service in France between 3 Sept 1939 and 9 May 1940. For service between 10 May 1940 (the end of the 'phoney war') until 19 June 1940, the qualifying period was 1 day.

The former was instituted in 1943 to recognise service in the early campaigns of WW2 and the qualifying period was then extended to cover other later campaigns.

Andrewb