WW2 medals; Australian medals after 1930 to 1945 b


Atlantic Star & the same medal with Air Crew Europe bar		Air Crew Europe Star & the same medal with France-Germany bar
		Like the Burma Star and the Pacific Star some of these Stars were linked. That is you were not allowed to wear both. You wore the first earned with a Bar to indicate earning the second. e.g.. If you first earned the Atlantic star and then earned the Air Crew Europe star you wore the awards as per photo 2.
Italy Star	France-Germany Star		Naval General Service Medal with Minesweeping clasp

Royal Naval Reserve Long Service & Good Conduct Medal (1908). (George VI version)

The obverse features a bareheaded effigy of King George VI facing left, and the legend: GEORGVIS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX F : D : IND : IMP :

The reverse device is a starboard, broadside view of the battleship Dreadnought. and the legend along the bottom rim reads: DIUTURNE FIDELIS (For Long and Faithful Service).

Note that this medal was issued with many different ribbons depending on year of award and whether it was RNR, RNVR, RANR, RANVR, RNZNR, RNZVNR etc

The medal is the Royal Naval Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal(1908), and is described on page 94 of 'Ribbons and Medals' by H.Tapprel-Dorling in this way:
"This medal was originally granted to men of the RNR for 15 years' service, with the necessary periods of Naval Training, provided their characters had never been assessed below 'Very good'. Since then there have been changes in the eligibility qualifications. The reverse shows a battleship, with the legend, DIUTURNE FIDELIS; the medal has a straight bar suspender. Until October 1941 the 32mm ribbon was plain green, but at that time a 4mm white centre stripe and similar white edges were added. On 1 November 1958, the RNR and RNVR were combined into one service, the Royal Naval Reserve. While the RNR decoration, with its green ribbon with white edges, continues to be awarded, the RNR LS&GC has, since 1959, had a ribbon of 5 equal stripes, blue white emerald green white blue, to cover all the various Naval Reserve Long Service Medals.

Dickin Medal with blue, brown and green ribbon, issued by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. Obverse is embossed 'PDSA For GALLANTRY We also Serve.'

Reverse is engraved 'D D43 Q879 Australian Corps of Signals S.W. Pacific February 1944 A.F.M.C. 1182 No 42'. Note error in month of award. Pigeon Q879 carried his the message that earned him the medal on 5 April 1944.

Awarded to Blue Chequer cock pigeon No D D43 Q879, for gallantry carrying a message through heavy fire thereby bringing relief to a patrol surrounded and attacked by the enemy without other means of communication. Donor/breeder of the bird, A J Flavell Esq, 15 Vauntier Street, Elwood S3 Victoria.

Pigeon bravery medal up for sale; From correspondents in London; November 29, 2004

ONE of the more unusual medals awarded during World War II - given to a carrier pigeon parachuted into occupied France alongside British agents - is to be sold, auctioneers said Friday.
Commando the pigeon was awarded the Dickin Medal, of which only 60 have ever been handed out, after braving German bullets to bring back secret information strapped to his leg on three separate missions.

Commando's Dickin Medal, handed to the red chequer cock bird in 1945 in recognition of his wartime service, is expected to fetch up to 10,000 pounds ($24,000) next week, London-based auctioneers Spink said. The pigeon was made available to the military by his owner, Sid Moon, who had served with the Army Pigeon Service during World War I, at the outbreak of the next war in 1939.

Commando travelled to France with forces from the secretive Special Operations Executive from 1942, and brought back intelligence about the whereabouts of German troops, industrial sites and injured British soldiers. Despite a mere one-in-eight chance of survival thanks to a combination of German marksmen's bullets and exhaustion, Commando survived his three missions.

The Dickin Medal was named after Maria Dickin, who founded the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. The last one to be auctioned was won by Simon, a cat who saw action in 1949 on British ship HMS Amethyst when it was stopped and bombarded by Chinese communist troops.

The only Dickin Medal awarded to a cat, it sold for 23,000 pounds ($55,000).