Special Forces medal

just purchased the new Special Forces medal from Awards.ery impressive .its got my dad's name and unit round the edge.ImI allowed to have it along side his WW2 medals?

Hi Stephen

My personal view - your father's real medals were officially awarded to him in recognition of his Service for our Nation - this other " medal " is privately purchased from a commercial website as part of fund raising for the Allied Special Forces Assoc. In my opinion, whilst it might look nice, they do not belong together.

Pete

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 09/05/2012 21:32:17

Stephen,

"The Allied Special Forces Medal, endorsed by The Allied Special Forces Association in the UK, pays tribute to all of the Special and Elite forces of the United Kingdom and those of their allies around the world. During the last century, Allied Special Forces have performed operations with unparalleled skill, secrecy and bravery. From daring raids deep into Nazi-occupied Europe to the dangerous manoeuvres into enemy territory during the Gulf War and more recently the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan".

As It mentions It's tribute to men like your dad and mine who volunteered to go that one step further, wear It with pride.

Kevin

The topic of such medals and whether they can be worn has arisen before :

http://www.commandoveterans.org/cdoForum/posts/list/7.page

Pete, point taken

BR 3
PART 6
44-10
February 2012
4418. Wearing of Unofficial Medals
a. Only those Honours, Decorations, Medals and Awards that have been formally
approved by the Sovereign may be worn. This applies to the wearing in uniform and
civilian clothing, and by retired members of the Armed Services. Commanding
Officers are responsible for ensuring that individuals do not wear medals that are not
approved or to which they are not entitled, as well as being responsible for ensuring
individuals are in possession of medals to which they are entitled.
b. A number of private companies market unofficial commemorative medals and
although there is no reason why individuals may not purchase these items they are
still formally classified as unofficial and have not been given approval by the
Sovereign, and thus may not been worn. The fact that an advertisement for such
medals appears in ?in house? Service magazines is not to be taken as an indication
that a medal has been formally approved and may be worn.
c. Any queries on the status of any medal, or of an individual?s entitlement to it,
should, in the first instance, be made to single-Service medal offices.

Although there is no current law preventing the wearing of these types of medals they are in fact 'commemorative' and borne of commercial enterprise whether for fund-raising or simple profit. It's great that people want to commemorate special events or groups etc however these medals should not be worn with official campaign medals, and certainly not at official ceremonies. If they are then it becomes quite messy as most people will not be able to distinguish between the two and I personally think this dilutes the significance of hard earned operational and campaign medals.

At the St Nazaire anniversary parade in March there were a great number of veterans present, of various nationalities, wearing their medals. Most were wearing just their campaign medals and for me gave clear indication of where they had served, particularly the British. Some also wore commemorative medals which just seemed to confuse me and certainly did not impress. It really struck me how quite obvious the commemorative medals were and that it most certainly distracted from the real thing.

I have to say that Maj Gen Corran Purdon CBE, MC, QPM, who could at first glance be accused of wearing commemorative medals, certainly has no need to do so - twenty one I counted not including clasps.

For interest I refer to a post of many years ago:
http://www.commandoveterans.org/cdoForum/posts/list/7.page#10

thanks Guys ,,I will keep it seperate from the rest It is very nice though