Item number: M186-3

Year: AD 1919

Material: Bronze

Provenance: J. Collins Medals 2023

This is a miniature version of one of the most commonly awarded British medals following the end of World War I—the British Empire version of the “Victory Medal.”

The bronze Victory Medal of the First World War. This medal was proposed by Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France, who served as the Chairman of the Allied High Command in AD 1919. Under his suggestion, each country issued a commemorative medal for the “The Great War for Civilization,” featuring the most symbolic motifs of their respective nations. The British version of the medal depicts the winged figure of Victory on the obverse side, while the reverse side bears the inscription “The Great War For Civilization 1914-1919” within a laurel wreath, adorned with nine pearl-shaped decorations below. The medal is suspended by a fixed ring suspension, and the ribbon attached to it features a symmetrical double rainbow pattern in the colours of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

During the First World War, Britain emerged as one of the major combatants, gaining control over numerous German colonies overseas and marking the final expansion phase of the British Empire. However, this four-year-long conflict exacted a heavy toll on Britain, resulting in the loss of approximately 6% of its adult male population, amounting to 880,000 lives. Additionally, the war left Britain heavily indebted to the United States, leading to a gradual shift in global dominance from the British Isles to the New World across the Atlantic, signaling the beginning of the end of the era of the British Empire where the sun never set.

物件編號: M186-3

年代: 公元 1919 年

材質: 青銅

來源: 克林獎章 2023

這是一枚第一次世界大戰結束後，英國頒發最為普遍的其中一種勳章，即「第一次世界大戰勝利獎章」(大英帝國版)的迷你版。

銅質的第一次世界大戰勝利獎章，此獎章是公元1919年擔任協約國最高軍事委員會主席的法國福煦元帥建議下，各國各自頒發一枚紀念此次「保衛文明的世界大戰」獎章，正面是各國最具象徵的圖案。英國設計的版本，正面是擁有翅膀的勝利女神像，背面則在月桂花環中間刻有「保衛文明的世界大戰 1914-1919」字樣，並在底下帶有九粒珠形裝飾。獎章的上方則以固定環形懸掛銜接綬帶，由內而外是「紅、橙、黃、綠、藍、靛、紫」雙道彩虹的對稱配色。

英國作為第一次世界大戰的主要參戰國，獲得多數德國在海外的殖民地，完成大英帝國的最後一次擴張時光。然而這場長達四年的戰爭，讓英國本土就失去6%成年男性，即88萬人的犧牲。戰爭也讓英國欠下美國大筆的外債，使得世界霸權的位置逐漸從英倫三島轉移至彼岸的新大陸，標示日不落帝國的結束開端。