Item number: M519-5

Reference number: Borna Barac II#162; MYB#170; Joslin#146a; RM#95

Year: AD 1919

Material: Bronze

Provenance: J. Collins Medals 2026

This is a miniature version of the Victory Medal (British Empire pattern), one of the most widely issued campaign medals distributed by the United Kingdom following the conclusion of the First World War.

The obverse depicts the standing winged figure of Victory, her left arm extended and her right hand holding a palm branch, with the remaining field left plain. The reverse features the four-line inscription “THE GREAT / WAR FOR / CIVILIZATION / 1914-1919”, enclosed within a laurel wreath, with a plain rim and suspension by means of a simple ring. The piece was designed by William McMillan, a Scottish sculptor and Royal Academician (RA).

To avoid diplomatic contention among Allied nations, the ribbon incorporated the full spectrum of the rainbow in watered silk, featuring red at the centre with graduated hues extending to indigo and violet at the outer edges. Servicemen who were Mentioned in Despatches were authorised to wear a small bronze oak leaf emblem on the ribbon. Only one oak leaf was worn regardless of the number of mentions received. The emblem was produced in two sizes: the larger version was affixed to the full medal ribbon at a sixty-degree angle from the inner edge with the stem pointing to the right, whereas the smaller version was worn horizontally on the ribbon bar of the Service Dress.

The medal was awarded to all personnel who had qualified for the 1914 Star or the 1914–15 Star, and to the vast majority of recipients of the British War Medal 1914–1920, meaning it was virtually never awarded in isolation. Nearly six million specimens were produced in total. It is frequently designated as the Allied Victory Medal, as the fundamental design concept and double-rainbow ribbon were adopted by thirteen other Allied nations, including Belgium, Brazil (an exceptionally rare issue), Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Romania, Siam (Thailand), the Union of South Africa, and the United States of America. In the Japanese iteration, the winged figure of Victory on the obverse was replaced by a warrior holding a spear, whereas the American issue frequently featured battle clasps. The variant produced by the Union of South Africa featured reverse inscriptions in both English and Dutch, rather than Afrikaans as is commonly misstated.

Owing to the fact that most recipients were eligible for multiple decorations, common medal groups acquired distinctive colloquial nicknames in post-war civilian culture. The trio comprising the 1914 Star or 1914–15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal was affectionately dubbed “Pip, Squeak and Wilfred”, after the popular comic strip characters originating in AD 1919, mirroring the naming conventions applied to various three-piece commercial goods of that era.

As a primary belligerent in the First World War, Great Britain acquired the majority of Germany’s overseas colonies, marking the final territorial expansion of the British Empire. However, the four-year conflict resulted in the loss of 880,000 lives, representing six percent of the adult male population of the British Isles. Furthermore, the war saddled the nation with immense foreign debts owed to the United States, initiating a gradual transition of global hegemony from the British Isles across the Atlantic to the New World, and signalling the beginning of the end for the empire upon which the sun never set.

物件編號: M519-5

參考書目編號: Borna Barac II#162; MYB#170; Joslin#146a; RM#95

年代: 公元 1919 年

材質: 青銅

來源: J. Collins Medals 2026

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。

正面刻有展翅的勝利女神立像，左臂伸展，右手握著棕櫚枝。其餘空間保持留白。背面刻有銘文「THE GREAT / WAR FOR / CIVILIZATION / 1914-1919」，可譯為「為文明而戰的偉大戰爭 1914-1919」。外圍環繞著月桂葉冠。邊緣平滑，勳章懸掛於一圓環上。該設計出自威廉·麥克米倫（William McMillan），其為蘇格蘭雕塑家，皇家藝術學院（RA）院士。

綬帶為了避免爭議，所採用的色彩包含了彩虹的所有顏色，主材為水紋綢，中央為紅色，兩側依彩虹色漸變，靛藍、紫色位於邊緣。當時批准，凡在戰報中獲得提名（Mentioned in Despatches）的官兵，應在此勳章的絲帶上佩戴一枚小青銅橡葉。無論獲頒者獲得多少次提名，都只佩戴一枚橡葉。橡葉標誌分為兩種尺寸：較大者與勳章一同佩戴，固定於絲帶中央，與絲帶內側邊緣成60度角，葉柄朝右；較小者則在佩戴常服（Service Dress）絲帶條時橫向佩戴。

該章頒發給所有曾獲得「1914之星獎章」或「1914-15之星獎章」的人員，以及大多數獲得「一戰獎章」（英國戰爭勳章1914-1920）的人員，基本上沒有單獨頒發。總計發行了近600萬枚。凡在戰報中獲得提名的受勳者（Mentioned in Despatches），獲准在絲帶上佩戴一枚橡葉標誌。由南非政府頒發的版本，其背面銘文同時包含英文與阿非利卡文（南非荷蘭文）。此章常被稱為「盟軍勝利獎章」（Allied Victory Medal），因為相同的基本設計與絲帶也被比利時、巴西（極其罕見的版本）、古巴、捷克斯洛伐克、法國、希臘、義大利、日本、葡萄牙、羅馬尼亞、暹羅（泰國）、南非聯邦及美國所採用。其中日本的版本，將正面原本出現的展翅勝利女神像替換為手持長矛的武士；而美國發行的版本則常帶有戰役飾條。南非聯邦生產的版本，其背面銘文同時包含英文與荷蘭文（並非如外界常誤傳的阿非利卡文/南非荷蘭文）。

由於其獲頒者，多具有其他獎章的獲頒資格。因此常見的獎章組合，在戰後的民間有著獨特的暱稱。其中，「1914星章 / 1914-15星章」、「英國戰爭勳章」（一戰獎章）和「勝利獎章」，像是當時社會上許多的三件套物品一樣，依公元1919年起流行的漫畫《皮普、斯奎克和威爾弗雷德》（Pip, Squeak and Wilfred），依序取為暱稱。

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。