Item number: M519-4

Reference number: Borna Barac II#159; MYB#168; Joslin#144a; RM#94

Year: AD 1919-1920

Material: Cupronickel

Provenance: J. Collins Medal 2026

This is a miniature version of one of the most widely issued British decorations following the First World War, namely the “War Medal, WWI”, also known as the “British War Medal 1914–1920”.

The medal is circular in form. The centre of the obverse depicts an uncrowned, left-facing profile of King George V. Circumscribed along the rim is the Latin abbreviation “GEORGIVS V: BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:”, standing for “GEORGIUS V BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REX ET INDIAE IMPERATOR”, which translates to “George V, King of all the Britains, Emperor of India”. This design was executed by Sir Bertram Mackennal, a prominent Australian sculptor and medallist who created most of the effigies of George V used on British coinage and medals at the time.

The centre of the reverse portrays St George on horseback, trampling underfoot the eagle shield of the Central Powers alongside a skull and crossbones representing death. In the upper right, a rising sun symbolises victory. A male figure was selected instead of a symbolic female figure because men had borne the main brunt of the fighting. The figure is mounted on horseback to symbolise man’s mind controlling a force greater than his own (represented by the horse), thereby alluding to the mechanical and scientific devices that played a vital role in winning the war. The design was created by William McMillan, a Scottish sculptor and Royal Academician (RA), whose submission was selected in an open competition held by the British government for the post-war medal design.

The main material of the ribbon is watered silk, featuring an orange centre flanked on either side by white and black stripes—with the black stripe being narrower—and royal blue borders. It is said that these colours carry no specific symbolic significance.

The medal was awarded to personnel of the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, Mercantile Marine, and recognised auxiliary and medical organisations from Great Britain, as well as its Imperial Dominions, Colonies, and India. Qualifying conditions varied according to the branch of service and nature of duty: Royal Navy personnel were required to have completed at least 28 days of mobilised service between 5 August AD 1914 and 11 November AD 1918, or to have been killed in action before completing this period; Army and Royal Air Force personnel were required to have entered an operational theatre of war on duty or to have left their place of residence for approved overseas service (excluding the waters separating the home islands of the United Kingdom) during the same period. For the Royal Air Force, this also included those engaged in active aerial combat against the enemy while on the strength of home operational units, those ferrying new aircraft to France, or those serving aboard aircraft-carrying ships. Mercantile Marine personnel in the United Kingdom were required to have served at sea for no less than six months during the aforementioned period (including licensed pilots, fishermen, and crews of cable ships), whereas in other parts of the Empire, qualification depended on regulations set by their respective governments, with those who had sailed through danger zones being additionally eligible for the Mercantile Marine War Medal. Officers and crew who were captured by the enemy, lost their lives due to enemy action, or were disabled through enemy action whilst serving at sea before fulfilling the requisite service period were deemed to have qualified, with medals for deceased personnel being issued to their widows or next of kin. Furthermore, the medal was extended to regular and mobilised personnel who did not see fighting, native and foreign labour corps receiving military pay (such as Chinese, Indian, and Maltese personnel, who were mostly awarded the bronze version), as well as all personnel serving in military missions or operations in Russia between AD 1919 and AD 1920, or engaged in naval mine clearance in the North Sea between 11 November AD 1918 and 30 November AD 1919.

Because most recipients also qualified for other decorations, common medal combinations acquired unique civilian nicknames in the post-war era. Among these, the combination of the “1914 Star / 1914–15 Star”, the “British War Medal” (WWI War Medal), and the “Victory Medal”—resembling many three-piece items common in society at the time—were colloquially named after the comic strip Pip, Squeak and Wilfred, which gained widespread popularity from AD 1919 onwards.

As a principal belligerent in the First World War, Britain gained the majority of Germany’s overseas colonies, marking the final period of expansion for the British Empire. However, the four-year war cost the British mainland 6% of its adult male population, amounting to 880,000 lives lost. The conflict also left Britain heavily indebted to the United States, causing the seat of global hegemony to shift gradually from the British Isles to the new continent across the Atlantic, signalling the beginning of the end for the empire on which the sun never set.

物件編號: M519-4

參考書目編號: Borna Barac II#159; MYB#168; Joslin#144a; RM#94

年代: 公元 1919-1920 年

材質: 白銅

來源: J. Collins Medal 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「一戰獎章」（War Medal, WWI），或稱「英國戰爭獎章1914-1920」（British War Medal 1914-1920）的迷你版。

章體呈圓形。正面中央為英國國王喬治五世的左側肖像，未戴王冠。沿章緣環列拉丁簡寫「GEORGIVS V: BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:」，即「GEORGIUS V BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REX ET INDIAE IMPERATOR」，可譯為「喬治五世，不列顛諸領地之王，印度皇帝」。該設計出自伯特倫·麥肯納爵士（Sir Bertram Mackennal），其為著名澳洲籍雕塑家暨勳章設計師，當時英國貨幣與勳章上的喬治五世頭像多出自其手。

背面中央描繪了聖喬治騎在馬背上，腳下踩踏著同盟國（Central Powers）的鷹徽盾牌，以及象徵死亡的骷髏與交叉骨頭。右上方是一輪象徵勝利升起的旭日。之所以選擇男性形象而非象徵性的女性形象，是因為男性承受了戰鬥的主要衝擊。該人物騎在馬上，象徵著人類的心智掌控著一股比自身更強大的力量（由馬代表）。因此，這個設計也象徵了在贏得這場戰爭中發揮巨大作用的機械與科學設備。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，他在英國政府舉辦的戰後獎章背面設計公開徵稿中脫穎而出獲得採用。

綬帶主材為水紋綢，中央為橙色，兩側由內而外各有白、黑相間的條紋，黑色較細，邊緣為皇家藍色。據稱這些顏色並無特殊的象徵意義。

該獎章的頒發對象涵蓋英國及其帝國自治領、殖民地與印度之海、陸、空軍、商船隊及受認可的輔助與醫療組織人員，其授獎條件依軍種與服役型態而異：皇家海軍人員須於公元1914年8月5日至1918年11月11日期間完成至少28天的動員服役，或在達成該期限前於作戰中陣亡；陸軍與皇家空軍人員則須於同一期間內因公進入指定戰區，或離開原居住地前往海外（不含分隔英國本土之水域）執行經批准的服役，其中空軍亦包含於英國本土作戰單位執行對敵空中交戰、駕駛新機前往法國或於航空母艦服役者；商船隊人員在英國須於上述期間內在海上服役滿六個月（含引水人、漁民與電纜船船員等），其他帝國地區則依其政府規定辦理，若曾駛入危險區域者可加獲商船隊戰爭勳章；凡於海上服役期間遭敵俘虜、因敵作戰喪生或致殘而無法完成服役期限者均視同合格，已故者勳章則發給遺孀或近親；此外，本勳章亦擴大頒發給未親臨戰場的正規軍與動員人員、獲發軍餉之本土與外籍勞工隊（如中國、印度及馬爾他籍人員，多獲頒銅質版），以及戰後於公元1919至1920年間參與俄羅斯軍事代表團/軍事行動，或於公元1918年11月11日至1919年11月30日期間在北海執行海上掃雷任務的全體人員。

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。