Hoping for some help. My Grandfather was a prisoner of war captured in Calais in 1940. He had a set of medals I thankfuly have inherited. He has the war medal, 1939-45 star, territorial medal, french and german star, Dunkirk medal and defence medal. I know he was not eligible for the French and german star as this was post D-day but I suppose he felt robbed as no medal awarded for the defeat in 1940 or being POW. My enquiry is regard to the defence medal and Dunkirk medal. As mentioned he was captured at Calais in the middle of May 1940, would he have been entitled to the Dunkirk medal? He was a member of the Dunkirk veterans association (don't know if this makes a difference ?) Secondly the defence medal, on his war records it mentions the war medal, 1939 star and territorial medal but no mention of the defence medal, could this been award years later? I plan on displaying the medals in a case at home but I want to try to find out which ones were award and which ones possible were bought later on in life.
The Dunkirk Medal (Medaille Dunkerque 1940) is an unofficial commemorative medal created by the town of Dunkirk to commemorate the defence of the town and surrounding area during May and June 1940. The allocation of the award was managed by nationale des anciens combattants de Flandres-Dunkerque 1940, the French National Association of Veterans of the Fortified Sector of Flanders and Dunkirk (and later administrated by the now disbanded Dunkirk Veterans Association). Dunkirk Medal - Wikipedia
Also important to ensure that they are in the correct order: Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Dunkirk Medal - Wikipedia
If he was a POW 1940/45 he would not be entitled to the Defence Medal either. The normal entitlement for 1940 British Army POW is 39/45 Star (or Africa Star if captured there) and the War Medal plus Territorial Medal if appropriate. The 39/45 Star was originally called 39/43 Star and awarded for service in BEF (and NWEF in Norway) plus various short term Commando actions. Steve
You could also contact the Medal Office for completeness, although highly unlikely what they say will differ to his service record. They seem to be very efficient and fast with their responses, and it costs nowt. You can contact them here (info courtesy of Tricky Dicky): Contact the MOD Medal Office You can contact the Medal Office in writing or via email. DBS-Medals@mod.gov.uk MOD Medal Office Room G36 Innsworth House Imjin Barracks Gloucester GL3 1HW Telephone enquiries are handled by the Joint Personnel Administration Centre (JPAC). Freephone (UK only): 0800 085 3600 Telephone (from overseas): +44 141 224 3600 As Owen and Clive have pointed out, the Dunkirk Medal is unofficial. I only realised there was one when it popped up in a group on the Antiques Roadshow a couple of years back and my ears pricked up! Albeit unofficial, I obtained a copy medal, which I intend to add to my grandfather’s display just because it means a hell of a lot to me that he was there. Had I known when he was still with us that the town of Dunkirk had created the medal, I would have applied for an original for him. Very much a personal choice to display it, of course.
May depend upon who you speak with either that or they have recently changed policy? A friend was given his two uncles medals which were a mixture of Stars etc but one served in Burma the other in Europe ,trouble was he didnt know which was which. In November 2021 he made an enquiry to the medal office, he didnt need any medals just clarification on who earned the two Stars really ? He received a very polite but abrupt answer;- " Are you the official next of kin for both soldiers ? If you are you will need proof (Death Certificates) that both men are no longer living ,once you can confirm these two points please re-submit your enquiry using the official online forms. Please note we are unable to process any enquiry without clarification of these two points" Kyle
That’s a shame, Kyle. Of course, I can only speak for my personal experience which was a very good one, although I’m speaking more about the speed of their turnaround, which was barely a week. Most impressive.
