South Atlantic Medal

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South Atlantic medal

Awarded by the United Kingdom
Type	Campaign medal
Eligibility	British military, Merchant Navy and civilian
Awarded for	Service in the South Atlantic, during the Falklands War
Campaign	Falklands War
Description	Cupronickel coin with the Falkland Islands' coat of arms, bearing the words: "South Atlantic Medal"
Clasps	No clasp, a rosette instead

The South Atlantic Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British military personnel and civilians for service in the Falklands War of 1982, between the United Kingdom and Argentina. 29,700 were issued and the South Atlantic Medal Association was formed in 1997.

1 Origin
2 Appearance
3 Awarding the medal
4 Recipients
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Origin

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[edit] Appearance

The medal is a coin, made of cupronickel, 36 mm in diameter,^[1] the obverse side bears a crowned effigy of the Queen. Like a modern British coin, it has the abbreviated form of ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSOR ("Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith") on the border and the Queen is facing to the right.

The reverse side has the Falkland Islands' coat of arms, which bears the words "DESIRE THE RIGHT" (an allusion to English explorer John Davis' ship, "Desire"). A laurel wreath and the words "SOUTH ATLANTIC MEDAL" make up the border.

The ribbon has a central stripe of "sea green" flanked on each side by stripes of white and "empire blue", shaded and watered.^[2] The additional rosette that could be awarded was worn on the ribbon.

[edit] Awarding the medal

To be awarded the medal with the additional rosette, the recipient would have been required to do one days service within 35° and 60° South latitude or do at least one operational sortie south of Ascension Island, between 2 April and 14 June 1982 (April 2 being the date of the Argentine invasion, June 14 being date of Argentine surrender)

The medal alone was awarded for 30 days continuous or accumulated service between 7° and 60° South latitude between 2 April and 14 June 1982 (completing no later than 12 July 1982).^[3]

[edit] Recipients

Nearly 30,000^[4] people were awarded the medal, including Prince Andrew. Civilians and members of the Merchant Navy were also eligible for the medal, such as journalist Michael Nicholson.^[5]