Oval cupro-nickel medal on scroll and ribbon bar suspension; the face with the crowned head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, circumscribed ‘ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID. DEF.’ (Elizabeth II by the Grace of God Queen, Defender of the Faith); the reverse with three escutcheons bearing the initials ‘CD’ (Civil Defence), ‘AFS’ (Auxiliary Fire Service) and ‘NHSR’ (National Hospital Service Reserve) above, lower left and lower right respectively, oak leaves and acorns between, signed ‘JA’; privately engraved on the edge ‘7154 Miss B. M. Rogers, 3rd April 1964’; on original ribbon mounted for wear; in original Royal Mint fitted embossed case of issue. The medal was instituted in March 1961 at the height of the Cold War and awarded for 15 years continuous voluntary service in a number of civil defence organisations. After the Civil Defence Corps, Auxiliary Fire Service and National Hospital Service Reserve were disbanded in 1968, only members of the Warning and Monitoring Organisation continued to receive the medal on the UK mainland, though it continued to be awarded to civil defence volunteers in the Channel Isles, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Malta and Hong Kong. Awards in the U.K. ceased with the disbandment of the UKWMO in 1992 and no awards have been made elsewhere since June 1997, though the medal remains in existence. A very good example.
|