Army Career
L to R
1) The British
War Medal was
a campaign medal of the British
Empire,
for service in World War I.
2) The
Victory Medal
was issued to all those who received the 1914 Star or
the 1914-15 Star, and to most of those
who were awarded the British War Medal - it was never awarded singly.
3) The France
and Germany Star was
a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War
II. The medal was awarded for operational service in France, Belgium,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Germany from 6 June 1944 (D-Day) to 8 May 1945.
4) The Defence Medal was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II. It was instituted to recognise both military and some types of civilian service. The qualifying time required depending on the area served is: 1) UK - 1080 days 2)Overseas non-operational - 360 days
5) The War Medal 1939–1945 was a British decoration awarded to those who had served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy full-time for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. . It is sometimes described as the "Victory Medal" for World War II, although that is not its correct name.
Uncle Doc who became a Major, never dwelt on his war years and army career in general conversation. That was true of many who witnessed some of the worst years of the 1900's.
In World War 1 Doc was in the Royal Fusiliers as an officer, becoming Captain. On 1 March 1916 he went to serve in France.
During the Second World War, he was in the Hampshire Regiment, being part of the important defence operations of the forts overlooking and commanding the Portmouth Harbour - a key operation. His only comments I fully remember, were something like 'There was bad on both sides.' He had witnessed brutality in the British Army but never told the story.
SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE/ 16 AUGUST, 1946
Hampshire R.
Capt. Arthur Cecil ROPER (136881) to be
Lt. 26th June 1940.