UK Armed Forces Veteran Lapel Badge
Did you serve in HM Armed Forces up to and including 31st December 1954?
Men and women who served in HM Armed Forces up to and including 31st December 1954 are entitled to a Veterans Badge. For full details and the application form go to the Ministry of Defence website
posted by Peter G at 9:57 pm
12 Comments:
Peter
They sent mine automatically when I qualified for the "Return to Cassino" trip, they are actually quite good quality and came complete with a fancy box.
Peter - shall I get one inasmuch as I did aerve His Majesty from 1942 until 1947 - or will they deduct 42% for living in Canada - probably hang on to the fancy box, and send the badge in a kleenex !
Good to hear from Audrey once more ! - of course Goldstein gets his badge first !!! That guy has some sort of pull with both the BBc and HMG
Canning, Trooper (I believe)
Not only with the BBC and the the Palace but even the RCMP.
Goldstein, Corporal (and don't you forget it!)
Dear Frank
What you have failed to realise is that when one is talking about a wartime rank the concept of inflation applies.
I would consider that my 1946 rank of War Substantive Corporal would equate at least to that of a peacetime Brigadier General !
and to think that I failed my sixth "WOSBIE" because I could not think quickly enough when the little fat major asked if I could spell the word reconnaisance - I thought about the spelligng wheareas the correct answer was either yes or no - so the little fat XYZ turned to the Brigadier ans sias _ "I don't think this chap will make it" - the Brigadier humped his reply ! - I was out - otherwise I might have been telling chaps like corporals and WO1's to get fell in.
All for the best however as out of the six "pals" who applied for Commissions - three were killed in Burma and the other who failed wa killed at the Gothic line as a trooper. The last one spent a whole week at Cassino starting as a subaltern and at the end of the week only the Colonel and he were still standing - so they and nine other ranks took the colours home - Rex Armitage finished up his week in Italy as Major ! Me - I finished as I started - a trooper
Getting back to the Veterans lapel badge - I downloaded the application forms and as I was reading them - for Veronica and myself... my mind wandered back to Veronica's family contribution to that war.
Her father was already in receipt of 100% pension for being seriously wounded in WW1 with my old regiment which became the 16/5th Lancers in 1922.
Her eldest sister was married to a man who served at Dunkirk;El Alamein ; Tunis; Sicily; and D day through to Germany, being wounded three times, and finished up as a Captain in the 1st Duke of wellingtons in 50th Div
Her eldest brother served as a navigator on Lancasters for nearly five years.
Her next sister served for five years in the WAAF - as she did !
Her young brother served for three years in the merchant navy.
Veronica was a corporal in charge of the office which looked after the Dead and Missing Airmen's personal effects in order that the personal effects went back to the next of kin.
One day a member of her staff aproached her with the words - "here is a chap with your name Corporal" - it was her elder brother who had been shot down returning from a raid on Dussledorf. Veronica was given seven days compassionate in order to break the news to the family.
I do believe that she deserves a lapel badge, to go with her 1939-45; Defence; and Victory medals.
And who could not drink to that ?
Simmer down chaps.
On a practical note, you will see that the form can be downloaded in pdf Acrobat Reader or Word format versions.
If you choose Word, you can enter (type in) all your details on the form on your PC and print out your completed form ready for signature and posting, leaving a record on your PC.
Tom
I was sorry to learn that Veronica's eldest brother was shot down on a raid on Düsseldorf.
Can you give his name and the date this happened? I could then give you fuller details of the raid, and of the crew, aircraft, and circumstances.
Peter -
Leo Cristopher Sadler was shot down returning from Dusseldorf raid on St Georg'es day - April 23rd 1945 - she reminded me of the date when driving back from Vancouver last Sunday - mentioning that he had been dead for 61 years.
His body was washed up off the coast and he is buried in a small cemetery in - I beleive Holland
- this was after D Day so his body had been floating sround for some time.I also beleive he is mentioned in the 55,000 Bomber crew book.
Frank - many are the times when I blessed God for sparing me a commission as three buddies went out to Burma as 2nd Lts only to be killed within days of arriving.
Mike Azzopardi is buried at Coriano Ridge which I noticed with some astonishment on my visit there in 2004 - he was with the 48th RTR in our Bde.
Rex Armitage was spared by the fact that he arrived at Cassino in the midst of a battle where his regiment was being slaughtered and he was sitting at HQ answering the phone for a week -
he finally went back to the U.K. and was 2ndi/c to his Colonel in training rookies for D Day - he never left the U.K. again. We met once more at Barnard Castle days before demob.
There has to be a reason !
I hope you all obtain and wear the lapel badge with pride! Some of us had not been born by 31 December 1954, and some of us did not not serve in the Forces.
The medals I do have are either for ballroom dancing or athletics. As I am now 'Over 40' I am officially classed as an Athletics 'Veteran'. However, I don't think I qualify for this Veterans Medal!
To be more serious, thanks to Peter for all the information. I will pass on how to apply for the medal and lapel badge. It does not seem to be widely publicised that this is available. This is a real pity as many who qualify will miss out on it, when it is something they should receive as recognition for their efforts as young men and women.
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