Campaign Medals – General Service Medals

The Naval General Service Medal (NGSM) 1915-1962, was instituted in 1915 to recognise service in minor naval operations for which no separate medal was intended. They were always issued with a clasp for the specific area of operation. A total of seventeen clasps were awarded. Examples in our collection include the ‘Persian Gulf 1909-14’ clasp for operations against gun-runners; the ‘Palestine 1936-39’ and ‘Palestine 1945-48’ clasps which were issued for service in the pre-war Arab uprising and post-war Jewish insurgency; the ‘Minesweeping 1945-51’ clasp which was awarded for six months minesweeping service afloat; the ‘Malaya’ clasp recognising the service of naval personnel, including the Royal New Zealand Navy, during the Malayan Emergency of 1948-1960; and the ‘Yangtze 1949’ clasp for those on HMS Amethyst and other vessels attacked by Communist Chinese forces.

The General Service Medal 1962 was instituted in 1964 (replacing both the Naval General Service Medal 1915-1962 and General Service Medal 1918-1962) to recognise service in minor operations for which no separate medal was intended. This medal was always awarded with a clasp for the specific area of operation. A total of 14 clasps have been issued but only two have been awarded to New Zealanders in significant numbers. These are the ‘Borneo’ and ‘Malaya Peninsula’ clasps awarded for service related to the Indonesian Confrontation of the 1960s.