Lists of abbreviations used on British Empire World War I medals
When a World War I medal was issued to a member of Commonwealth forces, it was issued with a Service Number, Rank, Name and Regiment.[citation needed] This information should be on every medal that was issued during the First World War.[citation needed]
During World War I, there were four main medals issued: the 1914 Star, 1914-15 Star, Victory Medal, and the British War Medal.
Service Number[edit]
From a service number it is sometimes possible to determine in which part of the army a medal holder served.[citation needed] However, this is not always the case.[note 1]
Abbreviations for Rank and Unit[edit]
There are many abbreviations for the rank and unit. The British National archive gives full listings of both Ranks and Units.[1]
Medal Card Abbreviations[edit]
- CRV - Certified Receipt Voucher[citation needed]
- Theatres Of War[citation needed]
- 1 Western Europe
- a France and Belgium
- b Italy
- 2 Balkans
- a Greek Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria and European Turkey
- b Gallipoli (Dardanelles)
- 3 Russia (4–5 August 1914 to 1–2 July 1920)
- 4 Egypt
- a 4–5 November 1914 to 18–19 March 1916
- b 18–19 March 1916 to 31 October - 1 November 1918
- 5 Africa
- a East Africa, Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia
- b South West Africa
- c Cameroon
- d Nigeria
- e Togoland
- 6 Asia
- a Hedjaz
- b Mesopotamia
- c Persia
- d Trans Caspia
- e South West Arabia
- f Aden
- g Frontier regions of India
- h Tsingtau
- 7 Australasia
- a New Britain
- b New Ireland
- c Kaiser Wilhelmland
- d Admiralty Islands
- e Nauru
- f German Samoa
Prefix letters and numbers[edit]
The following is an estimated[clarification needed] list of all the Prefix Letter & Numbers (of what?).[2][not in citation given]
- Prefixes on medals issues to members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force
- 1/ - Samoan Advance Force
- 2/ - Artillery
- 3/ - Medical Corps
- 4/ - Engineers
- 5/ - Service Corps
- 6/ - Canterbury Infantry
- 7/ - Canterbury Mounted Rifles
- 8/ - Otago Rifles
- 9/ - Otago Mounted Rifles
- 10/ - Wellington Rifles
- 11/ - Wellington Mounted Rifles
- 12/ - Auckland Rifles
- 13/ - Auckland Mounted Rifles
- 14/ - Army Service Corps Divisional Train
- 15/ - Headquarters Staff
- 16/ - Maori Battalion
- 17/ - Veterinary Corps
- 18/ - Chaplains Department
- 19/ - Samoan Relief Force, Infantry
- 20/ - Samoan Relief Force, Mounted Rifles
- 21/ - Army Pay Corps
- 22/ - Nursing Service
- 23/ - 1st Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade
- 24/ - 2nd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade
- 25/ - 3rd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade
- 26/ - 4th Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade
- Prefixes on Silver War Badge
- A - Australia Silver War Badge Prefix
- B - Unknown Silver War Badge Prefix[citation needed]
- I - India Silver War Badge Prefix[citation needed]
- MN - Merchant Navy Silver War Badge Prefix[citation needed]
- NZ - New Zealand Silver War Badge Prefix
- O - Unknown Silver War Badge Prefix[citation needed]
- RAF - Royal Air Force Silver War Badge Prefix
- RM - Royal Marines Silver War Badge Prefix[citation needed]
- RN - Royal Navy Silver War Badge Prefix
- SA - South Africa Silver War Badge Prefix
- Others
- 3/ - Seaforth Highlanders 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 3/ - Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 3/ - Royal Berkshire Regiment 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 3/ - Gordon Highlanders 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 3/ - Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 3/ - Royal Highlanders 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 3/ - Cameron Highlanders 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 4/ - Royal Irish Rifles 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion
- 5/ - Connaught Rangers 5th (Service) Battalion
- 15/ - West Yorkshire Regiment 15th (Leeds Pals) Battalion
- A - Army Service Corps Old Army Special Reserve
- A - King's Royal Rifle Corps Early wartime recruits
- A - Royal Scots Fusiliers 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- A - King's Own Scottish Borderers 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- A - Highland Light Infantry 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- A - Scottish Rifles 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- A - Army Ordnance Corps
- A - Royal Fleet Reserve First period of enlistment
- A (HT) - Army Service Corps Horse Transport Special Reserve
- AA - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Anti-Aircraft
- ARMR - Army Ordnance Corps Armourer
- ASE / ASR - Army Service Corps
- B - Royal Fusiliers 26th (Banker's) Battalion
- B - Royal Fleet Reserve Second Period of Enlistment
- B - King's Royal Rifle Corps
- B - Highland Light Infantry
- B - Scottish Rifles 4th (Special Reserve) Battalion
- B / BZ - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Bristol Division
- B - Army Service Corps Special Reserve
- B (HT) - Army Service Corps Horse Transport Special Reserve TF
- C - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Clyde Division
- C - King's Royal Rifle Corps 16th Battalion onwards enlistment
- C - Royal Fleet Reserve 3rd Period of Enlistment
- C - Royal Munster Fusiliers 1st Garrison Battalion
- C - Middlesex Regiment
- C - Rifle Brigade
- C - Royal Fleet Reserve Chatham / Royal Navy Chatham
- C (MT) - Army Service Corps Mechanical Transport Special Reserve
- CAT - Army Service Corps Caterpillar Mechanical Transport
- CH - Royal Marines Chatham Division / Royal Marine Light Infantry / Royal Fleet Reserve Chatham
- CH/RMP - Royal Marine Police Chatham
- CHT - Army Service Corps, Corps of Horse Transport
- CMT - Army Service Corps, Corps of Motor Transport
- CZ - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Clyde Division wartime enlistment
- D - Dragoons
- D - Royal Fleet Reserve Devonport
- D - Royal Navy Devonport
- DEAL - Royal Marines Deal Depot
- DEPOT / D - Royal Marine Light Infantry Deal Depot Permanent Staff
- DEV - Royal Fleet Reserve Devonport
- DM2 - Army Service Corps Mechanical Transport Learners, discontinued 11/16
- E - Royal Fusiliers 17th (Empire) Battalion
- E - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Birmingham Electrical Volunteers
- E - Army Service Corps Forage (ordinary rates of army pay)
- EX - Royal Marines Exton Division (World War II Only)
- F - Middlesex Regiment 17th & 23rd (Football) Battalions
- F - Royal Naval Air Service / Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
- F - Army Service Corps Forage (not paid from Army Funds)
- G - Royal Irish Fusiliers 1st, 2nd 3rd (Garrison) Battalion
- G - Home Counties Regiments New Army men and later
- GOA - Royal Navy Goa
- GS - British Army General Service Enlistment
- GSR / GSSR - Royal Sussex Regiment Special Reserve, enlisted under hostilities only terms
- H - Hussars
- H - North Irish Horse Given to all on strength in mid-1917
- J - Royal Navy Seaman branch Prefix
- J - Royal Fusiliers 38th, 39th 40th, 42nd (Judean) Battalions
- J - Royal Navy Seamen and Communications
- K - "Kitchener battalion"???
- K - Royal Navy Stokers and Mechanicians
- K - Royal Fusiliers 22nd (Kensington) Battalion
- KP / KW / KX - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Crystal Palace Enlistment from Kitchener's New Armies
- L - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve London Division
- L - Lancers
- L - Home Counties Regiments Regulars
- L - Royal Artillery Wartime enlistment
- L - South Wales Borderers 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- L - Royal Navy Officers' Stewards, some Officers' Cooks
- L - Royal Navy Lee-on-Solent (FAA)
- LSR - Royal Sussex Regiment Special Reserve, enlisted under regular terms
- LZ - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve London Division wartime enlistment
- M - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Mersey Division
- M - Army Service Corps Mechanical Transport
- M - Royal Navy Miscellaneous enlistments (e.g. writers etc.)
- M - Royal Navy Others - Artificers, Electrical, Supply etc.
- M1 & 2 /(SR) - Army Service Corps Enlisted Special Reserve for New Armies
- M1, 2 - Army Service Corps Mechanical Transport
- MALTA - Royal Navy Malta
- MB - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Motor Boat Reserve
- MC - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Mine Clearance Service
- MFA - Mercantile Fleet Auxiliary
- MS - Army Service Corps Mechanical Specials
- MZ - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Mersey Division wartime enlistment
- N - Royal Army Medical Corps
- O - Rifle Brigade
- P - Military Foot Police
- P - Royal Fleet Reserve Portsmouth / Royal Navy Portsmouth
- P - Dragoon Guards
- PET - Army Service Corps Petroleum Dept
- PLY - Royal Marines Plymouth Division RMLI
- PLY/RMP - Royal Marine Police Plymouth
- PO - Royal Marines Portsmouth Division RMLI
- PO/RMP - Royal Marine Police Portsmouth
- PO - Royal Fleet Reserve Portsmouth
- PS - Royal Fusiliers 18th, 19th, 20th & 21st (Public Schools) Battalions
- PS - Middlesex Regiment 16th (Public Schools) Battalion
- PW - Middlesex Regiment 18th, 19th & 26th (Public Works) Battalions
- PZ - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Crystal Palace Enlistment from civilian life
- R - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
- R - Army Service Corps Remounts
- R - King's Royal Rifle Corps Later recruits up to 16th Battalion
- R4, RX4 - Army Service Corps 1st/2nd/3rd/4th New Armies Remounts
- RMA - Royal Marines Artillery
- RMB - Royal Marines Band
- RME - Royal Marines Engineers
- RS & R/TS - Army Service Corps Remount Specials
- RX - Army Service Corps Army Remount Section
- S - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Sussex Division
- S - Army Service Corps Supply Branch
- S - Scottish Regiments Wartime Enlistment
- S - Royal Army Medical Corps
- S - Royal Artillery
- S - Highland Regiments Wartime Enlistment
- S - Home Counties Regiments 3rd Battalion
- S - Rifle Brigade
- S - Royal Munster Fusiliers
- S - Army Ordnance Corps
- S - Dorset Regiment
- S1, 2, 3, 4 - Army Service Corps 1st/2nd/3rd/4th New Armies Supply (S4 Labour)
- SD - Sussex Regiment 11th, 12th & 13th (South Downs) Battalions
- SE - Army Veterinary Corps 9th Section
- SF - Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (Short Service)
- SK - Royal Navy Stokers (Short Service)
- SM - Royal Navy Miscellaneous (Short Service)
- SPTS - Royal Fusiliers 23rd & 24th (Sportsman) Battalions
- SR - British Army Special Reserve ?
- SRMT - Army Service Corps Special Reserve Motor Transport
- SS - Army Service Corps Supply Specials
- SS - Royal Navy Seamen and Communications (Short Service)
- STK - Royal Fusiliers 10th (Stockbroker's) Battalion
- SWS - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Shore Wireless Service
- SZ - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Sussex Division wartime enlistment
- T - Army Service Corps Horse Transport
- T - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Tyne Division
- T - Army Ordnance Corps
- T / TF - Territorial Force
- T1 & 2/(SR) - Army Service Corps Enlisted Special Reserve for New Armies
- T1, 2, 3, 4 - Army Service Corps 1st/2nd/3rd/4th New Armies Horse Transport
- TR - Trimmer (Royal Navy, Mercantile Fleet Auxiliary etc.)
- TS - Army Service Corps Transport Specials
- TT - Army Veterinary Corps Territorial Force ?
- TZ - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Tyne Division wartime enlistment
- W - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Wales Division
- W - Cheshire Regiment 13th (Wirral) Battalion
- W - Royal Artillery 38th (Welsh) Division
- WR - Royal Engineers Waterways and Railways
- WT4 - Welsh Army Service Corps (see T4 above)
- WZ - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Wales Division wartime enlistment
- Y - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Deferred enlistment (replaced by divisional prefix on actual enlistment)
- Y - King's Royal Rifle Corps Early wartime enlistment
- Z - Rifle Brigade[citation needed]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ This does not apply to the Silver War Badge (SWB), which has its own code.
References[edit]
- ↑ "DocumentsOnline". Archived from the original on 2012-01-13.
- ↑ "Home". britishmedalforum.com.
External links[edit]
- Images of all WW1 medals, Worcestershire Medal Service Ltd web site
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