Sir John Holmes independent medal review 2014 update
Berlin airlift
The General Service Medal 1918-62 with clasp ‘Berlin Airlift’ will be awarded for at least one day’s service to all aircrew, RAF and civilians who took part in the Berlin Airlift operation from 25 June 1948 to 6 October 1949 inclusive.
Applications for the new clasp will be assessed from 1 March 2015 onwards. The first of the awards will be made towards the end of that month (however these timings remain under review). Applications will be dealt with in date order.
Cyprus 1955-59
Those who participated in the suppression of acts of terrorism in Cyprus between 1 April 1955 and 18 April 1959 will qualify for the General Service Medal 1918-62 with clasp ‘CYPRUS’ if they served for 90 days or more.
The qualifying period has been reduced from 120 days, bringing it into line with the qualifying period for service during the Kenya anti-terrorism campaign. Applications are being accepted and will be assessed and dealt with in a strict date order.
Cyprus 1963-64
Following the ‘Sir John Holmes Independent Medal Review’ the government has announced that a new clasp has been given approval.
Those servicemen who served in Cyprus during the period 21 December 1963 to 26 March 1964 will be awarded the General Service Medal (1962) with clasp ‘Cyprus 1963-64’.
Applications for the new clasp will be assessed from 1 March 2015 onwards. The first of the awards will be dispatched towards the end of that month (however these timings remain under review). Applications will be dealt with in date order.
South Atlantic: The South Atlantic Medal
The medal with distinguishing rosette was awarded for 1 days’ service in the Falkland Islands or their dependencies or in the South Atlantic, south of 35° south and north of 60° south, or for 1 operational sortie south of Ascension Island, between 2 April and 14 June 1982.
Following the ‘Sir John Holmes Independent Medal Review’ the qualifying period for the award of the South Atlantic Medal without the Rosette will be extended from 12 July to 21 October 1982, when the airfield at Mount Pleasant became operational.
- Kevin Paton-Feaver
Comments 1
john ivor macer
The holmes recommendation is so unfair as to make it wrong.The first thing is that the the civvy air lines where only their to do a job and make money.The RAF aircrew put their lives into the hands or the loaders and RASC supervises.I had personal experience of this,a Hastings was turned back from Berlin because of a faulty undercarriage Iwas only a few yards from itwhen made a wheels up landing,and the crew walked away and why because 10 tons of coal did not move if it had not been loaded so well and had come forward the plane would have hit the ground nose first,one drink for the loaders. I only found out the Hastings had a built in fault from new and later had several crashes in which a lot of people died,If I had know this at the time I would not have been so keen to be in charge of flying from schleswigland in charge of spare parachutes.My point is every airman or soldier played an important part so after all these years either give to all or none . J.I.MACER ex British Berlin airlift veteran Cpl RASC