1939–1945 Star

The 1939–1945 Star
Awarded to a South African, C276539 J.P. Lemmetjies
Awarded by the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India
Country	United Kingdom
Type	Military campaign medal
Eligibility	All Ranks
Awarded for	180 days of operational service or 60 days of operational flying
Campaign(s)	Second World War
Clasps	BATTLE OF BRITAIN BOMBER COMMAND
Statistics
Established	8 July 1943
First awarded	1943
Last awarded	22 December 2013
Order of wear
Next (higher)	India General Service Medal (1936)
Next (lower)	Atlantic Star
Ribbon bar (left) and rosettes for the Battle of Britain (centre) and Bomber Command (right) clasps

The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to subjects of the British Commonwealth for service in the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, the Battle of Britain Clasp and the Bomber Command Clasp.

Altogether eight campaign stars and nine clasps were initially instituted for campaign service during the Second World War. On 8 July 1943, the 1939–43 Star (later named the 1939–1945 Star) and the Africa Star were the first two of these Stars to be instituted. One more campaign star, the Arctic Star, and one more clasp, the Bomber Command Clasp, were belatedly added on 26 February 2013, more than sixty-seven years after the end of the war.

In March 1944, British prime minister Winston Churchill referenced both the 1939–43 Star and Africa Star in a speech to the Commons. The number awarded by this date was:

Of all these campaign stars, only the 1939–1945 Star covered the full duration of the Second World War from its outbreak on 3 September 1939 to the victory over Japan on 2 September 1945.

No-one could be awarded more than five (now six) campaign stars and no-one could be awarded more than one clasp to any one campaign star. Five of the nine (now ten) clasps were the equivalents of their namesake campaign stars and were awarded for the same respective campaigns as those stars, to be worn on the ribbon of that campaign star of the applicable group which had been earned first. The maximum of six possible campaign stars are the following:

The institution of the 1939–43 Star (later named the 1939–1945 Star) was announced on 8 July 1943 and, in August, it was announced that the first uniform ribbons would be issued to qualifying personnel later in that year. The medals themselves were not intended to be available until after the cessation of hostilities. Some ribbon issues to overseas troops were delayed, but many had been received by the end of 1943 and were worn by recipients throughout the remainder of the war.

The 1939–1945 Star was awarded for operational service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945, the duration of the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, along with rosettes to be worn on the ribbon bar of the medal to denote the award of a clasp.