South Atlantic Medal
| South Atlantic medal | |
|---|---|
 
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| Awarded by the United Kingdom | |
| Type | Campaign medal |
| Eligibility | British military, Merchant Navy and civilian |
| Awarded for | Service in the South Atlantic, during the Falklands War |
| Campaign | Falklands War |
| Description | Cupronickel disk, 36mm diameter. |
| Clasps | No clasp, a rosette instead. |
  ribbon bars of the medal |
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The South Atlantic Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British military personnel and civilians for service in the Falklands War of 1982, between the United Kingdom and Argentina; 29,700 were issued. The South Atlantic Medal Association was formed in 1997.
The medal is a coin, made of cupronickel, 36 mm in diameter, and was struck by the Royal Mint and issued by the Army Medal Office, Droitwich. The obverse side bears a crowned effigy of the The Queen. Like a modern British coin, it has the abbreviated form of ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSOR ("Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith") on the border and the Queen is facing to the right.
The reverse side has the Falkland Islands' coat of arms, which bears the words "DESIRE THE RIGHT" (an allusion to English explorer John Davis' ship, "Desire"). A laurel wreath and the words "SOUTH ATLANTIC MEDAL" make up the border.
The ribbon has a central stripe of "sea green" flanked on each side by stripes of white and "empire blue", shaded and watered. The additional rosette that could be awarded was worn on the ribbon.
To be awarded the medal with the additional rosette, the recipient would have been required to do one day's service within 35° and 60° South latitude or do at least one operational sortie south of Ascension Island, between 2 April and 14 June 1982 (April 2 being the date of the Argentine invasion, June 14 being the date of Argentine surrender).
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