The General Service Medal (1962)

Time Period: Post-WW2
Year of Institution: 1962
Country: Great Britain, Australia

The General Service Medal 1962 (or 1962 GSM) is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom awarded for what were often arduous campaigns and well fought operations and introduced in 1962 to combine the General Service Medal (1918), which was awarded to the Army and RAF, and the Naval General Service Medal (1915). The 1962 General Service Medal was awarded until 2007.

The General Service Medal 1962 Design

The 1962 GSM is a circular silver medal measuring 36 mm in diameter. The obverse bears the crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II with the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F.D. The reverse shows the words ‘FOR CAMPAIGN SERVICE‘ under a crown, all surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves. The name, rank, service number and regiment or corps of the awardee are annotated on the rim of the medal.

The ribbon is 32 mm wide, purple with two outer stripes of dark green. In different proportions, these are the same colours as the GSM 1918–62.

Those mentioned in despatches during a campaign qualifying for the 1962 GSM wear a bronze oak leaf on the medal ribbon.

Fourteen clasps were awarded, and the medal always had one of them. The maximum appears to have been six, which were worn in the order that the recipient qualified for them and not the date of the relevant Army Order. There was no minimum qualifying period for each clasp for those killed, wounded or disabled during operations.

The clasps were: Cyprus 1963-64, Borneo, Radfan, South Arabia, Malay Peninsula, South Vietnam, Northern Ireland, Dhofar, Lebanon, Gulf of Suez, Gulf, Kuwait, North Irak and Turkey and Air Operations Irak.