Gulf War Medal
Conflict
Gulf War 1990 - 1991.
Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.
History
The Gulf War Medal was a British campaign medal presented for service during the Gulf War. The medal was instituted in 1992 and was awarded to officers and men of British forces who served in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as a part of 'Operation Granby' (the Liberation of Kuwait) in 1990-91.
The medal alone was awarded to personnel for thirty days continuous service in the Middle East (in a defined area of operations, including Cyprus) between 2 August 1990 and 7 March 1991 a bar was awarded to those who actually served in the combat area.
Over 45,000 medals were issued including 1,500 to civilians including American, Australian, British, Canadian and New Zealand members of British Aerospace working at Dhahran and Riyadh who received the medal with the clasp 16 January to 28 February.
Description
The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in cupro-nickel. The obverse of this medal bears the crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth and the inscription; ‘ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID. DEF.’ (meaning Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith).
The reverse bears a modern ‘combined operations’ badge with the inscription; 'THE GULF MEDAL' and the date; ‘1990-91’
The ribbon suspender is of a plain, straight swivelling style attached to a fastening that surmounts the medal.
The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim impressed in capital letters.
Ribbon
The ribbon is 32mm wide and is beige (sand) in colour with a narrow dark blue, red and light blue stripe along either edge representing the three armed services.
Bars/Clasps
This medal was issued with the following clasps:-
2 Aug 1990
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Awarded to the members of the Kuwait Liaison Team who were based in Kuwait on the date of the actual invasion.
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16 Jan-28 Feb 1991
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Awarded for service in ‘Operation Granby’. The qualifying service for this award was as follows:-
I). A minimum of seven days continuous service or participation in a minimum of 1 air sortie between these dates in the designated theatre of operations.
This clasp signifies service during the actual conflict.
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NB: A single bronze oak leaf emblem was issued to be worn on the ribbon to signify that the recipient had been ‘Mentioned in Dispatches’.
Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.
Dealer Retail Value */**
Gulf War Medal (GWM)
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£200.00
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Gulf War Medal with 2 Aug clasp
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£2500.00
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GWM with 16 Jan to 28 Feb clasp to Corps
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£225.00
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GWM with 16 Jan to 28 Feb clasp to Regiments
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£300.00
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GWM with 16 Jan to 28 Feb clasp to R.N.
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£300.00
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GWM with 16 Jan to 28 Feb clasp to R.A.F.
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£300.00
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GWM with 16 Jan to 28 Feb clasp to Civilians
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£225.00
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For valuations for medals attached to an attributable group please ‘contact us’.
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* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.
** The individual medal value will vary considerably based on the recipient’s details.
Further Historical Context
This section contains information on:-
- British Forces In The Gulf War.
- The Gulf War.
British Forces In The Gulf War - 'Operation Granby' was the name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 troops were deployed during the conflict.
The total cost of operations was £2.434 billion (1992) of which at least £2.049 billion was paid for by other nations such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia; £200 million of equipment was lost or written off.
'Operation Granby' took its name from John Manners, Marquis of Granby a British commander in the Seven Years' War.
The Joint Commander Gulf Forces (based in the United Kingdom at RAF High Wycombe) was Air Chief Marshal Sir Patrick Hine 1 October 1990-31 March 1991, and Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Grayson from 31 March 1991.
His political adviser was Andrew Palmer. The Commander British Forces Middle East, the in-theatre commander (based in Riyadh), was initially Air Vice Marshal Andrew Wilson (September-October 1990), then Lieutenant-General Sir Peter de la Billière 6 October 1990-March 1991, and Air Commodore Ian Macfadyen from March 1991.
The Air Commander British Forces Middle East (initially Arabian Peninsula) was Air Vice Marshal Andrew Wilson from August to 17 November 1990 then Air Vice Marshal William (Bill) Wratten from 17 November 1990.
The Senior British Naval Officer Middle East was Captain Anthony McEwen, Royal Navy until September 1990 (on HMS York), then Commodore Paul Haddocks September to December 1990. Finally Commodore Christopher Craig, on HMS Brave and HMS London, was in command from 3 December 1990 to March 1991.
This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.
The Gulf War - The Gulf War (2 August 1990 - 28 February 1991), codenamed 'Operation Desert Storm' (17 January 1991 - 28 February 1991) was a war waged by coalition forces from 34 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.
The war is also known under other names, such as the Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Gulf War I, Kuwait War, or the First Iraq War, before the term 'Iraq War' became identified instead with the 2003 Iraq War (also referred to in the U.S. as 'Operation Iraqi Freedom').
Kuwait's invasion by Iraqi troops that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the U.N. Security Council. U.S. President George H. W. Bush deployed U.S. forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the Coalition, the biggest coalition since World War II. The great majority of the Coalition's military forces were from the U.S., with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order.
The war was marked by the beginning of live news on the front lines of the fight, with the primacy of the U.S. network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast images on board the U.S. bombers during 'Operation Desert Storm'.
The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial bombardment on 17 January 1991. This was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a decisive victory for the Coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The Coalition ceased their advance, and declared a cease-fire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on Saudi Arabia's border. Iraq launched Scud missiles against Coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 passed in April 1991 established formal cease-fire terms. The controversies over enforcing this and subsequent resolutions would lead to the outbreak of another war 12 years later.