Silver War Badge

 

World War I.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The Silver War Badge was issued in the United Kingdom to service personnel who had been honourably discharged due to wounds or sickness during World War I. The badge, sometimes known as the ‘Discharge Badge’, ‘Wound Badge’ or ‘Services Rendered Badge’, was first issued in September 1916, along with an official certificate of entitlement.

 

The sterling silver lapel badge was intended to be worn in civilian clothes. It had been the practice of some women to present white feathers to apparently able-bodied young men who were not wearing the King's uniform. The badge was to be worn on the right breast while in civilian dress, it was forbidden to be worn on a military uniform.

 

 

The badge is 33mm in diameter and cast in silver. The obverse bears the royal cipher of GRI (for Georgius Rex Imperator; George, King and Emperor) and around the rim is inscribed; ‘FOR KING AND EMPIRE + SERVICES RENDERED +’. Each badge was uniquely numbered on the reverse.

 

The War Office made it known that they would not replace Silver War Badges if they went missing, however if one was handed into a police station then it would be returned to the War Office.

 

If the original recipient could be traced at his or her discharge address then the badge would be returned. A very similar award, known as the King's Badge, was issued in World War II. Although each was accompanied by a certificate, issues of this latter award were not numbered.

 

 

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Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* 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.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- Great Britain And Empire World War I Casualties.

 

Great Britain And Empire World War I Casualties - From all sides, it is estimated that the total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was over 37 million. There were over 16 million deaths and 20 million wounded ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history.

 

The total number of deaths includes about 10 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians. The Entente Powers (also known as the Allies) lost about 6 million soldiers while the Central Powers lost about 4 million. At least 2 million died from diseases and 6 million went missing, presumed dead.

 

About two-thirds of military deaths in World War I were in battle, unlike the conflicts that took place in the 19th century when the majority of deaths were due to disease. Improvements in medicine as well as the increased lethality of military weaponry were both factors in this development. Nevertheless disease, including the Spanish flu, still caused about one third of total military deaths for all belligerents.

 

It is estimated that the British Empire lost some 1,226,597 service personnel 'killed in action' across all countries from within the Empire and across all theatres of war, with a further 2,090,212 'wounded in action'.

 

Specifically, from a population of 45.4 million people, Great Britain suffered 888,939 'killed in action' (of which 2,000 were civilians), while a further 107,00 civilians deaths were attributed directly to the effects of war - in total 2.19% of the population.

 

Additionally, some 1,663,435 British service personnel were classed as 'wounded in action'.

 

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.