Territorial Forces War Medal 1914-1919

 

World War I.

 

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

 

 

The Territorial Forces War Medal was a British Empire campaign medal presented for service during World War I. The medal was instituted in 1920 and was awarded to members of the British Territorial Force and Territorial Force Nursing Services who volunteered for service overseas on or before 30 September 1914.

 

They had to have been serving with the force on 4 August 1914, or had completed four years’ service with the force before 4 August 1914 and rejoined the force on or before 30 September 1914.

 

In addition, they had to have undertaken, either verbally or by written agreement, on or before 30 September 1914, to serve outside the United Kingdom, with such agreement being in place after 4 August 1914, and have actually served outside the United Kingdom between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918 (both dates inclusive although the last date was in 1918 although the years on the reverse of the medal states; '1914-19').

 

In all cases the recipient must not have qualified for the 1914 Star or 1914-15 Star.

 

Given the requirements, it is of no surprise to find that this is the rarest of the five British Great War medals with only 34,000 having been awarded.

 

 

The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. The obverse of this medal bears the un-crowned head of George V and the legend ‘GEORGVIS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:’

 

The reverse depicts a laurel wreath containing the inscription; ‘FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE OVERSEAS 1914 - 19’ and; ‘TERRITORIAL WAR MEDAL’ around.

 

The ribbon suspender is a straight economy non-swivelling type, which is riveted to the medal.

 

The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim impressed in block capital letters.

 

 

 

The medal ribbon is 32mm wide and is of a watered gold colour with two thin green stripes toward the outer edges.

 

 

None were authorised for this medal.

 

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.

 

** The individual medal value will vary considerably based on the recipient’s details.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Territorial Force Of Great Britain.

 

The Territorial Force Of Great Britain - The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army. The Territorial Force was formed by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane, following the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, which combined and re-organised the old Volunteer Army with the Yeomanry. The TF was formed on 1 April 1908. As part of the same process, remaining units of militia were renamed Special Reserve.

 

The Territorial Force was envisaged as a home defence force for service during wartime; units were liable to serve anywhere within the United Kingdom when the force was embodied, but could not be compelled to serve outside the country.

 

However, any member or unit of the force could volunteer to be liable for overseas service - in 1910, when asked to nominate for Imperial Service overseas in the event of mobilisation, less than 10% of the force chose to do so. Individual members could also choose to be liable to be called up for service within the United Kingdom even in situations when the force as a whole was not embodied.

 

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.