King’s War Service Badge

 

World War II.

 

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

 

 

The King's War Service Badge was a large silver pin to be worn only on civilian clothing. It was instituted in 1941 and issued by the British government to persons who served after World War II had commenced - 3 September 1939 - and who were discharged through injury due to war service.

 

Its basic purpose was to show that the wearer was a veteran. Included among the eligible were members of the armed forces, the merchant navy, the fishing fleets, the Coast Guard, Police, Civil Defence Services, and the Home Guard.

 

 

The badge is 26mm wide and cast in silver. Like the better known Silver War Badge of World War I, the King's Badge included the initials; 'GRI' for Georgios Rex Imperator on the obverse, in this case referring to King-Emperor George VI. (The earlier World War I badge was in the name of his father, George V).

 

The inscription around the initials was also changed from; 'For King and Empire Services Rendered' to; 'For Loyal Service'.

 

While it did come with a certificate, unlike its World War I counterpart the King's Badge had no serial number.

 

 

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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 II Casualties.

 

Great Britain And Empire World War II Casualties - World War II fatality statistics vary, with estimates of total dead ranging from 50 million to more than 85 million, making it the deadliest war in world history in absolute terms of total dead but not in terms of deaths relative to the world population. The higher figure of 85 million includes deaths from war-related disease and famine.

 

Civilians killed totalled from 38 to 55 million, including 19 to 25 million from war-related disease and famine. Total military dead ranges from between 22 to 25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 5 million prisoners of war.

 

It is estimated that the British Empire lost some 580,497 service personnel 'killed in action' across all countries from within the Empire and across all theatres of war, with a further 470,000 'wounded in action'.

 

Specifically, from a population of 47.8 million people, Great Britain suffered 383,800 'killed in action', while a further 67,100 civilian deaths were attributed directly to the effects of war - in total 0.94% of the population.

 

Additionally, some 300,000 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.