Defence Medal

The British campaign medals are awarded to members of the British Armed Forces, Allied Forces and civilians participating in specific military missions. During the Second World War, a total of eighteen such decorations were issued. One of these is the Defence Medal on display, which was donated to the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin by the local branch of the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy. The Defence Medal was awarded to a number of Poles, but no information is known about the person awarded this particular one. The decoration, established in May 1945 for the defence of the homeland during the Second World War, could be awarded to citizens of the British Commonwealth who served as military and civilian service personnel. Awarded, therefore, were not only employees of the UK Armed Forces, but also the Home Guard, the Civil Defence Service or members and employees of a wide variety of services and organisations, such as the fire service, police, civil air transport, civilian nursing reserves, coastguards, lighthouse keepers, or members of the Women's Voluntary Services, as long as they were subordinated to local civil services, performed analogous duties or their units were active immediately after enemy attacks. The length of service qualifying for the medal depended on the nature of the service and the area in which it was performed. Hence, the period of service required for decoration in areas exposed to air attack may have been shorter. Regardless of seniority, the Defence Medal was awarded to, among others: persons who, while performing service qualifying for the decoration, died as a result of enemy action, while those awarded the George Cross or the George Medal were awarded regardless of their profession. Anna Lew-Machniak