Historical information

Medal belonged to Joan Grace Gibson (Mitchell) Service numbers: VFX53656 VX53656 VX38752.

The Pacific Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Pacific Campaign from 1939 to 1945, during the Second World War. The reverse is plain, however Stars issued to Australian personnel typically have recipient names engraved on the reverse.

Significance

The medal is of high significance and should be kept in the collection.

Physical description

Made from yellow copper zinc alloy with somewhat sharp six points. The metal of the medal is cool-to-touch. The obverse has a central and textured design of the Royal Cypher 'GRJ VI', surmounted by a crown. A circlet, the top of which is covered by the crown, surrounds the cypher and is inscribed 'THE PACIFIC STAR'. The reverse is engraved with 'VFX53656 J.G. GIBSON'. The ribbon is tactile with red, navy, and light blue stripes. The dark blue, red, and light blue stripes signify equal contributions of the Navy, Army, and Air Force across all fronts. It is worth noting that typically the Second World War 1939-45 Star ribbon would be matched with a medal that also states the Second World War 1939-45 Star. However, this Second World War 1939-45 Star ribbon is matched with a medal that denotes the Pacific Star. [I believe that the ribbon on 202508.259 and 202508.260 have been swapped at some point.].

Inscriptions & markings

'VFX53656 / J.G. GIBSON' [Engraved on reverse of medal]