South Atlantic Medal

Appearance

The medal is made of cupronickel, and is 36 mm in diameter. It was struck by the Royal Mint and issued by the Army Medal Office, Droitwich. It has the following design:

The obverse bears a crowned effigy of The Queen facing right, with the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID:DEF ("Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith").

The reverse has the Falkland Islands' coat of arms, which bears the words "DESIRE THE RIGHT" (an allusion to English explorer John Davis' ship, "Desire"). A laurel wreath below and the words "SOUTH ATLANTIC MEDAL" above make up the border.

The initials and surname, rank or rating, service number and unit of the recipient are diamond engraved on the edge of the medal, although those for Royal Navy officers, as was the tradition, did not include the service number.

The 32 mm ribbon has a central stripe of "sea green" flanked on each side by stripes of white and "empire blue", shaded and watered, symbolising the Atlantic Ocean.

Criteria

The medal with rosette was awarded for one day's service within 35° and 60° South latitude or for at least one operational sortie south of Ascension Island, between 2 April and 14 June 1982 (2 April being the date of the Argentine invasion, 14 June being the date of ceasefire now accepted as the effective Argentine surrender on the islands although the Argentine surrender did not take place until mid August). This, generally, denoted service in the combat zone.

The medal without rosette was awarded for 30 days continuous or accumulated service between 7° and 60° South latitude between 2 April and 14 June 1982 (completing no later than 12 July 1982).

The rosette remains an unusual feature for a British medal and was used partly for economy and speed of manufacture, and also as otherwise fewer than two hundred medals would have been issued to the Royal Air Force. While for other arms the vast majority of the medals were issued with a rosette, over 90% of the medals issued to the Royal Air Force are without the rosette, with the recipients mainly stationed on Ascension Island, some 3,300 nmi north of the Falkland Islands and the war zone. An exception being the Royal Air Force Regiment who had one squadron disembark at San Carlos on 1 June.

Those mentioned in despatches during the campaign wear a bronze oak leaf on the medal ribbon.

Service qualifying for the South Atlantic Medal does not count towards the period required to receive the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal.

Recipients

Initially, about 29,700 people were awarded the medal, including Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Members of the Merchant Navy and civilians were also eligible, for example civil servants serving in Ascension Island, NAAFI staff, war artist Linda Kitson As at 3 November 2017, as a result of an extension of the qualifying period to 21 October 1982, an additional 3,626 medals have been awarded without rosette.

References

References

1. (17 June 2021). "SAMA History". www.sama82.org.
2. "South Atlantic Medal 1982". www.stephen-stratford.com.
3. Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin.. "British Battles and Medals.".
4. Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals in Time of War. (May 1945). "Campaign Stars and the Defence Medal (Regulations)". HM Stationery Office.
5. "Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility". www.mod.uk.
6. (4 October 2016). "Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces (JSP 761) (V5.0 Oct 16). Page 8A-1". MoD Joint Services Publication.
7. Where the [[Rosette (decoration)
8. (4 October 2016). "Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces (JSP 761) (V5.0 Oct 16). Page 12-3". MoD Joint Services Publication.
9. (4 October 2016). "Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces (JSP 761) (V5.0 Oct 16). Para 8B-05, page 8B-2". MoD Joint Services Publication.
10. (16 December 2016). "Michael Nicholson, obituary". Daily Telegraph.
11. (2017-11-17). "Freedom of Information request: number of Medals without Rosette awarded since October 2014".