A question about the British military

[Critch]

Does the British military have an equivalent medal to our Purple Heart?

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[Gibbs505]

I do not belive so. They used to have 'stripes' that a wounded man would wear on the sleeve, one stripe for each wound.

[RJW NZ]

Now we're going to get a decent thread of insulks etc. lol, flesh wounds and other grazes were just a bother...real soldiers in my comic books carried on, just wearing few more bandages...

Its a good question, do we have an equivilant to the purple heart and if not, why not?

[Bob Womack]

As of April 19, 2008, apparently they did not. More HERE.

Bob

[Mk VII]

The British military has never been all that free with medals. Until recently many with years of service would have nothing more than a G.S. Medal with some clasps to show for it.

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

I wouldn't know about that, While the U.S. had medals for the Indian Wars, the Spanish American War, plus WW1 and WW2, The British have campaign medals by the ton. Then there are the "stars" both WW1 and WW2.

Of course it wasn't until Waterloo that everyone got a medal instead of just the officers. Medals for previous wars followed but again, long after the event, and most likely only long serving officers or other ranks would have lived to recieve them.

[Peter Laidler]

We have JUST issued a General Service Medal for those who served in the Canal Zone................ in 1956! A national newspaper mistakenly called it the Anal Zone Medal. May be they weren't mistaken!

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

So over 50 years after the event, they probably won't have to issue a lot of them, and certainly by now only to ex-servicemen.

[Critch]

I do remember seeing a picture of the Royal Navy skipper of one of the ships that sank the Bismarck, and he only had one row of ribbons...so I think they are little less inclined to just hand them out...

[sprog]

With a stiff upper lip who needs a purple heart.
I never could understand getting a medal for being stupid enough to get yourself shot... now a medl for shooting the ENEMY that's a whole different matter.