1914-15 Star Medal¹

• Award*: 1914-15 Star Medal was awarded to Walter Edward Adamson Neave steamship purser after 14 March 1919.¹

Notes

• Note for Web: 1914-15 Star Medal Established in December 1918.
  The front of the 1914-15 Star medal (Pip)
  
  Also known as 'Pip'.
  
  This bronze medal was authorized in 1918. It is very similar to the 1914 Star but it was issued to a much wider range of recipients. Broadly speaking it was awarded to all who served in any theatre of war against Germany between 5th August 1914 and 31st December 1915, except those eligible for the 1914 Star. Similarly, those who received the Africa General Service Medal or the Sudan 1910 Medal were not eligible for the award.
  
  Like the 1914 Star, the 1914-15 Star was not awarded alone. The recipient had to have received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. The reverse is plain with the recipient's service number, rank, name and unit impressed on it.
  
  An estimated 2.4 million of these medals were issued..²
• Note for Web*: 1914-15 Star Medal The 1914-15 Star was awarded to personnel who saw service in any theatre of war between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915, other than those who had already qualified for the 1914 Star..³
• Note for Web: 1914-15 Star Medal There were five campaign medals available for individuals who saw service in the First World War. An individual, male or female, could be issued with a maximum of three of these medals, although there are a small number of exceptions to the rule.
  
  Service medals were issued automatically to other ranks, but officers or their next of kin had to apply for them. Medals were impressed with the name of the recipient and usually included some or all of the following: service number, rank, first name or initial, surname and military unit (Regiment or Corps). This was either on the rim of the medal or in the case of a star, on the reverse.
  
  In addition to the five campaign medals a badge was available to officers and men who had been honourably discharged or had retired as a result of sickness or wounds from war service.
  
  British Campaign Medal Sets
  The 1914 Star
  The 1914-15 Star
  The British War Medal, 1914-18
  The Allied Victory Medal
  The Territorial Force War Medal, 1914-1919
  The Silver War Badge
  Mercantile Marine War Medal.²
• Note for Web*: 1914-15 Star Medal Pip, Squeak and Wilfred
  Three of the British campaign medals: The 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Three of the British campaign medals: The 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal.     
  
  Pip, Squeak and Wilfred are the affectionate names given to the three WW1 campaign medals — The 1914 Star or 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal respectively. These medals were primarily awarded to the Old Contemptibles (B.E.F.) and by convention all three medals are worn together and in the same order from left to right when viewed from the front. The set of three medals or at least the British War Medal and the Victory Medal are the most likely medals to be found among family heirlooms.
  Book cover of Pip Squeak and Wilfred     
  
  When the WW1 medals were issued in the 1920's it coincided with a popular comic strip published by the Daily Mirror newspaper. It was written by Bertram J. Lamb (Uncle Dick), and drawn by the cartoonist Austin Bowen Payne (A.B. Payne). Pip was the dog, Squeak the penguin and Wilfred the young rabbit. It is believed that A. B. Payne's batman during the war had been nicknamed “Pip-squeak” and this is where the idea for the names of the dog and penguin came from. For some reason the three names of the characters became associated with the three campaign medals being issued at that time to many thousands of returning servicemen, and they stuck.
  
  “Mutt and Jeff”
  The two British campaign medals commonly found as family heirlooms nicknamed Mutt and Jeff: the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. The two British campaign medals: the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.     
  
  In a similar vein when only the British War Medal and Victory Medal are on display together they are sometimes known as “Mutt and Jeff”..²