Crash Course on WWII British/ Commonwealth Medals?

[GIZMO8Z]

Giz-Those are simply not the colours for the 1939-45 Star, indeed they don't match any Star, even if the colours were faded-will you provide pics please?

Here's a link to the classified listing.

the British: The 1939-1945 Star - Militaria Collectibles buy - sell at War Relics

[Stinkpotpete]

The ribbon looks like it could be a bit faded, but I think it's the lighting in the photo that makes it look like that. The navy blue should be on the left when the ribbon is through the ring.

[Walkwolf]

It was the lighting that made the ribbon look off colour !

There are instances where relatives of soldiers will not know what ribbon
goes with which medal, and assign ribbons to the medals they believe
look best ! This happens quite frequently with all types of medals
from all eras.

Buying a book on British medals is a good way to familiarise yourself.
'The Medal Yearbook' is an excellent one to get as there are colour
plates of every British and Commonwealth medal. I found a used
copy at a militaria show for $5, and although it is and older
edition, the medals and ribbons haven't changed.........!

[GIZMO8Z]

Thanks for the responses, folks! So... do I have the Royal Navy version of the '39-'45 cross?

[Stinkpotpete]

As far as I know, there wasn't a different star for each branch, there was a clasp awarded for the RAF I've read. there was an Atlantic star, but the ribbon was different, it looked like this



Yours is the correct star, and ribbon, the lighting is just what made it look off, and the different stripes of the ribbon represent each branch of service.

[GIZMO8Z]

Thanks for the response. I still am seeing distinctly white, yellow, navy blue. I guess I will have to wait for the medal to arrive for a hands-on inspection...

[Stinkpotpete]

I put up a thread with the Stars I have, you can look at it, and compare to your pic, and see what we mean

[GIZMO8Z]

I put up a thread with the Stars I have, you can look at it, and compare to your pic, and see what we mean

I see what you mean... the ribbon on mine must be REALLY faded if the red looks more like yellow and the sky blue looks white!

[Stinkpotpete]

I bet he was just using a weak light when he took the pic

[lithgow]

Extremely faded-must have sat in direct sunlight for years as the material doesn't fade easily-you might want to remount it as the colours no longer match the correct ribbon-they are subject to remounting as the ribbons can get tatty over time especially if worn a lot or stored poorly. These days medals are usually 'court mounted' where they're held rigidly in position to avoid them banging into each other with the subsequent damage that occurs.