Gulf Medal revisited
I was in the pub the other night (really?) and the subject of medallic recognition for the up & coming re-match came up. What would be the most logical solution? A seperate issue? A puuurty lil' ribbon on the recently instituted OSM? Or - and this would be my choice - a clasp for the first Gulf Medal?
'Ah, but that was over a decade ago' retorts my friend. I then pointed out that such a move would not be without precedent, as some British issues have had a rather long 'shelf life'. The '54 IGS, '18 GSM and even the '62 GSM have all been issued over periods in excess of forty years. The 1902 Africa General Service Medal lasted over fifty - albeit with a period of stasis.
The reason for their longevity, was/is, without doubt, the brilliantly (and economically) simple useage of the clasp system - thereby negating the need for seperate issues every time some impetuous native started waving his spear around in a particularly belligerent manner.
Brilliant & simple (and interesting to us collectors) this system may be, the beaks in the MoD have decreed that it would be a far, far better idea to follow the trend set by the UN & NATO - with identical medals being dished out with differing ribbons - which, as anyone with basic accountancy skills will tell you, is a false economy, i.e. the money saved on producing cheap ribbons rather than expensive clasps, is null & void if extra medals have to be minted.
Now, my views on UN & NATO medals are well known, so I will not reiterate on previous rants. But British forces are now being committed to out-of-area operations more so now, than at any other time since the mid-'60s. The OSM is here to stay. How many ribbon variations it will have is anyone's guess, but should a Jan-Mar 2003 clasp not transpire for a resurrected Gulf Medal, then the '62 GSM will be the last of the clasped British issues. And more & more servicepeople will appear on the square looking as if they've escaped from Ricky's display cabinet!
'Ah, but that was over a decade ago' retorts my friend. I then pointed out that such a move would not be without precedent, as some British issues have had a rather long 'shelf life'. The '54 IGS, '18 GSM and even the '62 GSM have all been issued over periods in excess of forty years. The 1902 Africa General Service Medal lasted over fifty - albeit with a period of stasis.
The reason for their longevity, was/is, without doubt, the brilliantly (and economically) simple useage of the clasp system - thereby negating the need for seperate issues every time some impetuous native started waving his spear around in a particularly belligerent manner.
Brilliant & simple (and interesting to us collectors) this system may be, the beaks in the MoD have decreed that it would be a far, far better idea to follow the trend set by the UN & NATO - with identical medals being dished out with differing ribbons - which, as anyone with basic accountancy skills will tell you, is a false economy, i.e. the money saved on producing cheap ribbons rather than expensive clasps, is null & void if extra medals have to be minted.
Now, my views on UN & NATO medals are well known, so I will not reiterate on previous rants. But British forces are now being committed to out-of-area operations more so now, than at any other time since the mid-'60s. The OSM is here to stay. How many ribbon variations it will have is anyone's guess, but should a Jan-Mar 2003 clasp not transpire for a resurrected Gulf Medal, then the '62 GSM will be the last of the clasped British issues. And more & more servicepeople will appear on the square looking as if they've escaped from Ricky's display cabinet!
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