Medals & MN Veterans

In 2015, Her Majesty, The Queen graciously signed the Royal Warrant for the new State Award – the “Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service”. This can only be presented to those who have served at sea, importantly still in any capacity, in the Merchant Navy or Fishing Fleets. The normal eligibility criteria are for a minimum of 20 years’ service, some of which must be afloat and any remainder within the industry.

The number of awards granted annually remains at a maximum of 20. Those without service at sea but have made an important contribution to the merchant service or fishing fleets can, of course, have their names submitted for other national Honours.

The original committee Merchant Navy Medal committee now acts in advisory capacity to the Department of Transport, which welcomes the range of knowledge among its members. The names of the recipients are announced each year on Merchant Navy Day – 3rd September – and the medals are awarded on, or around that date, by HRH The Princess Royal in her capacity as Master of Trinity House. The ceremony continues to be kindly hosted and funded by Trinity House London.

For details of past awards and more information please go to www.merchantnavymedal.org

For nomination forms and guidance note please go to www.merchantnavymedal.org/nomination-form-and-guidance-notes

Listed below (see Link lower down) are the campaign medals known to have been awarded to Merchant Navy personnel since World War I.

Please note that this list may not be definitive as, for example, other campaign medals will have been issued to Royal Fleet Auxiliary crew members.

The Merchant Navy Association is not the authority responsible for the administration of Campaign Medals or National Awards for Gallantry for merchant seafarers and can therefore only offer some suggestions as to a possible way forward. It does not, however purport to be expert in these matters and the task of claiming for unissued campaign medals is not easy.

The responsibility for issuing campaign medals lies with the Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s, Registry of Shipping & Seamen in Cardiff (Tel: +44 (0)20 3908 5200) – https://ukshipregister.co.uk/seafarers/medals

They also have a useful website with more information and application forms – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/merchant-navy-medal-application-form

Importantly those able to claim for a medal are limited to the veteran concerned, or in the event of his, or her death, the direct in-line next of kin i.e. a widow or widower, then the eldest child, followed by the eldest grandchild. Proof of this is essential.

Campaign Medals awarded to MN seafarers can be found on https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/merchant-seamens-campaign-medal-records-1939-1945/

All medals have strict criteria such as a minimum period served in a particular theatre of war e.g. the Atlantic Ocean for the Atlantic Star.

The MNA guidelines accompanying this letter outline how to access a seafarer’s records – importantly the names of those ships on which he, or she, served.

Those records do not include any details of the areas in which a ship was operating. The MNA can possibly assist with this.

or from Lloyds of London Ships Voyage Cards from the Guildhall Library (needed for early WW2 voyages).

Claims must include proof of service aboard a ship during a voyage, or voyages, in a particular theatre of war.

This can be time consuming, involve a lot of documentary evidence and potentially expensive. It is not for the feint hearted!