British War Medal
Woodhams Stone Collection, North Yorkshire
6.5 million British War Medals like this one in silver were awarded to members of the British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. The British War Medal aimed to recognise the contributions and sacrifices made by servicemen and women during the war.
They all feature George V on the obverse (the front), with St George, the patron saint of England, on the reverse, trampling on the Prussian Eagle, a symbol of the enemy forces. The iconography represents the triumph of good over evil.
This British War Medal belonged to John Clapham Radcliffe – or Lieutenant J. C. Radcliffe. He enlisted on 10 November, 1914 and was firstly an ambulance driver with the British Red Cross at Dunkirk. Later, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves, was posted to the HMS Victory (Portsmouth), then served at Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, for much of the war.
He was demobilised on 12 December, 1918 and returned to Malton where he was the director of Russell’s and Wrangham Ltd. Brewery for many years.
Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Watch the Video to explore the object in more detail
Watch The Video With Subtitles
Talking Points
Do you think the image is positive, negative or something different?
What words would you use to describe this medal?
What else would you like to know about the object?
Do you know anyone who has been awarded a medal?
Do we still view medals as very special? How do we know this medal was important to Lieutenant Radcliffe?
What other occasions are there when people receive medals? What sort of medals do you think we should give nowadays?
Vocabulary
Demobilised: the term used to describe taking troops out of active service
Iconography: symbols used to represent something in a work of art
In the Classroom
Watch the Art Video to design your own
Use the activity video to create a badge to honour someone you know. What qualities about them could you celebrate?
Watch The Video With Subtitles
Hands on History
You can borrow World War One handling boxes across North Yorkshire, including from:
Scarborough Museums and Galleries,
The Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes.
Scarborough Museums and Galleries also offers a creative workshop on this theme.
You can explore a wide range of war medals from Yorkshire in a specially dedicated exhibition space in The Green Howards Museum and find out the stories of some of their recipients on the museum’s website.
You can explore more of the Woodhams Stone Collection online.
Museum Location
