| Gulf Medal | |
|---|---|
| Awarded by United Kingdom | |
| Type | Campaign medal |
| Eligibility | British forces. |
| Awarded for | Campaign service. |
| Campaign | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia 1990–91. |
| Description | Cupro-nickel disk, 36 mm diameter. |
| Clasps |
|
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1992 |
| Total awarded | 59,687 (to UK forces) |
 Ribbon of the Gulf Medal  Ribbon of the Gulf Medal with palm for Mentioned in Dispatches | |
The Gulf War Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1992, for issue to officers and men of British forces who served in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during Operation Granby (the Liberation of Kuwait) in 1990–91.
The medal alone was awarded to personnel for thirty days continuous service in the Middle East (in a defined area of operations, including Cyprus) between 2 August 1990 and 7 March 1991. Two clasps were authorised for those who served in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion, and for those who took part in operations to liberate Kuwait.[1] In undress uniform, a rosette is worn on the medal ribbon to denote the award of either clasp.
The breakdown of awards to the armed forces was as follows:[2]
| Service | Medal only | Medal with clasp 2 Aug 1990 | Medal with clasp 16 Jan to 28 Feb 1991 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Navy | 2,409 | Nil | 3,942 | 6,351 |
| Royal Marines | 130 | Nil | 407 | 537 |
| Army | 4,093 | 46 | 34,692 | 38,831 |
| RAF | 5,673 | 20 | 8,275 | 13,968 |
| Total | 12,305 | 66 | 47,316 | 59,687 |
About 1,500 civilians including American, Australian, British, Canadian and New Zealand members of British Aerospace working at Dhahran and Riyadh also received the medal with the clasp 16th Jan to 28th Feb. Most were recently retired members of their respective country's armed forces.
Clasps[]
- 2 Aug 1990
- Awarded to the members of the Kuwait Liaison Team who were in Kuwait on this date.
- 16 Jan-28 Feb 1991
- Awarded for seven days continuous service between these dates in the designated Theatre of Operations. This clasp signifies service during the actual war.
References[]
- ↑ Full details are laid out in DCI Gen 185/91
- ↑ Hansard, 20 Jan 2004, 1122W – Written answer by Ivor Caplin, Defence Minister, to Mr Adrian Flook MP. (Online copy)
- Mackay, J and Mussel, J (eds) – Medals Yearbook – 2006, (2005), Token Publishing.
See also[]
- Gulf War Military Awards
- The British Gulf Medal 1990 – 91 – Detailed Images
- [1] – MoD information page
The original article can be found at Gulf Medal and the edit history here.