New Zealand General Service Medal 1992 (Warlike)

History

The New Zealand General Service Medal 1992 (Warlike) was authorised in 1992 for New Zealanders who had served in warlike operations for which no separate New Zealand or British Commonwealth campaign medal had been issued. It was the first occasion, outside the two World Wars and the Vietnam War, that New Zealand had struck a war or warlike service medal of its own, and the design and colours of its ribbon were drawn from the New Zealand Medal of the colonial wars of the 1840s and 1860s, deliberately linking it to the beginnings of the country's military history.

Each operation was represented by a clasp, and the medal was never issued without one. By the time it was replaced by the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002, four clasps had been issued for warlike operations between 1956 and 1991. As a New Zealand campaign medal it is worn in order of the date of qualifying service.

Design & ribbon

The medal

The medal is silver and circular. The obverse bears the crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II with the legend ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID DEF. It is always worn with a clasp naming the operation, and the recipient's details are engraved on the rim. The silver metal distinguishes the warlike medal from the bronze of the non-warlike version.

The ribbon

Dark blue with a light red centre and black stripe.

The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, dark blue with a light red centre and a narrow central black stripe; the colours are based on the New Zealand Medal of 1869. The black central stripe distinguishes the warlike medal from the non-warlike version, which has a white one.

Clasps

Each operation is represented by a clasp; the medal is never issued without one.

Arabian Gulf

For qualifying warlike service in the Arabian Gulf.

Sinai

For qualifying warlike service in the Sinai.

Bougainville

For qualifying warlike service on Bougainville.

Eligibility

The medal was awarded for warlike operations for which no separate New Zealand or British Commonwealth campaign medal was issued.

• Members of the New Zealand forces who served in a qualifying warlike operation between 1956 and 1991 were eligible, subject to the conditions of each clasp;
• Four clasps were issued, and the medal was never issued without one; it was replaced by the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 for later operations;
• As a New Zealand campaign medal it is worn in order of the date of the qualifying service.

Order of wear

In the New Zealand Order of Wear, campaign and operational medals are worn in the order of the date of the qualifying service, so two recipients may mount the same medals in a different order depending on when they served. On an Australian rack these New Zealand awards are mounted according to the wearer's own national honours system.

Frequently asked questions