This second edition of Peter Duckers best-selling British Military Medals traces the history of medals and gallantry awards from Elizabethan times to the modern day, and it features an expert account of their design and production. Campaign and gallantry medals are a key to understanding - and exploring - British and imperial military history, and to uncovering the careers and exploits of individual soldiers. In a series of succinct and well-organized chapters he explains how medals originated, to whom they were awarded and how the practice of giving medals has developed over the centuries. His work is a guide for collectors and for local and family historians who want to learn how to use medals to discover the history of military units and the experiences of individuals who served in them.

This book surveys the medals awarded to British personnel for military service around the world and in two world wars. The campaign medals awarded for the military actions have become a popular field for collectors, since the majority of British awards were officially named, thus making it possible to research the military career of an individual or regiment. This second edition has been extended to include the operations of the British forces in the opening years of the twenty-first century.

Since ancient times soldiers have been honoured for gallantry in battle. Over the years and in different societies such honours have taken many forms byut since the 1850s specific acts of bravery 'in the face of the enemy' by British and Imperial forces have been recognised by the award of a range of wearable decorations. These provide a visible indication both of the bravery of the recipient and of its recognition by the government and nation.

Over the ages and in all societies, gallantry in battle has been highly regarded, with the bravery of individuals and fighting forces being officially rewarded and publically recognised in a wide variety of ways, such as gifts of jewels or money, grants of land, promotions in rank or status etc. In Britain, it has been the practice since at least the mid-19C to award decorations – medals specifically conferred to reward bravery in action. With the growth of the British Empire in the late 19C, the waging of two World Wars, the campaigns that mark the end of Empire and a continuing UN and NATO role, Britain has produced a wide range of medals to reflect the gallantry of its own and Imperial fighting forces. Such rewards have been conferred upon men and women, in all theatres of war and amongst the whole range of its forces on the ground, in and under the sea, in the air and even “at home”. This new Spink book offers an introductory guide to British and Imperial medals for gallantry which have appeared since 1854 and which continue to be awarded to this day, illustrating the type of action which has led to the award of the various medals over nearly 200 years.

This book presents a photographic record of the service of a distinguished county regiment whose origins go back to the Seven Years' War, in the middle of the eighteenth century. Formed in 1881, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the KSLI, formerly the 53rd and 85th Regiments, did tours of duty around the world in the days of the Empire - serving in India, the Far East, the West Indies, and the Mediterranean. This book also shows the KSLI on active service which took them to Egypt in 1882, the Sudan in 1885, and South Africa during the Boer War. Much expanded, the KSLI rendered outstanding service during the First World War. The eight battalions that went overseas served on the Western Front (notably in the Ypres Salient, on the Somme, and in the great offensives of 1918), in Palestine and in Salonika. During the Second World War, the KSLI played a major part in engagements in France in 1940, in Tunisia, in Italy and in North West Europe. Post-war campaigning took them back to Palestine, to Korea, and to Kenya, with peaceful interludes in Germany and Malaysia. The regiment ceased to exist as a distinct unit in 1968, when it was absorbed into the new Light Infantry as the 3rd Battalion. This fascinating book presents a vivid picture of the life of the regiment in times of peace and war through photographs from the regimental archives, the majority of which have never before been published.

For generations, the county of Shropshire has maintained a range of volunteer military units - infantry, cavalry, artillery, medical and the rest - which have served effectively and loyally in peacetime and in war. In times of national emergency, their numbers have been swelled by the creation if new military formations, raised purely to meet the crisis of war and which, their duty done, have ceased to exist. This book (a companion to The King's Shropshire Light Infantry 1881 - 1968 in the Images of England series), presents a selection of photographs of these 'part-time' soldiers of Shropshire between peacetime and through two World Wars, on ceremonial duty, on active service and in training. The photographs follow the story of the Shropshire Yeomanry, the local Militia, the Rifle Volunteers, the Territorial Army and the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery from the 1870s towards the present day, with additional glances at other short-lived or war-raised units which were called into existence as need demanded. As with other countries, Shropshire has fought hard to maintain its military connections and to preserve and enhance their fine reputation. It is hoped that the publication of these photographs will be a reminder of that proud heritage and be of general interest to military historians and to veterans and families of those who served their country. PETER DUCKERS is Curator of the Shropshire Regimental Museum in Shrewsbury Castle.