The secret history of the Allied Victory Medal

Put off by the excessive heat, Col Andy and Rev Paul decide to stay indoors for this episode and explore the interesting and little known history and evolution of the Allied Victory Medal for the First World War.  There are many in the collection of the Herefordshire Regimental Museum and due to the sad incidence of melting down the silver British War Medal in the past and present day, this is now the most common surviving medal awarded to UK and Commonwealth personnel for the Great War.

Paul and Andy share a rare account of the original meeting at the Versailles Peace Conference where representatives of the 15 Allied and Associated Powers met to discuss a joint medal.  And the work of Dr Dick Flory who proved that there were two different issues of the medal to UK and recipients - the well known "type 2" and the lesser known and illusive "type 1."  

With their usual mixture of wit, insight and rabbit holes our intrepid pair explore this often overlooked medal - how people qualified for it, differences across awarding nations as diverse as Cuba, Siam (modern-day Thailand) and Japan, its enduring appeal to medal collectors and importance to families and historians alike.