WORLD WAR MEDALS AND DECORATIONS By resolutions passed by a committee of the Peace Conference in Paris in March 1919, it was decided that the victorious Allies and associated Powers (i.e., Great Britain and her dominions, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, United States of America, Japan, etc.) should have a medal common to the Powers in general design. The medal was to be called the Victory Medal and was to be round, made in bronze (36mm. wide), the colour, surface, thick ness and attachment to be similar to the French Medal of the 1870 war, on the obverse a winged figure of Victory full length in the middle, on reverse the inscription, "The Great War for Civili zation," in the language of the country granting the medal, the rim plain. The ribbon to be identical for all countries and to consist of two rainbows joined by the red in the centre.
One of the objects of issuing a medal similar in design in all countries was to obviate the interchange of Allied commemorative war medals. No clasps have been issued with the medal except
in the U.S. The exact conditions under which the medal was awarded varied in each country, but generally it was issued to all who went into a theatre of war in any capacity between the first declaration of war in 1914 and the date of the Armistice, Nov. 1918. In the British service it was also granted for post-Armistice operations in North Russia and Siberia, ending on Oct. 12, 1919, and in Trans-Caspia, concluding on April 17, 1919. Also in the British service an emblem in the form of an oak leaf in bronze was placed on the Victory Medal to indicate that the recipient had been mentioned in despatches during the World War.