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| Africa Star | |
|---|---|
| Name | Africa Star |
| Awarded by | United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India |
| Type | Campaign medal |
| Eligibility | Personnel of the British Commonwealth, British Empire |
| Awarded for | Service in the North African Campaign, East African Campaign, Tunisian Campaign |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Established | 1943 |
| First awarded | 1943 |
| Last awarded | 1945 |
| Total awarded | c. 3,000,000 |
Africa Star The Africa Star is a British Commonwealth campaign medal instituted in 1943 to recognize service in the North African and adjacent campaigns during World War II. It formed part of the suite of campaign stars established by the British War Office under the authority of King George VI and was awarded to personnel from dominions and colonies including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and numerous West African and East African formations. The decoration sits alongside the 1939–1945 Star and other theatre-specific awards as a visible marker of participation in operations against Axis forces in North Africa and surrounding theatres.
The institution of the Africa Star in 1943 followed earlier campaign recognitions such as the 1939–1945 Star and Atlantic Star; it was authorized by the War Office and promulgated in London. The decision reflected operational boundaries shaped by commanders including Sir Claude Auchinleck and Bernard Montgomery, whose leadership in the Libya Campaign, Operation Crusader, and the Second Battle of El Alamein became central to the medal's significance. The award period encompassed multiple coordinated operations involving formations like the Eighth Army and the First Army, and post-war issues extended to veterans across Commonwealth defence administrations.
Eligibility required service in specified land, sea, and air operational areas between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 in the defined African and Mediterranean sectors. Personnel of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, British Army, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, New Zealand Armed Forces, South African Air Force, and colonial forces could qualify. Distinct criteria applied for seafarers present on named convoys or in specified ports, aircrew completing operational sorties over qualifying theatres, and soldiers serving in units assigned to campaigns such as the East African Campaign, West African Frontier Force operations, and the Tunisian Campaign. Qualification rules intersected with other awards such as the 1942–1945 Burma Star and the Italy Star where service overlapped.
The Africa Star is a six-pointed star struck in yellow brass, surmounted by the Royal Cypher "GRI VI" and the imperial crown, with the dagger and scroll motif typical of contemporaneous campaign stars. The obverse bears the inscription "THE AFRICA STAR" across the central horizontal bar. The ribbon is pale buff with a central black stripe flanked by red and dark blue, representing the deserts and the services of the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force. The reverse is plain except for the medal’s serial number, and later issues included impressed naming indicating recipient identity tied to forces such as the Indian Army and the Royal West African Frontier Force.
A clasp entitled "North Africa 1942–43" was authorized to denote specific operational service within later phases of the campaign; it could be worn on the ribbon when bars were permitted. Some recipients also received the silver rosette to indicate the award of a clasp when only ribbons were worn. The regulations controlled combinations with other stars such as the 1939–1945 Star and the Italy Star so that only certain permutations were permitted, reflecting campaign chronology and preventing duplicate recognition for the same period of service. Naval and air force operational badges and brevet devices remained a separate system of insignia.
In the official order of wear, the Africa Star was placed among the Second World War campaign stars according to theatre start dates and operational significance, following the 1939–1945 Star and preceding the Pacific Star in some lists instituted by the British Crown. Commonwealth governments applied national variations in allocation, naming, and precedence, with veterans from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, and South Africa receiving the medal through their respective defence ministries. Post-war entitlement issues were adjudicated by veteran affairs departments and sometimes by parliamentary questions in legislatures such as the British Parliament and the Australian Parliament.
Recipients included senior commanders and junior ranks who served in the theatre. Notable figures awarded the medal included commanders like Bernard Montgomery, operational leaders such as Harold Alexander, naval officers involved in Mediterranean convoy operations like Andrew Cunningham, and air leaders such as Arthur Tedder. Commonwealth servicemen recognized ranged from decorated infantrymen of the King's African Rifles to members of the Royal Canadian Regiment and pilots of the Royal Australian Air Force, reflecting the multinational character of the theatre.
The Africa Star covered operations in North Africa from Egypt and Libya to Tunisia, including the Siege of Tobruk, the Battle of Gazala, the Battle of Mersa Matruh, and the Tunisian Campaign. It also encompassed related operations in the East African Campaign against Italian forces in Ethiopia and Somalia, plus specified maritime operations in the Mediterranean and Atlantic approaches supporting the theatre. The delineation of qualifying areas referenced specific map coordinates and orders issued by the War Office and allied commands, linking medal entitlement to discrete campaign phases and unit deployments.
Category:British campaign medals