GovWire

The Coronation Medal 2023 Enquiries

Details relating to the distribution process are in development and will be published as soon as available. Until that point, units and individuals are not to approach the MOD Medal Office or the MODs medal suppliers. Any enquiries or attempts to apply will not be acknowledged and will be deleted.

The Coronation Medal 2023

On 5 May 2023, the Culture Secretary announced the introduction of a Coronation Medal to recognise members of the Armed Forces, frontline emergency service workers and people actively contributing to the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, with an expected total of 400,000 recipients. In recognition of His Majesty The Kings role as Commander-in-Chief of the UK Armed Forces, members of the Defence community who meet any one of the following criteria will be awarded the Coronation Medal:

• Serving members of the Armed Forces who have completed five full calendar years of service and were in active service on 6 May 2023.
• Members of the Armed Forces who participate in Armed Forces Coronation events throughout the rest of 2023, such as official gun salutes, parades, or presentations of regimental colours.
• Civil Service and those from MOD-sponsored voluntary organisations who provide active contributory service to official constitutional Coronation events including events in the Devolved Administrations, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. These include the Coronation Service on 6 May 2023 (Operation GOLDEN ORB), or the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication for Their Majesties on 5 July 2023 (Operation GOLDEN SCEPTRE).

The majority of eligible MOD personnel will automatically be identified and notified in due course. An application process will be announced for those who have left the Armed Forces since 6 May 2023. The medal will likely be distributed to eligible recipients from late Autumn 2023, as and when stock is available.

If you are employed or sponsored by another frontline emergency service that may be eligible for the Coronation Medal, please contact your respective Honours or HR departments for further information, as the MOD Medal Office only administers medals relating to the Armed Forces.

Delay to historic requests

As part of the Defence Records Management Project, archived service files up until 1 January 1963 are being transferred to the National Archives.

This is significantly impacting assessment beyond our four-month response time for WW2 medal applications.

We are working with the National Archives to speed up this process Regrettably, some applicants have suffered long delays. This is outside of our expected service standards, for which we apologise, and are grateful for your continued patience whilst this matter is resolved.

Nuclear Test Veterans Commemorative Medal

On 21 November 2022, the Prime Minister announced the introduction of a commemorative medal to recognise Service personnel and civilians who participated in UK nuclear testing between 1952 and 1967.The medal will also be available to the next of kin of eligible individuals who have since died. The criteria for the medal have been published - please follow the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-test-medal-eligibility-criteria

Those who are entitled to the Nuclear Test Veterans Medal can apply via the medal applications form to the MOD Medal Office.

Although the first medals were expected by late Summer 2023, given the timescales involved in the medal process it has been necessary to revise the date of release. Distribution is now expected to be Autumn 2023. Upon release, applications from veterans will be prioritised by the MOD Medal Office.

If you would like to be interviewed about your service during British nuclear weapon tests, then please register your interest with the Office for Veterans Affairs project: An Oral History of British Nuclear Test Veterans. Veterans selected for interview will have their oral history recorded and preserved on British Library Sounds, where it will be available to access free of charge for future generations and the wider public. You can find out more about the project at www.ntvhistory.uk, or register your interest by e-mailing the project research associate, Dr Fiona Bowler (fiona.bowler@southwales.ac.uk).

Queens Platinum Jubilee Medal Reserve Forces Criteria Review (Jul 23)

Following multiple appeals and the outcome of a Service Complaint upheld by the Defence Council, the eligibility criteria for the Queens Platinum Jubilee Medal (QPJM) in respect of Reserve Forces personnel are under review by the appropriate Reserve Forces and Defence Services Secretarys policy staff, and single Service authorities.

As a result, QPJM applications and appeals relating to Reserve Forces personnel are currently being frozen to avoid unnecessary work and will be reassessed against the revised criteria as soon as these are finalised. This work is likely to take a several months to complete and the outcome will be published via a DIN as soon as possible. It must be stressed that this review will not change the underlying requirement for 5 years (1826 days) qualifying service as at 6 Feb 2022, as this is a Pan-Government requirement.