British War Medal 1939-45

Campaign medal awarded to Captain Roy Edward Henry Ransley, 1st Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment).

Circular, cupro-nickel medal with, on the obverse. crowned head of King George VI, with the inscription, 'Georgivs VI D: G: BR: Omn: Rex et Indiae Imp:'; on the reverse, a lion standing on the body of a double-headed beast with the heads of a dragon and eagle, representing Germany and Japan, with the dates '1939' and '1945'. The reverse also bears the initials, 'ECRP', for the designer, Edward Carter Preston. The ribbon has a central narrow red stripe, flanked by narrow white stripes, broad red stripes at either edge with two intervening blue stripes.

The British War Medal 1939-45 was awarded to all full time service personnel of the Commonwealth Armed Forces wherever their service during World War Two (1939-1945) was rendered, provided they had completed 28 days service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945.

Ransley was killed in action, aged 22, on the 17 March 1945 while attached to the 10th Nigerian Regiment and is buried at the Taukkyan War Cemetery, Burma. His headstone reads 'His life a very precious memory'.

From a medal group awarded to Captain Roy Edward Henry Ransley, 1st Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment).

From the collection of the former Buffs Regimental Museum.