Medals awarded to Private Eruera Dennis Hamon, 28 Maori Battalion, C. Company:
1939-1945 Star The 1939-1945 Star is the first in a series of eight
campaign stars instituted in 1945 to recognise service in the Second World War.
It was awarded for six months service in specified operational areas. Those
whose service was shortened by death, injury or capture or who were awarded a
decoration or mention in despatches also qualified for the medal.
The ribbon has three equal vertical stripes of dark blue,
red and light blue. The dark blue stripe symbolises the service of the Navy and
the Merchant Navy, the red stripe symbolises the service of the Army, and the
light blue stripe symbolises the service of the Air Force.
The
Africa Star The Africa Star was awarded for
service in North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943.
The ribbon is pale buff in
colour, with a central vertical red stripe, and narrower stripes, one dark blue
and the other light blue. The pale buff background symbolises the desert, the
central red stripe symbolises the Army, the dark blue stripe symbolises the
Navy and Merchant Navy, and the light blue stripe symbolises the Air Force.
The Defence Medal This medal was awarded to British military and civilian personnel for a range
of service in the United Kingdom, and to British, British Commonwealth and
British Colonial personnel who served outside their home countries in a
non-operational area or in an area subject to threat such as air attack.
The centre of the ribbon is flamed-coloured, and the edges are green,
symbols of the enemy attacks on Great Britain. Two black stripes
represent the blackout in Great Britain.
War Medal This medal was awarded to all fulltime members of the Armed Forces for 28
days service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945 irrespective of
where they were serving.
The ribbon is the red, white, and blue of the (British) Union Flag.
There is a narrow central red stripe with a narrow white stripe on either
side. There are broad red stripes at either edge, the two intervening
stripes being blue.
NZ War Service Medal The New Zealand War Service Medal was awarded
for 28 days' full time service or six months' part time service in any of the
New Zealand Armed Forces, the Reserve or Home Guard between 3 September 1939
and 2 September 1945. This medal was the first distinctively ‘New Zealand' war
service medal, which was emphasised by the use of the fern leaf motif on the
suspender and the reverse, and the national colours of black and white in the
ribbon.
Reference:
Composite by Te Awhi o Te Rangi Manahi. Medal images and descriptions are available for public use from the
NZDF website.
Takupu (1)
Letter to Mr Henare Hamon 2 July 1948
Submitted by TeAwhi_Manahi on Mon, 25/10/2010 - 19:23