Afganistan/Iraq Service in 1919-1920

[dwmosher]

Hello,

I picked up a nice miniature medal group with the British 1914-18 War Medal, WW1 Victory Medal, Indian General Service Medal w/ Afganistan 1919 bar and a General Service Medal w/ Iraq bar. Would there be any way to narrow down which British units would have been authorized for these medals?

Thanks

Dave

[Ulsterman]

Short answer, yes. There was an OMRS article a few years ago about what units qualified for the Afghan bar and also the IRAQ bar. However, there were a significant number of officers on special assignment, transfer etc. who qualified for this combo. Many of the Indian units in the Afghan did not qualify for the Victory medal.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Ulsterman

[peter monahan]

According to Major Gordon, a quick though not 100% accurate source on things Asian, there were 11 infantry, 6 cavalry, and 6 RAF squadrons, plus Gunners and various support units, who qualified for the IRAQ bar. Many of those will have been on the NWF in 1919, plus the transferred officer mentioned above and those Indian units who did qualify for a Victory Medal.

Apparently the rolls are available on the open shelves at the National Archives but that's more info. than you'd need. Naval Military Press will happily sell you a copy of Gordon's 7th edition, the most complete and correct one for that era and area, but it doesn't appear to be available on line.