8th Army Medal for entrance to Italy

[Avitas]

Hi there,

I posted this in the wrong forum earlier, so I thought I had better re-post it here to get more precise expertise. It is the "Commemorative Medal of Entrance of British Army in Italy 10 July 1943" medal. I have always loved this flea-market find and wondered if there was a ribbon out there for this, as well as if it is a sought after item. I sure like the stories of the 8th Army in WW2, especially the Canadians, so I'm sure it is an attractive medal. Is this rare, and is it an official or unofficial medal as well. Any info on this wonderful medal is welcome.

Cheers

Pat

[Avitas]

I love that Mt Vesuvius in the background... and here is the back with date.

[Hendrik]

... wondered if there was a ribbon out there for this, as well as if it is a sought after item. ... Is this rare, and is it an official or unofficial medal ...

Hello Pat,

It is indeed a nice one but ... unofficial I'm afraid. Not all that rare either. Supposedly it's to be hanging from the half yellow, half maroon ribbon of the March on Rome medal (Fascist Italy medal) but I've seen it suspended from other ribbons as well. As it is an unofficial memento, it doesn't really matter all that much which ribbon it is on, I guess. It's probably fair to assume the medal was made by a quick-witted Italian medal manufacturer who wanted to make some money

Cheers,

Hendrik

[leigh kitchen]

Also produced for the US 5th Army..........

[Avitas]

Very interesting Leigh, it appears to be made by the same maker judging by the twisted arm where the medal mounts the ribbon and the design. Also, it appears the American 5th Army medal has sailboats in the harbour, whereas the Brit medal of mine has an empty harbour. Does the reverse of yours have the same inscription for the same date? The skyline is the same so it should match up. Can you show a pic of the reverse Leigh? I have seen another variation of these which shows a separate harbour, if anyone has this example please share it as well.

Cheers,

Pat

[leigh kitchen]

Here's the reverse of the 5th Army medal.

This site has a couple of "Naples" medals for sale, one has "Allied Armies" on the obverse along with a large tree, & is fitted with what appears to be a Monte Casino Cross ribbon, the other is a 5th Army one which has a simlilar obverse to your 8th Army one, other than the wording, l.e. it lacks the boats in the harbour that my 5th Army one has. It has a similar ribbon to the first but looks as if it's black & red rather than blue & red stripes.

http://www.treasurebunker.com/acatalog/Bri...ign_medals.html

Notice how my 5th Army one refers to "Allied Armies" on the reverse whereas your 8th Army one refers to "British Army"?

I'd always thought that these were just produced in identical format with just the 5th or 8th varying, but these things seem a whole field in themselves.

Edited January 9, 2007 by leigh kitchen

[Avitas]

I have heard on the other post on this unoffical medal that these were just made by local Italian merchants by contract (maybe by individual army groupings?), which would explain the variations. I really liked this medal when I saw it and picked it up instantly as the offensive of 8th army and the North African/Italian campaign is one of the most significant military actions of the century, and my favourite study of the war. It just fits in nicely with a set of militaria from the Italian part of the war. If anyone has some further background on these types of unoffical Italian campaign medals please lend your knowledge, and show any further variations if you have'em.

Cheers,

Pat