QUERY: WWI SERVICE MEDAL NICKNAME

I was interested to see the husband and wife collection of World War I service medals on the E-Sylum last week. One week ago I would not have recognized them. This past week I was evaluating a collection and needed to learn about them.

 

These are very common medals. They are "I was there" medals presented for service with no other distinction.

For the medal on the left, the 1914-15 star, the number awarded was 2,350,000. For the medal in the center, the British War Medal, 6,500,000 were awarded. For the medal on the right, the Victory Medal, about 6,000,000 were awarded.

British veterans of The Great War had a nickname for this set of medals. For the Smarty Pants Question this week, what was the nickname and the story behind it?

The collection I saw this week had two of the medals. They appear to be unusual in that they have red and silver ribbons. I could not find an explanation for that color combination.

 

Smarty Pants bonus question for the week: What do the red and silver ribbons represent?

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
Lot #57: Rare Canadian Husband and Wife Medal Grouping : Lot #57: Rare Canadian Husband and Wife Medal Grouping (https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n37a26.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web