HC Deb 13 June 2000 vol 351 cc562-3W
Mr. Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what length of service was laid down in MOD Command Paper 544/82 for the award of the South Atlantic Medal; and how many medals were awarded to nonmilitary personnel from(a) the United Kingdom, (b) the Falkland Islands, (c) St. Helena and (d) elsewhere. [125594]

Dr. Moonie

Information about the length of service required to qualify for the award of the South Atlantic Medal is contained in Command Paper 8601, which was presented to Parliament in July 1982. A copy of this document is in the Library of the House.

My Department does not hold a definitive list of those civilians who were awarded the South Atlantic Medal, although our records show that the following categories did receive it, with or without a rosette depending on where they served:

  • South Atlantic Medal with Rosette:
  • 35 Falkland Islands Defence Force
  • 49 UK civilians (includes eight NAAFI personnel)
  • South Atlantic Medal without Rosette:
  • 15 UK civilians (includes five NAAFI personnel).

The numbers given include those NAAFI personnel who were members of the Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI), who were enlisted into the Royal Navy or Royal Army Ordnance Corps on short service engagements. It has not been possible to break the figures down further to determine how many NAAFI civilian personnel who were not members of the EFI received the medal, as the relevant NAAFI records no longer exist.

A number of laundrymen working on RN ships also qualified for the medal. It has not been possible to establish whether records still exist detailing the numbers who received the medal, although it is known that of those currently working on RN ships three were recipients of the medal. A number of Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel also received the medal, but it has not been possible to determine how many.

In addition to the numbers quoted above we are advised by the Registry of Seamen and Shipping that 2,321 Merchant Navy personnel were awarded the medal. It has not been possible to break the information down further to establish their nationality.

As information relating to the award of this medal to non-Service personnel is not held centrally and records are kept by a number of different agencies and organisations, we have been unable to determine how many other civilians might have been awarded this medal.