On being called up my Fathers Documentation states. Enlisted in the Territorial Army for the duration of Emergency. So I guess that made him a member of the TA His service dates were 22.10.40 until 22.10 46 exactly 6 years. Under the double time for wartime service should he have been awarded the TA Efficiency Medal?
This should have qualified him if he remained a member of the TA for the whole of these six years, and was not transfered out to the regular army or Navy, RAF etc. I am unaware if the medal had to be claimed by the recipient, as with the WW2 campaign stars and medals, or was issued automaticaly (I hope it was automatic). Travers
Fold3 have lists of those entitled to the Efficiency Medal bar "Territorial". Send me you father's name and number and I will have a look for you. best Mark
Thanks for the Offer Mark. 1088581 Gnr. Albert Burnikell. G Battery (Mercers troop) 5. Royal Horse Artillery. 1940/46 Bryan
Hi, I think mention of “being called up” in the first line of your opening post is most relevant as all men called up under the 1939 National Service Act were deemed to have been enrolled into the Territorial Army “for the duration” and applying your interpretation all conscripts called up before circa summer 1940 and demobilized 6 years or more later would be eligible for the TE medal - several million men would likely be eligible. My understanding is that wartime conscripts weren’t eligible for TE medal and it was only men who had enlisted into TA pre war and continued into war time embodied service - even if subsequently transferred out of their original TA unit - who were eligible for the award. I understand voluntary enlistments into TA units was suspended in 1939 until the post war TA was reconstituted in 1947. Steve
Backing Steve's point. Wartime TA service for the TE medal was for those already enrolled who were mobilised in 1939. As the TA units were now part of the serving forces, not the voluntary reserve, the terms changed. Reinstated in 1947.
This Hansard record from a House of Lords debate of 15 November 1945 confirms this. TERRITORIAL EFFICIENCY MEDAL. (Hansard, 15 November 1945) To quote Viscount Long, “…all other ranks of the pre-war Territorial Army, who served a full six years, have qualified for the Territorial Efficiency Medal…” [My bold letters] Richard
Bryan, There is no sign of an Efficiency medal although it shows him being wounded twice (9.1.1943 and 10.3.1943) in the Western Desert whilst serving with 5 RHA. Mark
Thank you Mark. You are right .He was wounded twice once at El Aghelia 14.12.42 And again at Eckt Netherlands 04.02.45 Dates taken from Service Record and War Diaries. Bryan
In 2016 the MoD replied to an enquiry regarding the existence of a nominal roll of awards of the Efficiency Medal (Territorial) held by them. Their answer was to look at the London Gazette as they do not hold such a roll. No information held on personnel awarded the Efficiency Medal in World War 2 The letter states, “Only non-commissioned ranks were awarded the Efficiency Medal (Territorial)”. Whilst that was the rule at the end of the war in 1945 there were complaints that ORs commissioned during the war had not completed the qualifying time in the ranks to be eligible. Consequently the rule was changed. Therefore my father who joined the TA in April 1939 as a Rifleman and was commissioned in 1943 was awarded the medal in 1947. Richard