Quote Originally Posted by Chas View Post
Hi Todd,

I agree whole heartedly and disagree totally both at the same time. I think there are a couple of issues here.

Firstly, as the Sovereign's spouse, a royal prince and a royal duke, Prince Philip gets given every medal as soon as they are issued and consequently his medal bar is huge - if it didn't cover his lapel, it would be hidden under his armpit.

When the service regulations and advice for civilians was originally written, mess dress and civilian clothing had w i d e lapels. The British forces are very parsimonious when it comes to issuing medals and a man's medals could easily fit on a wide lapel. As lapels got narrower there came a point when it looked silly - half on and half off. Whereas if the miniatures were put where the full sized medals would have gone, there can be no mistakes and no room for interpretation.

The construction of court mounted medals is different to swing mounted. Swing mounted hang from a medal bar (which can be bent to match the contours of a man's chest / jacket). Court mounted medals are affixed to a plate which is rigid and by its nature sits away from the body. The more medals a man has the more it will stick out at the ends.

I will agree that you are probably right in what you say about the wearing of miniatures, BUT, when I was awarded my full sized medals I was instructed on the correct wearing and how I should wear miniatures should I want to purchase them. I have followed that advice ever since.

Regards

Chas
Prince Phillip indeed may not be the best example, but I have seen photos of other gentlemen wearing miniature medals, court-mounted, on their lapels. I am familiar with swing-mounted vs. court-mounted medals, btw. I've just never seen anything that says that there is an alternative in terms of placement. I'm not saying you're wrong, mind you...

Todd