Your sort of missing the point, the Coronation Medal traditionally was a gift from the sovereign to those who made the Coronation possible. Hence why it went to the troops on the parade, the police lining the route etc.
Based upon the news articles Charles is not amused that they are looking at scaling it so that not even all of those will receive one.
All medals awards & honours are gifts of the crown.
The tradition point of a coronation medal is to inspire loyalty in the troops to their new commander as a pre-emptive thanks for their service & reduce any ill feeling or trepidation in the troops about the new boss.
Its the Royal equivalent of a new Sqn Cdr bringing biscuits or cakes for their new staff team when they take command.
if it really is a cost issue and given its a “Celebration medal” Why not issue to all directly involved in the Coronation and then for everyone else issue and IBN that says if you meet the 5yr criteria blah, blah you can purchase the medal if you wish from the approved suppliers??
Why?
How do you think the troops and others who turned out during those long, cold nights, marching up and down and stepping in horse manure , will feel about getting the same medal as someone who bought one but was tucked up in a nice warm bed at night?
It may be a gizzit but give it to those that earned it.
I am just saying if its about cost… I happened to agree with you on the “earned bit” the same as they did for the Funeral, but there were also a lot of people in the background that won’t get it. Cant please everyone
Lesson one in life
As WLSC once said, ‘a medal glitters but it also casts a shadow’.
We in the CF don’t need a Coronation Medal (before someone bemoans the fact that we should - and yes, they do walk among us). We shouldn’t really have been issued the jubilee medals. We have our own medal to demonstrate babysitting long service and that’s the CFM. Coming back to the Coronation Medal, just give it to the guys and girls who give up their time to parade throughout the night, work additional days including weekends, polish their kit to within an inch of it’s life and who work hard to make the event a success.
Why not?
I’ll answer a question with a question:
Why should we have been?
Other voluntary organisations receive the medal:
Search and Rescue, Mountain Rescue, BASICS, so why should our uniformed staff who sit loosely under 22 group RAF not receive the medal?
What is your objection? That the RAFAC is voluntary, or that we wear a uniform and aren’t deployable? Both? Neither?
I should caveat this by saying I get the medal through my day job, so I don’t care either way. But I think on the basis of other organisations that receive the medal, it is fair that Uniformed Cadet staff do also.
Very true.
S&R, Mountain Rescue, Police, Community First Responders, Ambulance crews, Firefighters, they all put their lives on the line and IMHO, are well-deserving of jubilee medals.
We are youth leaders. The risk to our lives is almost non-existent. Scout leaders - to the best of my knowledge - don’t get jubilee medals and they do similar things to us.
In my opinion, we in the RAFAC shouldn’t be given them as a) low risk to life as mentioned and b) just because we wear a uniform and sit under 22Gp, that doesn’t entitle us to the RAF LSGC, so why should we receive the jubilee medals?
Would that include the St John’s ambulance cadets staff as well, who were excluded previously? It seems the CFAV uniform staff with appropriate time served etc were the only ones included. I feel that situation does not sit well with me. Similar for other uniformed youth organisations staff not to mention non uniformed staff.
The main difference being that we are MOD sponsored, and the Scouts are not.
I think the thing here is that your view is that the medal is awarded for risking ones life, so where do you draw the line? RAF Personnel Officers in a HR unit wouldn’t be putting their lives on the line at any point - certainly no more than a Cadet Forces volunteer? Are they therefore not entitled?
My view on the medal is that it’s a thank you from the Monarch for service to the crown - whether in the MOD sponsored cadet forces, a volunteer mountain rescue team, a Police Officer, or a front line Royal Marine.
I respect your opinion but may I suggest that we agree to disagree.
[Edited to add: RAF P Staff - as with all serving personnel - can be called upon to deploy to places where there is indeed a risk to life. We in the CF can’t be mobilised].
I would say it does.
“RAF P Staff - as with all serving personnel - can be called upon to deploy to places where there is indeed a risk to life” Surely thats what campaign/op medals are for?
Likewise.
Indeed. But next to zero chance of this. If we are basing eligibility on risk to life, there’s more or less none to P Staff in the Military. Not to demean the work they do, I’m happy for them to receive Jubillee medals etc for what they do. I just think I look at the medal as a state thank you from the monarch, for all sorts of things, not just risking life.
What about those not directly involved pulling extra duties etc because everyone else is off prepping for and taking part in the Coronation. How do you quantify that?
That’s one of the things people have been asking at work, the last coronation medal only went to those working the event in tunics up town. But doing that would exclude all public order officers (who are being used to Police the expected protests) and those left holding the fort on response team (who are expecting to be anywhere upto 50% below minimum numbers).
Those involved in the Coronation for both the military and the emergency services is a lot more than just the guys and gals marching in the parade.
^^
And words.
The regular and reserve forces also have their medals to mark long service, and it isn’t the Jubilee medal.