Campaign Medals awarded to Vernon St.John, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke, World War I

The British War Medal (silver) and The Victory Medal (bronze) were awarded to Vernon Henry St.John, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke, for operational service in World War I.

The British War Medals were awarded to all men of British and Imperial forces who had served for a prescribed period during World War I. Victory Medals were issued to most of those who were awarded the British War Medal.

'Vernon had fought with the 6th Battalion at Passchendaele through the grim autumn of 1917 and faced the German spring offensive on the Somme in 1918. Vernon’s health had paid a price for enduring a year of some of the fiercest battles and harshest conditions ever faced by British infantry. Evacuated from the battlefield, he was discharged from the Army on 6th November 1918 on the grounds of shell shock.'  Christopher Jary, The Keep Museum, Dorset.

The medals are part of a collection of regimental badges and other military items that Vernon kept throughout his life. The collection was generously donated to The Friends of Lydiard Park by his former friend, Anne Barr, in 2023.

The young viscount also received a Silver War Badge - see Regimental badges in Items of Interest

(Please note that the ribbons are displayed incorrectly on these medals and that they will be adjusted in due course)