FAIR MILITARY MEDAL REVIEW FOR BOMBER COMMAND VETERANS CAMPAIGN 2018
- Bomber Command Medal Campaign
- Target:
- British Government - Honours Committee
- Region:
- United Kingdom
- Website:
- www.bombercommandmedal.com
We request that the Honours and Decorations Committee undertake an urgent review of the recommendations arising from the Military Medals Review 2012 due to manifestly inconsistent treatment of Bomber Command Servicemen.
2018 is a very special year for the Royal Air Force. It is the 100th Anniversary of its formation. We depend on this force, along with other services for the defence of our country and the keeping of peace. This role was no lesser undertaken during World War ll. Post war the British Government turned their back on Bomber Command, despite many Churchill quotes during the conflict lauding their vital role, day and night, in preserving the free world.
Over 125,000 servicemen and women came together from 61 nations as volunteers to serve under this command. New figures publicised by the International Bomber Command Centre record that 57,861 men and women lost their lives. They suffered one of the highest attrition rates of the war.
There are many Veterans today who feel that their service, their sacrifice and the ultimate sacrifice of their comrades were never fully recognised. In April 2012, the then Prime Minister Mr David Cameron announced that he had appointed Sir John Holmes to carry out a review of the rules and principles governing the award of military campaign medals and to recommend any appropriate changes.
Since those recommendations were made and implemented there are many groups who have publicly announced that this review was shameful and that the Veterans have been treated appallingly by the HD Committee. The recommendation of the review was that a clasp be awarded to those who served in Bomber Command to be worn on the ribbon of the 1939/45 Star. This has never been seen as an award which fully and properly recognises the risks and rigour which these servicemen undertook for a period stretching over five years. There have been many feelings of resentment and frustration following this award and some feel even more insulted in the way it was given.
There have also been many questions asked by other groups concerning the fairness and appropriateness of the recommendations arising from the review and they are still pursuing rectification to attain proper recognition today.
The review by Sir John Holmes specifically stated that current rules should not be regarded as a bar against revising decisions if certain criteria were met; these are listed in the guidelines agreed by the HD Committee.
Our last British Dambuster, Johnny Johnson has publicly expressed his opinion on the clasp, as have other Veterans but we need a campaign for all supporters to come together.
www.bombercommandmedal.com have now launched a campaign to award Bomber Command with an official Bomber Command Medal. The submission, requesting that this injustice be addressed, will be put before the HD committee and requires maximum public support.
PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION AND HELP US TO PERSUADE THE HD COMMITTEE TO RECONSIDER THE RECOMMENDATIONS GIVEN, FOLLOWING THE SIR JOHN HOLMES MEDAL REVIEW, IN VIEW OF NEW EVIDENCE OF THE INJUSTICE THAT HAS ARISEN.
PLEASE HELP US TO CORRECT THIS MANIFESTLY INCONSISTENT TREATMENT OF OUR VETERANS AND RECTIFY THE SITUATION IN ORDER TO TREAT THEM EQUALLY.
We the undersigned call on the HD Committee to undertake an urgent review of the recommendations arising from the Military Medals Review 2012 due to manifestly inconsistent treatment of Bomber Command Servicemen to award them a clasp in preference to an official bomber command medal.
There have already been many questions asked by other groups concerning the fairness and appropriateness of the recommendations arising from the review and they are still pursuing rectification to attain proper recognition today.
The review by Sir John Holmes specifically stated that current rules should not be regarded as a bar against revising decisions if certain criteria were met and that “the degree of public, press, political or other support is a factor which should be taken into account, since it tends to suggest there is a prima facie case for another look.”
It is requested that the HD Committee take into account the submission by the Bomber Command Medal Campaign and that the consideration of this evidence should be given in earnest, to ascertain how the conclusion of the extensive review could have ever been accepted as fair and just and requests that the discrepancies, unfair and unjust treatment, together with this submission, warrants an second review and reconsideration of a revision of the recommendation.
The FAIR MILITARY MEDAL REVIEW FOR BOMBER COMMAND VETERANS CAMPAIGN 2018 petition to British Government - Honours Committee was written by Bomber Command Medal Campaign and is in the category Military at GoPetition.