Newfoundland Volunteer War Service Medal

• Name — Newfoundland Volunteer War Service Medal • Presenter — United Kingdom for Newfoundland and Labrador • Type — Campaign medal • Eligibility — World War II veterans from Newfoundland & Labrador • Awarded For — Voluntary service overseas during the Second World War in British Imperial Forces, where no other volunteer service medal was received • Clasps — None • Established — November 6, 1981 • Total Recipients — 7,500 • Higher — Defence Medal • Same — Canadian Volunteer Service Medal • Lower — War Medal • Caption2 — Ribbon bar

The medal was established November 6, 1981 by the Volunteer War Service Medal Regulations, 1981, Newfoundland Regulation 204/81, and further amended by the Volunteer War Service Medal Act, 1993. During World War II, Newfoundland was a separate Dominion of the British Empire, only joining the Canadian Confederation in 1949. Accordingly, Newfoundland servicemen who volunteered to serve with British Imperial Forces, including Newfoundland units, did not qualify for the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal. The Newfoundland Medal was instituted to address this deficiency. Those who had served with Canadian forces and already held the Canadian award were not eligible for the new medal. A total of 7,500 medals were awarded, including those issued to next-of-kin, who could claim on behalf of those who died both in or since the war.

The medal was specifically created to honour service with the British Imperial Forces, the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit, the Merchant Navy and the Newfoundland Regiment, or any other unit or organization prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Those individuals who received a volunteer war service medal from another country are ineligible for this medal.