Help needed on Yugoslav Medal given to British Soldiers.

Hi there.

I'm researching my grandfathers military history, and hope to fill in some blanks. His name was Parmenous Wilson (I know, not a common Yorkshire name).

During WWII he was a member of the Royal Artillery (not sure which section) but I know he saw service in North Africa, and family history tells he was also in Yugoslavia training and fighting alongside the partisans. He said he received a medal called the Tito Star?? No one in the family has it, and I can't find any info on that specific medal either.

Does anyone have any info on the medal, or know how I can find out more about his service history. Unfortunatly he died before I was born, so all I have to go on is second hand information.

Thanks for reading

 

Creeogg, the Tito Star was probably the Yugoslav Order of the Partisan Star. This decoration was created in 1943 and was awarded for "Exceptional Leadership and/or Bravery" for actions in WW2 while with the partisans. It came in three classes and in order of rank from highest to lowest were as follow: A red Star on a Gold Wreath; a red Star on a Silver Wreath; and a red Star on Crossed rifles. If your grandfather was working with the partisans, chances are pretty good that he received one of these. He may have also been awarded the Partisan's Commemorative Medal which was instituted in 1944.

Would the award(s) be listed on his records - maybe not. I assume that unlike regular forces, the partisans would not have had personnel sections preparing and publishing orders. The Star would most likely have just been pinned on him. Regardless, if the British Army was like ours, foreign awards had to be approved by the chain of command before they were allowed to be entered into a soldier's permanent record and/or worn. If the process was bureaucratically the same in WW2 as in Vietnam, this is where most breakdowns in the system would have occurred.

I hope that this helps and I hope that his records do show the award. Good luck with your search.

 

Many thanks for the info applevalleyjoe!! This gives me a good starting point, as before I didn't even know which medal I was looking for. I suppose the next step will be to get his service records and see what's on there.

Once again, many thanks!