BRITISH SERVICE MEDALS
Although research so far shows that no Wolviston man was awarded a gallantry medal, they were all awarded one or more of the War Campaign Medals by virtue of their participation in the war. There are, in simple terms, four common campaign medals and these are;
The 1914 Star (with and without clasp) sometimes also known as The Mons Star.
The 1914 - 15 Star.
The British War Medal.
The Victory Medal.
There are also two other medals and a plaque;
The Mercantile Marine War Medal.
The Territorial Force War Medal.
The Memorial Plaque.
With exception of the Memorial Plaque the latter two medals are much rarer, and one of the conditions of award for the Territorial Force War Medal was the if a soldier has qualified for either of the Stars, then the Territorial Force War Medal was not issued. It is also not possible for a man to be awarded both the 1914 Star and the 1914 - 15 Star. he would be awarded either Star or none at all. Two or three medals are the normal situation and the combinations of being awarded and the precedence of wearing these medals are as follows:
1914 Star (with or without clasp), British War Medal, Victory Medal.
1914 - 15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
British War Medal, Mercantile Marine War Medal, Victory Medal.
British War Medal, Victory Medal, Territorial Force War Medal.
British War Medal, Victory Medal.
If a man has three medals, consisting of either of the Stars, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal then he may be said the have a "Trio" or "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred". If the man only has the two medals, British War Medal and Victory Medal, then he may be said to have a "Pair" or "Mutt and Jeff".
Pip, Squeak and Wilfred were characters in a comic strip which first appeared in the Daily Mirror newspaper on the 12th May 1919. The author of the strip was B. J. Lamb and the artist was A.B.Payne. the naming of the characters in the strip was due to Payne's wartime batman who for some reason was known as Pip-Squeak. In the comic strip Pip was a dog, Squeak a penguin and Wilfred a rabbit. The comic strip was extremely popular and became a craze during the 1920`s. The issue of the campaign medals coincided with the start of this craze and the soon became known as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.
Mutt and Jeff were also comic cartoon characters but this time from America. The original cartoon first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on November 15th 1907 and the creator was Bud Fisher. During the life span of Mutt and Jeff there were many different script writers and artists who took on the role. They even made the transition from newspaper to comic book. The last artist to draw Mutt and Jeff was Al Smith who every week for seventeen years provided a weekly caper for the pair. But in 1982, after an impressive 75 year run they were laid to rest.