New records for Jubilee

In celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign Forces War Records is releasing medal rolls from the Coronation and Jubilee celebrations of former monarchs King George V, King George VI as well as reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II.

Forces War Records is currently transcribing thousands of these new records with further records being added weekly. The records include information on individuals that were awarded the medals as personal souvenirs for their participation in a previous Coronation or Jubilee events. Much of the content being added is exclusive to the Forces War Record site and will be beneficial to those wanting to find out if any of their ancestors received this royal honour.

There is a long history of awarding medals to mark Royal Jubilees and Coronations – the first one was awarded to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1887. These commemorative medals were given to ministers, government officials, mayors, provosts, public servants, local government officers, and members of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Forces, and Police in Britain, her colonies and Dominions.

Each record includes a transcript and scanned colour image of the original document for the

1937 Coronation Medal Roll. The amount of information listed in the records may vary, although most results will reveal surname, first name(s), service number, rank, unit, appointments, job title, organisation, awards and dates.

The new collections available online on Forces War Records include: King George V 1935 Silver Jubilee Medal Roll, around 85,235 medals were awarded; King George VI 1937 Coronation Medal Roll, approximately 90,279 medals were awarded; Queen Elizabeth II 1953 Coronation Medal Roll, around 138,214 medals were awarded; and Queen Elizabeth II 1977 Silver Jubilee Medal Roll, with roughly 68,377 medals awarded.

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