The Naval General Service Medal (1915 NGSM) was instituted in 1915 to recognise service by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in minor campaigns that would not otherwise earn a specific campaign medal.
The Army/Air Force equivalent was the General Service Medal (1918). Both these medals were replaced by the General Service Medal in 1962.
The medal is silver and is 36 millimetres (1.4 in) in diameter. The obverse bears the image of one of three successive Sovereigns, King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.
The reverse shows a mounted figure of Britannia in a chariot pulled by two sea-horses, her left hand resting on a union shield.
The 32 millimetres (1.3 in) wide ribbon is crimson-coloured with three white stripes.
From 1920 a bronze oak leaf emblem is worn on the ribbon of the medal to signify a mention in dispatches for a campaign for which the NGSM was awarded.
