Awards of
World War IIThe Polish Merchant Navy Medal was created by decree of the President-in-Exile in London on July 3, 1945. It was intended to award crew members of merchant ships for conscientious service during World War II.
The Merchant Navy Medal was awarded to merchant sailors for six months of service in the combat zone, and to sailors of auxiliary vessels for one year of service.
The statute provided for a repeat award, doubling the length of service requirement; the maximum number of awards could be four. When awarded a second time, the medal was not issued; instead, a ribbon bar and a corresponding diploma confirming the second award were issued.
The medal was awarded in the name of the President of Poland in Exile, upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Maritime Affairs.
After the end of the war, the Soviet occupation authorities removed the medal from the Polish awards system. Only after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the dissolution of the USSR, on October 16, 1992, did the Merchant Navy Medal take its place in the Polish awards system.
Description of other awards:
The Cross of Grunwald is one of Poland's highest military awards and the Medal for the Oder, Neisse, and Baltic.
The medal is a perfect circle, 36 mm in diameter, with a silver coating. The obverse of the award features the coat of arms of the Polish Merchant Navy – a shield bearing a crowned eagle superimposed on an anchor, flanked by laurel leaves. The reverse of the award features a three-line inscription: "POLSKA SWEMU MARYNARZOWI" (Poland to its sailor). Below the inscription are diverging laurel branches entwined with a ribbon, and above is a raised pyramid. The award is attached to the award ribbon with a loop and ring. The ribbon is silk moiré, 37 mm wide. The ribbon is dark blue, with four white stripes, each 2 mm wide. The first stripe is 5 mm from the edge of the ribbon, the second is two millimeters from the first.
The repeat award bar is also silver-plated, 5 mm wide, and decorated with oak leaves radiating from the center.
The Merchant Navy Medal is worn on the left chest.