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Application Forms and General Enquiries

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Application forms (For your own medals or for deceased family members medals)

 

Update - 23 July 2010: 

NZDF is NOT currently accepting applications for the planned New Zealand Defence Force Medal.  For more information on the planned medal see the NZDF Medal update from the Minister of Defence on 13 October 2009 and the Minister of Defence's media statement of 18 June 2009.

Q: When will I be able to apply for the new NZDF medal?

A: NZDF expects to call for applications for the new medal before the end of 2010. Between now and then there will need to be a tender process for the manufacturer(s), and then the medal and ribbon will still need to be manufactured. The NZDF Medals Office expects a large number of people to apply for the medal and, even with extra staff to process the applications, this could potentially be a two to three year project.

Link to more FAQs about the planned NZDF Medal.

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Applications for all medals need to be made on an official NZDF medal application form(s):

1.  New Zealand Campaign Medals (Second World War to the present) and the New Zealand Operational Service Medal (NZOSM)

2.  The New Zealand General Service Medal (NZGSM) 1992 (Warlike) with clasp 'Vietnam'

3.  The Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) medal

4.  The New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami)

5.  The New Zealand Special Service Medal (Erebus)

6.  The ANZAC Commemorative Medallion (also know as the Gallipoli Medallion)

Applying for other medals

There are no specific application forms for other medals.  Instead please complete the New Zealand Campaign Medals application form.

General enquiries about medals awarded to you or a family member

Note - 23 July 2010: The Medals Office staff will respond to your enquiry as soon as possible but it make take up to four weeks due to current work levels. Your patience is appreciated.

For general enquiries on medal entitlement (for you or for a family member) or on which medals have already been issued (and when) please:

1) Fill in our electronic contact form (please include an e-mail address and/or phone number, and the full name of your family member if you are asking about a relative); or

2) Write to:

The Medals Office

Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force
Private Bag 905
UPPER HUTT 5140

Please include as much of the following information as possible, to assist the Headquarters staff to locate your file:

Surname
Full Given Names and any other names you are known by
Date and Place of Birth
Service Number
Rank and Service (Army / Navy / Air Force)
Regiment / Battalion / Unit / Ship
Period of Service
Next of Kin, Address and Occupation at time of Enlistment

Don't forget to include your current postal address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Notes: 

1.  Information on how medals for service in the First World War and in the Second World War were issued is provided further down this page.

2.  If you are asking for information about someone else, you will either:

a. need their permission (or hold Power of Attorney); or

b. if they are deceased, be able to provide NZDF with a copy of a death certificate or funeral notice (e.g. from a newspaper). Sometimes, but not always, a person's death is already recorded in NZDF's records, in which case additional evidence is not required. 

Special case:  All New Zealand First World War veterans are now deceased so no proof of death is required to obtain information from their files.

Applying for your miniatures

HQNZDF’s policy is that miniatures can only be issued, or replaced, during the lifetime of the person to whom the full-size medals were originally awarded. To apply for your miniatures, please contact the Medals Office (see above address).  Please note that the Medals Office also holds stocks of the miniatures of the United Nations and NATO medals awarded to New Zealand military personnel.

Some miniature medals are issued free of charge and others need to be paid for.  The Medals Office staff will let you know if any payment is required.

Only one set of miniatures will be issued per eligible service person.

The only exception is when miniatures are lost or stolen during the lifetime of the person to whom the full-size medals were originally awarded. In such circumstances, you must send in a Statutory Declaration swearing that you have lost your medals or had your medals stolen. A statutory declaration form in MS Word format 34 kb is available here.

Additional sets of miniatures, if wanted, can be obtained from a militaria dealer who will be able to sell you a set(s) of miniatures.  Militaria dealers are often listed under 'Coin Dealers' in your local Telecom Yellowpages.

Second World War service

After the Second World War servicemen and women were invited to apply for the medals for which they were eligible. Many did not do so at the time, and the New Zealand Defence Force still receives medal applications from former Service personnel today.

Images and information on War and Campaign medals for the Second World War can be found here.

If you want to know which medals your relative was awarded and/or issued with for his or her Second World War service, or you have other medal questions, please contact us via one of the options listed under "General Enquiries" above.

First World War service

About 99% of the war medals for service in the First World War were issued to the New Zealand recipients between 1920 and 1924, including to the next-of-kin of the more than 18,000 New Zealanders service persons who died due to war service.  The medals were issued without any requirement for an application. Some medals were returned "gone no known address", but further work ensured that the medals nearly always reached their intended recipients.

The medal entitlement and medals issued are recorded on the military files for First World War personnel.  Nearly all these files are held at Archives New Zealand in Wellington, rather than by the NZDF. These files are currently being progressively digitised. Some files are already available for viewing on the Archives New Zealand website. Copies of non-digitised files can be obtained for a charge from Archives New Zealand, or the files can be viewed in person in Wellington.

Personnel who served at Gallipoli (who will have been awarded the 1914-15 Star) are also entitled to the ANZAC Commemorative Medallion, which was instituted in 1967. The ANZAC Commemorative Medallion had to be applied for in writing, so some recipients (or their next-of-kin) have not yet claimed the medallion. The issue of the ANZAC Commemorative Medallion is normally, but not always, recorded on the digitised version of the person's military file. The application form for the ANZAC Commemorative Medallion can be downloaded from our website.

If you require any clarification concerning the medal information provided in the digitised or paper copies of the First World War files, or you have other medal questions, please contact us via one of the options listed under "General Enquiries" above.

Images and information on War and Campaign medals for the First World War can be found here.

Applying For Family Members' Medals

If the medals to which your relative was entitled have never been issued, it is still possible for family members to claim them. To do so you need to complete a medal application form and send it to the Medals Office (see above address) and provide as much of the above information as possible to assist the Archives staff to locate your relative's file.

You must also provide documentary proof of your relationship to your relative and a copy of their death certificate or funeral notice.

Posthumous and unclaimed medals or awards for deceased ex-service members will be issued in accordance with the order of entitlement as follows:


(a) Beneficiary under Will
(b) Widow or Widower
(c) Son or Daughter
(d) Stepson or Stepdaughter
(e) Grandson or Granddaughter
(f) Father or Mother
(g) Brother or Sister
(h) Half-brother or Half-sister
(i) Nephew or Niece
(j) Other person named as Next of Kin in official records

Application forms

Information on medal application forms can be found here.

Miniatures of your family members' medals

HQNZDF’s policy is that miniatures can only be issued, or replaced, during the lifetime of the person to whom they were originally awarded.  A militaria dealer will be able to sell you a set of miniatures your relative qualified for.  Militaria dealers are often listed under 'Coin Dealers' in your local Telecom Yellowpages.

Information on the wearing of family members' medals

Information on the wearing of medals by family members can be found on the Wearing Medals page of the NZDF Medals website.

Replacing Lost or Stolen Medals

Lost or stolen medals can only be replaced during the lifetime of the person to whom they were originally awarded. To do so you should write to The Medals Office at the above address including the above list of information to assist the Headquarters staff to locate your file. There will be a charge for the replacement medals.

You must also include a Statutory Declaration swearing that you have lost your medals or had your medals stolen. A statutory declaration form in MS Word format 34 kb is available here.

Policy for deceased ex-military personnel

If the original recipient of the medals is deceased, then replacement full-size and miniature medals can be obtained from a militaria dealer who will be able to sell you a set(s) of miniatures.  Militaria dealers are often listed under 'Coin Dealers' in your local Telecom Yellowpages. Additional sets of full-size and miniature medals, if wanted, can also be obtained from a militaria dealer.

Nominating Others for Medals

Any New Zealander can nominate any other New Zealander for the award of a New Zealand Honour. There are two Honours Lists published each year at New Year and for the Queens Birthday in June. The Honours Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Department manages the Honours and Awards process. The form to nominate others for Honours and Awards is available from the Honours Secretariat website.

medals office News - 11 September 2007

On 27 August 2007, Willie Walker, the Staff Officer Medals since 1992, retired.  More information on Willie Walker's career and retirement can be found in the Army News article published about Willie Walker on 11 September 2007.

 

 This page was last reviewed 29 July, 2010 and is current.