Instituted on 24 September 1940, this award was intended to reward only acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in extreme danger and was primarily intended to be bestowed on civilians. Military personnel (including the Home Guard) could only receive it for actions where military honours were not normally granted. The George Cross ranks immediately after Britain's highest decoration, the Victoria Cross, and before all other orders, decorations and medals. Subsequent awards are indicated by a bar on its ribbon.

Mainly awarded for a minimum of 180 days operational service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945 (60 days for RAF in an operation unit engaged in operations against the enemy).

A bar "BATTLE OF BRITAIN" was authorised for fighter aircraft crew that participated in this battle between 10 July and 31 October 1940.
More recently, in 2012, a bar "BOMBER COMMAND" was instituted to recognise those who between 3 September 1939 and 8 May 1945 either served as aircrew on a Bomber Command operational unit for at least 60 days and flew minimum one operational sortie.

Generally awarded for a minimum of 180 days service afloat between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945 (60 days for RAF), this star served to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic. However, the qualifying period only started from the moment the 1939-1945 Star had been earned.

Bars "AIR CREW EUROPE" and "FRANCE AND GERMANY" were created to be added in case the recipient subsequently qualified for those stars (a maximum of one bar only can be worn !).

The ribbon colours are symbolical of the Atlantic Ocean's waters throughout the seasons.

This star was awarded for operational flying from UK bases over Europe between 3 September 1939 and 5 June 1944. Once again, the criteria for the 1939-1945 Star had to be fulfilled first before the qualifying period started. Thus this qualifying period was set at 120 days serving as a member of an air crew in an operational unit i.e. two months for the 1939-1945 Star and a further two months to obtain the Air Crew Europe Star.

Bars "ATLANTIC" and "FRANCE AND GERMANY" were created to be added in case the recipient subsequently qualified for those stars (a maximum of one bar only can be worn !).

The ribbon colours represent the air force (pale blue) and its day and night continous service (yellow and black).

No prior award of the 1939-1945 Star is necessary for this star which was awarded for one or more day's service in North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943.

Three bars (of which only the first awarded can be worn) were instituted : "EIGHT ARMY", "FIRST ARMY" and "NORTH AFRICA 1942-43". Service with the 8th Army between 23 October 1942 (Battle of El Alamein) and 12 May 1943 and service with the 1st Army between 8 November and 12 May 1943 qualified one for the first two of these bars. Service between 23 October 1942 and 12 May 1943 for those outside of both these armies (i.e. personnel of the 18th Army Group HQ, naval and air force personnel, merchant navy members etc.) was the qualification for the final of the above bars.

Service between 8 December 1941 and 2 September 1945 in the Pacific theatre of operations was the requirement for this star (although, for Navy and Merchant Marine personnel, the 1939-1945 Star had to be earned first).

When the recipient later also qualified for the Burma Star, a bar "BURMA" was worn.

The ribbon colours represent the jungles and beaches (green and yellow) and the armed forces (dark blue for the Royal Navy, red for the Royal Army and pale blue for the Royal Air Force).

After qualifying for the 1939-1945 Star, service in the area between 11 December 1941 and 2 September 1945 was the criterion for this star.

Subsequent qualification for the Pacific Star led to a bar "PACIFIC" being worn.

The ribbon colours represent the British and Commonwealth armed forces (blue and red) and the sun (orange).

Operational service in Sicily or Italy between 11 June 1943 (capture of the island of Pantellaria) and 8 May 1945 was the main criterion for this star. However, service elsewhere in the Mediterranean, the Aegean, Dodecanese, Corsica, Greece, Sardinia, Yugoslavia, Elba and indeed even the entry into Austrian territory in the later stages of the war could serve to qualify although for some of these areas time limits were set.

The Italy Star was always awarded in addition to other stars so that no bars were instituted for it. Only Royal Navy and Merchant Navy personnel had to qualify for the 1939-1945 Star first; this prior time qualification was not necessary for the other services.

The ribbon colours represent the national colours of Italy.

This star was awarded for operational service in France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg or Germany between D-Day and the German surrender, i.e. between 6 June 1944 and 8 May 1945.

Prior qualification for the 1939-1945 Star was not required and a subsequent fulfilling of the criteria for the Atlantic Star was denoted by a bar "ATLANTIC".

The ribbon colours, besides being those of the Union Jack, represent the national colours of France, Holland and Luxembourg ... little Belgium seems to have been forgotten !

Created as late as 2012, this star is awarded for operational service of any length north of the Arctic Circle from 3 September 1939 to the 8 May 1945 inclusive.

It is primarily intended to commemorate service in the Arctic Convoys on board the ships of the convoys to North Russia and their escorts.

The ribbon colours seem to symbolize the Royal and Merchant Navies (dark blue), the Army (red), the Royal Air Force (pale blue) and the Artic itself (white).