The General Service Medal 1918-62 was instituted in 1923 as a general service medal similar to the Naval General Service Medal 1915-1962 and to be awarded for minor conflicts for which no other specific campaign medal is awarded. The medal is always issued with a clasp denoting the area or purpose of operations. Subsequent service is recognised by the award of further clasps to be worn on the original medal.
The medal is cupro-nickel medal with the obverse having the effigy of the reigning sovereign at time of issue.
The reverse bears a figure of Victory with a trident in her left hand and a wreath in her right. Directly below the wreath is a winged sun above a sword, vertically aligned with the tip pointing towards the base of the medal.
The ribbon is purple with a central dark green stripe.
The following clasps have been issued for the medal:
- S. Persia
- Kurdistan
- Iraq
- N.W. Persia
- Southern Desert, Iraq
- Northern Kurdistan
- Palestine
- Bomb and Mine Clearance 1945-49
- Palestine 1945-48
- Bomb and Mine Clearance 1945-56
- Malaya
- S.E. Asia 1945-46
- Cyprus
- Near East
- Arabian Peninsula
- Brunei
Members mentioned in despatches for operations recognised by the General Service Medal 1918-62 after 11 August 1920 were approved to wear a bronze oak leaf on the medal ribbon.