# Polish Army Medal: Medal Wojska and Recipient Records Source: https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/military/polish-army-medal/ Last updated: 2026-10-26 Summary: Identify the Polish Army Medal, Medal Wojska, and trace its recipient through award cards and Polish service evidence in a British family collection. Publisher: The Polish Genealogist (professional Polish genealogy research, polishgenealogist.co.uk) --- The Polish Army Medal, Medal Wojska, was established by the Polish President in exile in London on 3 July 1945 for soldiers of the land forces. An inherited example can connect a British family with the Polish Armed Forces and the paperwork produced at the end of the war. The medal is also described in English as the Polish Army Active Service Medal. The Polish Genealogist can help connect the award, its accompanying documents and your relative’s Polish service, with research findings explained in English. > **Connect this medal with your relative.** Commission research into Polish military and continental records, with findings explained in English. [Explore military research](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/services/polish-military-service-records-research/) ### What is the Medal Wojska? The Medal Wojska belongs to the Polish award system. It should be distinguished from the British War Medal 1939-1945, even when both appear in the same collection. Their similar English descriptions can make a family inventory confusing, so keep the Polish name alongside the English label. The National Museum in Szczecin describes the medal as intended for soldiers of the Polish land forces and records that the same person could receive it four times. Its example bears the reverse inscription POLSKA SWEMU OBROŃCY. Those words can be especially helpful when the ribbon has become detached or the family remembers only a round Polish medal. The establishment date is the starting date of the award, rather than the recipient’s enlistment date. An issue in the post-war period can recognise wartime service. A later document in a family collection is therefore worth investigating even if the relative had already left the unit remembered in the family’s war story. ### How an unnamed medal can still lead to a named soldier An Australian War Memorial example associated with Zenon Sobczak is catalogued as unnamed as issued. This illustrates why a family may have an authentic-looking medal without a recipient’s name on the metal. The absence of an inscription is not a substitute for investigating the object’s connection with the family. A named card, envelope, letter or entry in a service book may supply that connection. Photograph those papers before separating the group into individual objects. An envelope bearing a British address can help establish who held the material at a later date, while a Polish award card may identify the soldier and unit. Where several relatives served, create a separate evidence list for each man. A medal kept in one drawer may have arrived there through inheritance from another branch. The aim is to establish a documented association, rather than allocate all the medals to the best-known veteran in the family. ### Reading the award card and certificate Begin with the recipient’s full name and rank. Then copy any unit, date, place, document number, stamp and issuing authority. Preserve the original spelling even if the person later used a different name in Britain. An English translation should remain beside the transcription so that another reader can check it. The date on a card may concern the document’s issue rather than the whole period of qualifying service. A unit named in the paperwork may be the administrative unit handling the award. It needs to be compared with dated service entries before being treated as the soldier’s wartime combat regiment. If a document records a repeated award, retain its exact wording. Do not infer the number of awards simply by counting loose metal attachments. The papers can show how recognition was recorded for that individual, while a later mounting arrangement describes how the surviving medals were displayed. ### Medal Wojska, campaign stars and the whole group A Polish Army Medal answers a different question from an Italy Star or an Africa Star. The Polish title identifies an award within the national system; the British stars relate to defined campaign service. Reading the group together can generate more precise research questions than treating every item as a separate family story. The Australian War Memorial’s Sobczak collection includes a Polish Army Active Service Medal alongside British campaign and service medals. That is a documented museum association, rather than a standard entitlement list for every Polish soldier. A different veteran may have a different group because of branch, posting, dates or the objects that survived. Our [1939-1945 Star guide](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/military/1939-1945-star/) covers the broad British campaign star. The separate [War Medal guide](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/military/war-medal-1939-1945/) helps distinguish the British service award from Medal Wojska. The recipient’s documents remain the way to turn those identifications into an individual account. ### Tracing the Polish land-forces record The useful starting points are the unit, the service number and the dated sequence of papers. Those details help distinguish a soldier who served in a formation in Britain from a relative whose papers refer to another part of the Polish Armed Forces. Nationality alone does not establish a unit or campaign. The PISM catalogue separates unit chronicles, daily orders and personal collections. An investigation can use the named unit and period to identify relevant material. A search in one collection should be recorded as such; it cannot stand for an exhaustive search of every possible award source. For earlier service, Polish military and civil sources may add the soldier’s original identity, birthplace or family details. A change of border, spelling or first name can make that work more involved. The research plan should define the particular person and question, rather than promise that a medal automatically leads to a complete personnel file. ### Following the recipient into life in Britain For a veteran who settled in Britain, the medal and its paperwork can form a bridge between Polish military identity and the name used in civilian life. Compare them with a marriage certificate, personal correspondence or family-held release documents. A matching date of birth can be more persuasive than a familiar surname. A British address on a later letter can help date the family’s possession of the papers, but it does not prove residence throughout the war. Likewise, joining a post-war resettlement organisation and receiving an award are different events. Put each into its own place in the timeline. The [Polish Resettlement Corps guide](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/military/polish-veterans-resettlement-in-britain/) provides context for that transition. Our service interprets British papers already held by the family and researches Polish and other continental sources. We do not obtain British official documents or make medal applications on a family’s behalf. ### Research questions worth asking about Medal Wojska Can the medal identify a battle? Its name does not provide that level of detail. A campaign star, a unit entry or a dated letter can suggest where to investigate next, while service and operational records are needed to connect the person with a particular place. Can the recipient be researched if the award card has been lost? A full name, birth details, service number or identified unit can still provide a starting point. The medal then becomes one item in a wider investigation, rather than the only source on which the identification depends. An illustrative case would be a medal, a Polish card under one first name and a British release paper under another. Comparing the birth date, service number and unit sequence can establish whether the documents refer to one person. Where those details do not agree, the report should explain the difference instead of smoothing it away. The final written result can bring together the award’s identification, the evidence naming the recipient, the service context and the connection with the family. It should distinguish a confirmed entry from a likely lead, record the sources consulted and provide copies where available. That gives the family a usable account and a clear basis for any further enquiry. ### Official sources - [National Museum in Szczecin: Medal Wojska](https://wmuzeach.pl/wszystkie-obiekty/dCWT746SYEIh7lV5L3RJ_medal-wojska-) - [Australian War Memorial: Polish Army Active Service Medal](https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C382241) - [Australian War Memorial: Sobczak Cross of Valour and related medals](https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C243277) - [PISM: online document catalogue](https://pism.org.uk/online-document-catalogue/) ### Related guides - [Polish military medals and decorations](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/military/polish-military-decorations-and-medals/) - [1939-1945 Star in Polish medal groups](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/military/1939-1945-star/) - [The British War Medal 1939-1945](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/military/war-medal-1939-1945/) > **Research service:** Discover the person behind the medals · [View military research packages](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/services/polish-military-service-records-research/) --- Research help: The Polish Genealogist researches Polish family history, military service and citizenship evidence in Polish, British and international archives, with reports in English. 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