Ribbon width can vary slightly though it is generally 32mm wide. Their own colours often have a symbolic significance: the equal stripes of the ‘1939 to 1945 Star,’ for example, are dark blue to represent the service of the Royal and Merchant Navies, red, to represent that of the Armies and light blue to represent that of Air Forces. These were first made of silk but cotton was increasingly used as the nineteenth century developed. Ribbons: Medals are worn suspended from their own specific ribbons. The majority of the British campaign awards are circular, usually 36mm in diameter. Materials: The majority of the British medals and clasps are made of solid silver, though some were issue in bronze versions, mainly to Indian non-combatants. The force sent to relive Kandahar defeated the Afghan army the very next day, which led Queen Victoria to approve the issuing of this bronze star for membership in 1881. It was awarded to British and British Indian Army personnel who took part in General Robert’s famous epic 320 mile march from Kabul to Kandahar in Afghanistan, between 9 th and 31 st August 1880. The Kabul to Kandahar Star was instituted on 19 th March, 1881 and made from the bronze of captured cannons taken from Ayub Khan at the Battle of Kandahar.
