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Ian H Stewart CM FSND, was Chairman of Award Productions Ltd for 12 years prior to his retirement in 1998. Ian has enjoyed a wide and distinguished career in design and gained an international reputation as a multi-discipline designer involving head of design for the Robinson-Dickinson Group in South Africa and senior designer on the Provincial Museum of Alberta in Canada.

Designs for medals and coins have been closely integrated into Ian's career with commissions from countries such as Malta, New Zealand, Australia, Macau, Philippines and Canada he was appointed a Fellow of the Society of Numismatic Artists and Designers in the United Kingdom. During his time at Award and since retirement, he designed and was closely involved with the production of medals to mark the Normandy Campaign, National Service, Suez Canal Zone plus many more, including the more recent Queen's Sapphire Jubilee and Queen Elizabeth II 65th Anniversary Coronation Medals. Ian was also commissioned to  design the National Service Memorial and Normandy Campaign Memorials in granite and stainless steel, located in the National Memorial Arboretum.  

Ian has been a trustee of the Spirit of Normandy Trust since 1994 and is actively promoting the commemorations of the 75th Anniversary of the Normandy D-Day Landings. He also designed the fourteen divisional signs in the British Memorial Garden in Caen, Normandy.

On 30th June at 12 noon a Memorial Service and Wreath Laying will be held by the National Service Veterans Association in remembrance of National Service Conscripts from 1939 to 1960. The service will take place at the National Service Veterans Association Memorial.

For more information about the National Service Memorial Service, visit the National Memorial Arboretum website.

Seating for the service will be provided for all who register their attendance by contacting: Peter Lloyd, Secretary of National Service Veterans Association; Tel: 0121 422 0649; Email: pxk@btinternet.com

At AWARD we are lucky to have a dedicated team of framers, sewers and engravers who dedicate time and passion in producing hand-made items for our customers. A beautifully crafted Cockade, made to order by hand and traditionally worn by ladies and gents on lapel or hat, has been created in-house, using a metre of Normandy Campaign Commemorative Ribbon. At its centre is the exclusive Normandy 75 die-struck enamel badge depicting the red, blue and RAF blue of the Allied services and the 5 white stars which represent the five landing beaches and the white stars also identified Allied vehicles with the striking Normandy 1944 crest. The Normandy 75 Cockade can be worn in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings. £2.50 from the sale of each Normandy Cockade will be donated to the Spirit of Normandy Trust.

View Cockade

On 3rd September 1939, with the outbreak of war, the Military Service Act was replaced with the National Service Act which saw many conscripts play a key part in the Normandy D-Day Landings, with many souls paying the ultimate price for their dedication and service to King and country. As we remember all precious lives lost and the impact on those who were involved in the D-Day Landings, we will turn our thoughts to those who performed National Service on 6th June on the 75th anniversary of the Normandy D-Day Landings and on 30th June at the National Service Conscripts Memorial Service at the National Memorial Arboretum.