This medal was proposed by the national ex-prisoners of war association in the UK for all ex-prisoners of war, or their next of kin, whose contries were allies of Britian at the time of their capture irrespective of whether the UK itself was involved in the conflict or not. The ribbon has a symbolised strand of barbed wire bounded on either side by black bands representing the despair of the compound.These in turn are edged by white bands representative of the second and third fences of the compound. The bands of green are reminiscent of the fields of home and finally both red edges are symbolic of the burning faith of those who were interned.