Meritorious Service Medal (New Zealand) | |
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Type | Medal for long service and meritorious service |
Awarded for | Twenty one years of long and meritorious service [1] |
Country | New Zealand |
Presented by | the Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India |
Eligibility | Warrant Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers of the New Zealand Defence Force |
Status | To be superseded by the New Zealand Defence Meritorious Service Medal [2] |
Established | 28 April 1898 |
Precedence | |
Next (higher) | New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal [3] |
Equivalent | Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom) Meritorious Service Medal (Cape of Good Hope) |
Next (lower) | New Zealand Armed Forces Award |
The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal is a meritorious and long service award for members of the New Zealand Defence Force. Initially established on 28 April 1898 as the Meritorious Service Medal (New Zealand), only members of the New Zealand Army were eligible for award. In 1985, a Royal Warrant established the current criteria for the medal making all members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force eligible for the award. Members of the defence forces above the rank of sergeant, who have at least 21 years of service, and hold their service's Long Service and Good Conduct Medal are eligible for the medal. The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal is to be replaced by the New Zealand Defence Meritorious Service Medal, though holders of the superseded medal are still entitled to continue wearing it. [2]
The medal is silver and circular in shape. The obverse bears the effigy of the Sovereign of New Zealand, surrounded by the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID. DEF. The reverse bears the inscription For Meritorious Service surrounded by a laurel wreath, surmounted by a royal crown. Above the crown is the inscription New Zealand. [4]
The medal is suspended by a ribbon, 32 mm in width, of crimson with a narrow centre stripe of green. [1]
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranking below the Victoria Cross, until its discontinuation in 1993 when it was replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. The medal was also awarded to non-commissioned military personnel of other Commonwealth Dominions and Colonies.
The Efficiency Medal was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men after twelve years of efficient service on the active list of the Militia or the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom, or of the other Auxiliary Military Forces throughout the British Empire. At the same time a clasp was instituted for award to holders of the medal upon completion of further periods of six years of efficient service.
The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a British medal awarded to sergeants and warrant officers of the British armed forces for long and meritorious service. From 1916 to 1928, eligibility was extended to cover both valuable services by selected other ranks irrespective of length of service, and for gallantry not in the face of the enemy.
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The Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is a military award recognizing 15 years of exemplary and unblemished service by non-commissioned and other ranks members of the New Zealand Defence Force. Established in 1985, these medals replaced the British Long Service and Good Conduct Medals with specific versions for New Zealand. There are three version of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, one each for the New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
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The New Zealand Defence Meritorious Service Medal is a military award of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). Established by Royal Warrant 15 October 2013, the medal may be awarded to recognize meritorious exceptional performance, commitment, or innovation. Military and civilian personnel of the NZDF are eligible for this award regardless of rank or time in service. It will supersede the New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal.
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The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct is a distinctive South African version of the British Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military). It was awarded to members of the Permanent Force of the Union of South Africa who had completed eighteen years of reckonable service.
The Royal Air Force Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is a medal awarded to regular members of the Royal Air Force in recognition of long service. It was instituted by King George V in 1919, the year following the establishment of the world's first independent air force. At first, the medal was awarded to Regular Force non-commissioned officers and airmen of the Royal Air Force. The award criteria were later relaxed to also allow the award of the medal to officers who had served a minimum period in the ranks before being commissioned. Since 2016, it is awarded to all regular members of the RAF, including officers who had never served in the ranks.
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In May 1895, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various British military medals and to award them to members of their local permanent military forces. The Colony of Natal introduced this system in August 1895 and, in 1897, instituted the Meritorious Service Medal (Natal).
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