Military General Service Medal | |
---|---|
Type | Campaign medal |
Awarded for | Campaign service |
Description | Silver disk, 36mm diameter |
Presented by | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
Eligibility | British Army |
Campaign(s) | French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1793–1814, Anglo-American War of 1812 |
Clasps | 29 authorised |
Established | 1 June 1847 |
Total | 26,091 |
Ribbon: 32mm, crimson edged with dark blue |
The Military General Service Medal (MGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847 and issued to officers and men of the British Army in 1848. [note 1] [note 2]
The MGSM was approved on 1 June 1847 as a retrospective award for various military actions from 1793–1814; a period encompassing the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Anglo-American War of 1812. Each battle or campaign covered by the medal was represented by a clasp on the ribbon; twenty-nine were sanctioned [2] and the maximum awarded to one man was fifteen. [note 3]
The Duke of Richmond, who had fought at Waterloo, was chiefly responsible for the belated institution of the Military General Service Medal for all survivors of the campaigns between 1793 and 1814. He campaigned in Parliament and also enlisted the interest of Queen Victoria, who persuaded a reluctant Duke of Wellington that junior and non-commissioned officers and private soldiers deserved this recognition. [6] [note 4] Hitherto, only the Waterloo Medal had been awarded to all ranks, while senior officers could receive the Army Gold Medal for service in the Napoleonic Wars. [7]
The MGSM was only awarded to surviving claimants. A combination of factors, including general illiteracy and limited publicity for the new medal, meant that many did not apply for it, [note 5] with only about 10 per cent of those who served receiving the medal. [8] While next of kin could not apply for a medal on behalf of a deceased relative, they did receive the medal in cases where the claimant had died between their application and actual award. [9]
A total of 26,089 medals were awarded. [10] [note 6]
This medal and its naval counterpart, the Naval General Service Medal, were among the first real British campaign medals, issued to all ranks present at a battle or campaign. The earlier Army Gold Medal had been awarded to field and general officers for their successful commands; they were not eligible to claim clasps for the same battle on the MGSM. [11] To distinguish between the two medals, the MGSM was referred to as the "silver medal".
The medal, designed by William Wyon, is of silver and 1.4 inches (36 mm) in diameter. [9]
The following clasps were awarded. Although the medal bears the dates 1793 to 1814, no clasp was authorised for service before 1801, or between 1802 and 1805. [13] A total of 21 clasps relate to the Peninsular War and three to the War of 1812. [14] The medal was never issued without a clasp. The most awarded to a single recipient was 15.
The Naval General Service Medal (NGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847, and issued to officers and men of the Royal Navy in 1849. The final date for submitting claims was 1 May 1851. Admiral Thomas Bladen Capel was one of the members of the board that authorised the medal.
The India General Service Medal was a campaign medal approved on 1 March 1854, for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies. It was awarded for various minor military campaigns in India and nearby countries, between 1852 and 1895.
The Indian General Service Medal was a campaign medal approved on 1 January 1909, for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies. From 1919, it was also awarded to officers and men of the Royal Air Force, with the Waziristan 1925 clasp awarded solely to the RAF.
The Indian General Service Medal was a campaign medal approved on 3 August 1938, for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies, and of the Royal Air Force.
The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of the Turkish Crimea Medal, but when a consignment of these was lost at sea, some troops received the Sardinian version.
The Baltic Medal was a campaign medal approved on 6 June 1856, for issue to officers and men of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Sappers and Miners who served between March 1854 and August 1855 in the Baltic Sea operations against Russia in the Baltic theatre of the Crimean War, or Åland War. The medal primarily covered naval actions but was also awarded to 106 men of the Royal Sappers and Miners who were landed to place demolition charges against Russian fortifications at Bomarsund and Sveaborg.
The Army of India Medal (AIM) was a campaign medal approved in 1851 for issue to officers and men of the British Army and the Army of the Honourable East India Company. A retrospective award following the precedent set by the Naval General Service Medal and the Military General Service Medal, it served to reward service in various actions from 1803 to 1826.
The Sutlej Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1846, for issue to officers and men of the British Army and Honourable East India Company who served in the Sutlej campaign of 1845–46. This medal was the first to use clasps to denote soldiers who fought in the major battles of the campaign.
The India Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1896 for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies.
The East and Central Africa Medal, established in February 1899, was a British campaign medal awarded for minor military operations in the Uganda Protectorate and Southern Sudan between 1897 and 1899. Four separate clasps were issued.
The Queen's Mediterranean Medal was authorised by King Edward VII and was awarded to Militia troops who had replaced their regular Army counterparts in the various military garrisons across the Mediterranean, in Gibraltar, Malta and Egypt. This allowed regular troops to be available for the Second Boer War.
The Afghanistan Medal, sanctioned on 19 March 1881, was awarded to members of the British and Indian armies who served in Afghanistan between 1878 and 1880 during the Second Afghan War, the first war being from 1839 to 1842.
The New Zealand War Medal was a campaign medal authorised in 1869 to be awarded to Imperial and Colonial troops involved in the New Zealand Wars of 1845–47 and 1860–66. The New Zealand Wars were previously known as the Māori Wars, Anglo-Māori Wars or Land Wars.
The Army Gold Medal (1808–1814), also known as the Peninsular Gold Medal, with an accompanying Gold Cross, was a British campaign medal awarded in recognition of field and general officers' successful commands in campaigns, predominantly the Peninsular War. It was not a general medal, since it was issued only to officers whose status was no less than that of battalion commander or equivalent.
The China War Medal was issued by the British Government in 1843 to members of the British and Indian forces who took part in the First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–42). The medal was designed by William Wyon.
The Africa General Service Medal, established in 1902, was a campaign medal of the United Kingdom. It was awarded for minor campaigns that took place in tropical Africa between 1900 and 1956, with a total of forty five clasps issued. The medal is never seen without a clasp and some are very rare. Most medals were granted to British led local forces, including the King's African Rifles and the West African Frontier Force. The only campaigns where European troops were present in any numbers were the various Somaliland campaigns,, and in Kenya.
The Ashanti Medal was sanctioned in October 1901 and was the first campaign medal authorised by Edward VII. This medal was created for those troops engaged in the Third Ashanti Expedition, also known as the War of the Golden Stool. This expedition lasted from March – December 1900, with the final outcome that the Ashanti maintained its de facto independence. Ashanti was made a Protectorate of the British Empire, but they ruled themselves with little reference to the colonial power.
The Khedive's Star was a campaign medal established by Khedive Tewfik Pasha to reward those who had participated in the military campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan between 1882 and 1891. This included British forces who served during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War and the subsequent Mahdist War, who received both the British Egypt Medal and the Khedive's Star. Cast in bronze and lacquered, it is also known as the Khedive's Bronze Star.
The Khedive's Sudan Medal was a campaign medal awarded by the Khedivate of Egypt for service in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Established in 1911 by the Khedive, this medal replaced the earlier Khedive's Sudan Medal (1897) and was superseded by the Sudan Defence Force General Service Medal (1933).
The Royal Niger Company’s Medal was a campaign medal issued in 1899 by the Royal Niger Company for service in minor military operations in Nigeria between 1886 and 1897. The award was approved by the British government and could be worn by British servicemen.