In 1844, the British inhabitants of Calcutta raised a subscription of 11,000 rupees to commemorate General George Pollock's victories in Afghanistan after the disastrous retreat of the British army of occupation from Kabul in January 1842. This was to consist of a medal to be presented twice a year “to the most distinguished cadet at the East India Company’s Military Seminary, at Addiscombe, near Croydon in England, on passing the biennial examination for a commission.”
Description
The original Pollock PrizeThe reverse of the original Pollock Prize
The original medal, with a weight of 2oz and valued at sixteen guineas, was designed by General Macleod and was first presented in December 1847, with the following inscription:
To commemorate eminent services
Major-General Sir George Pollock, K.C.B.
Bengal Artillery, Cabul 1842
Treachery avenged – British honour vindicated – Disasters retrieved – British captives delivered – Khyber Pass forced – Jellalabad relieved – Victories of Mamoo Khail, Jugdulluck, Tezeen, Istaliff
And on the reverse:
Military Seminary, Addiscombe
Pollock Prize
Presented by the British Inhabitants of Calcutta, and Awarded by the Court of Directors of the East India Company, to the most distinguished Cadet of the Season.
Changes
In 1861, the Secretary of State for India, who was now responsible for the management of Indian affairs after the British government had taken India over from the East India Company, decided to have a new medal of a smaller size. The medal was valued at twelve guineas, and part of the inscription recording the services of Sir George Pollock and his army was omitted.
The new version continued to have the portrait of Sir George Pollock but with the inscription:
Pollock, Cabul, 1842
And on its reverse:
Pollock Prize, Royal Military Academy
Founded by the British inhabitants of Calcutta to commemorate the eminent services of Major-General Sir George Pollock, G.C.B., and awarded to the most distinguished Cadet of the season
Although Sir George Pollock was not consulted over the changes, he continued to present the medal in person whenever his health allowed him until 4 months before his death, when he presented it to John Copsey Addison in June 1872.
In 1861 the East India Company handed over control of its Indian possessions to the British government and the East India Company's military units were incorporated into the British army. The Military Seminary at Addiscombe was closed and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich took over the training of new officers, and the awarding of the Pollock Medal.
The following is the roll of Pollock Medallists until February 1875 as recorded on tablets fixed on the walls of the great dining hall of the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich:
The above two lists are taken from the Memoir to Illustrate the Origin and Foundation of the Pollock Medal (1875),[2] published anonymously but probably written by Field Marshal Sir Lintorn Simmons. Updated March 2016 by the son (see edit history for contact information) of the December 1928 recipient to include recipients after July 1875 using supplementary pages in his father's copy of the book. The following list was created from the RMAS Old College Notice Board. Note that in December 1925 there were two classes commissioned (Last of 4-term; first of 3-term.)
Addiscombe is an area of south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 9.1 miles (15 km) south of Charing Cross, and is situated north of Coombe and Selsdon, east of Croydon town centre, south of Woodside, and west of Shirley.
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of Sandhurst, Berkshire, though its ceremonial entrance is in Camberley, Surrey, southwest of London. The academy's stated aim is to be "the national centre of excellence for leadership". All British Army officers, including late-entry officers who were previously Warrant Officers, as well as other men and women from overseas, are trained at the academy. Sandhurst is the British Army equivalent of the Britannia Royal Naval College and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.
The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry and cavalry officers of the British and Indian Armies.
The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Signals and other technical corps. RMA Woolwich was commonly known as "The Shop" because its first building was a converted workshop of the Woolwich Arsenal.
Brigadier-General Sir Henry Montgomery LawrenceKCB was a British military officer, surveyor, administrator and statesman in British India. He is best known for leading a group of administrators in the Punjab affectionately known as Henry Lawrence's "Young Men", as the founder of the Lawrence Military Asylums and for his death at the Siege of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion.
General Sir William Olpherts was a British Indian Army officer and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Colonel James Morris Colquhoun Colvin VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a member of a British or Commonwealth force.
Field Marshal Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet was a British Indian Army officer. He first saw action at the Battle of Deeg and at the Siege of Bhurtpore during the Second Anglo-Maratha War before taking part in the Anglo-Nepalese War. He also commanded the British artillery at the Battle of Prome and at Bagan during the First Anglo-Burmese War. Following a disastrous retreat from Kabul in January 1842 during the First Anglo-Afghan War, the retreating forces became stranded at the small British garrison at Jalalabad and Pollock was appointed Commander of the Force sent to relieve the garrison: he advanced through the Khyber Pass and relieved the garrison in April 1842. He then set about an unauthorised but ultimately successful mission to rescue the British hostages who had been left behind in Kabul prior to the retreat. In 1844 the Pollock Medal was created to commemorate Pollock's achievements: this medal was to be awarded to the "best cadet of the season" at the Addiscombe Military Seminary.
Field Marshal Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain was a distinguished British military officer in British India. He served in the Bengal Army and saw action in the First Anglo-Afghan War, Gwalior campaign, Second Anglo-Sikh War, Indian Rebellion and Second Anglo-Afghan War. He later became Commander-in-chief of the Madras Army.
Lieutenant-General Sir George St Patrick Lawrence was an officer in the British Indian Army.
Major-General Sir Frederick Abbott was a British Indian Army officer and engineer of the East India Company.
The East India Company Military Seminary was a British military academy at Addiscombe, Surrey, in what is now the London Borough of Croydon. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1861. Its purpose was to train young officers to serve in the East India Company's own army in India.
Major-General Sir Vincent Eyre was an officer in the Indian Army, who saw active service in India and Afghanistan.
Sir Richmond Campbell Shakespear, CB was an Indian-born British Indian Army officer. He helped to influence the Khan of Khiva to abolish the capture and selling of Russian slaves in Khiva. This likely forestalled the Russian conquest of the Khiva, although it ultimately did not prevent it.
James Andrew, LL.D., was the principal of the East India Company's Military Seminary at Addiscombe, Surrey from 1809 to 1822.
The Jellalabad Medal was a campaign medal issued by the British East India Company. It was established by Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General of India, on 30 April 1842. The medal was awarded for the defence of Jalalabad from 12 November 1841 to 7 April 1842, during the First Afghan War, to the troops under the command of Sir Robert Sale. About 2,600 soldiers took part, including the 13th Foot, the 35th Bengal Native Infantry, as well as detachments from other Indian Army units and some loyal Afghan forces.
The Kelat-I-Ghilzie Medal is a campaign medal issued by the British East India Company, to the defenders of the fort at Kelat-I-Ghilzie during the First Anglo-Afghan War.
Lieutenant-General Sir Edwin Markham was a British Army officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey in 1892.
James Waterhouse (1842–1922) was a British photographer and Indian Army officer who headed the Photographic Department of the Survey of India and pioneered the development of photomechanical printing.
Andrew Wilson Baird was a Scottish colonel of the Royal Engineers. He is best remembered for his work in tidal studies of the coast of India.
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