War Medals and Their History

by William Augustus Steward

VICTORIAN MILITARY LONG SERVICE MEDAL.

NAVAL DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL INSTITUTED BY HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE V OCTOBER 1914.

This medal is illustrated from lead squeezes specially taken for illustration in this book. The medal depends from a straight suspender as used with the Naval Long Service Medals.

Royal Field Artillery.—2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 28th, 37th, 38th, 39th, 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 53rd, 61st, 62nd, 63rd, 64th, 65th, 66th, 67th, 68th, 69th, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 81st, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 86th, 87th, and 88th Batteries.

Royal Engineers, Army Service and Army Ordnance Corps, Army Veterinary and Army Pay Departments, and R.A. Medical Corps.

Irregular Corps.—Imperial Light Horse, South African Light Horse, Cape Mounted Rifles, Kitchener's Fighting Scouts, Thorneycroft's Horse, Brabant's Horse, Bethune's Horse, British South African Police, South African Constabulary, National Scouts (Boers), Scottish Horse, Lumsden's Horse and Strathcona's Horse, New South Wales Military Forces, Imperial Bushmen, New Zealand Mounted Rifles and Rough Riders, Queensland Mounted Infantry, South Australian Mounted Infantry and Bushmen's Contingent, Tasmanian Infantry, Artillery, and Bushmen, Victorian Infantry, Victorian Mounted Infantry, Cameron's Scouts, West Australian Contingent, Royal Canadian Dragoons and Batteries of Field Artillery, Canadian Mounted Rifles, Canadian Scouts, Ceylon Mounted Infantry, Bechuanaland Rifles, Border Horse, and Mounted Rifles, also Scouts, Brabant's Scouts, British South Africa Police, Cape Cavalry Brigade, Cape Colony Cyclist Corps, Cape Garrison Artillery, Cape Medical Staff Corps, Cape Mounted Rifle Club, Cape Police, 1st City (Grahamstown) Volunteers, Colonial Defence Force, Commander-in-Chief's Bodyguard, Dennison's Scouts, Diamond Field Artillery, Diamond Field Horse, District Mounted Rifles, Driscoll's Scouts, Duke of Edinburgh's Own Volunteer Rifles, Durban Light Infantry, East Griqualand Mounted Rifle Volunteers, Eastern Province Horse, French's Scouts, Frontier Mounted Rifles, Gatacre's Scouts, Griqualand East Mounted Rifle Volunteers, Herbert District Mounted Rifles, Herschell Mounted Volunteers, Imperial Light Horse and Light Infantry, Johannesburg Mounted Rifles, Kaffrarian Rifles, Kenny's Scouts, Kimberley Regiment, Kimberley Mounted Corps and Light Horse, Kimberley Rifles, Kitchener's Horse, Kuysna Rangers, Komgha Mounted Volunteers, Loch's Horse, Lovat's Scouts, Maritzani Mounted Irregulars, Marshal's Horse, Merre's Scouts, Military Foot Police, Modder River District Mounted Rifles, Namaqualand Border Scouts, Natal Volunteers, Natal Mounted Infantry, Nesbitt's Horse, New England Mounted Rifles, Orpen's Horse, Pioneer Railway Regiment, Prince Alfred's Own Cape Artillery, Prince Alfred's Volunteer Guard, Prince of Wales's Light Horse, Queenstown Rifle Volunteers, Rand Rifles, Rimington's Guides, Roberts's Light Horse, Rundle's Colonial Scouts, Rhodesian Regiment, Scottish Horse, South African Constabulary, South Rhodesian Volunteers, Steinaeker's Horse, Stellenbosch Mounted Infantry, Tembuland Mounted Rifle Corps, Transkei Mounted Rifles, Uitenhage Volunteer Rifles, and the Umvoti, Utrecht, Victoria, and Vryburg Mounted Rifles, Warwick's Scouts, Western Light Horse, and Western Province Mounted Rifles.

Town Guards.—The Aliwal North, Barkly East, Barkly West, Boshof, Burgherdorn, Campbell Town, Colesburg, Cradock, Dordrecht District, Douglas, East London, Grahamstown, Griquatown, Hopetown, Hoppesia, Indwe, Jamestown, Kimberley, King Williamstown, Klipdam, Kokstad, Kuruman, Lady Grey, Molteno, Naauwpoort, Port Elizabeth, Queenstown, Qumbu, Starkstroom, Steynsburg, Stormburg, T'somo, Uitenhage, Vryburg, and Warrenton.

Africa General Service Medal.—In June 1902 it was decided to strike a medal to take the place of the two which had hitherto been awarded for service in Central, also East and West, Africa. It was to be known as the Africa General Service Medal. The obverse is the same as the King's South Africa medal, but on the reverse is the figure of Britannia, with a lion beside her, as on the East and West African medal illustrated facing page [296], but with AFRICA in the exergue. The ribbon is yellow, with two narrow green stripes touching the broad black edging. Bronze medals were issued to camp followers. Numerous bars have been issued with this medal: NIGERIA for operations carried on in the early-part of 1900, and in December of the same year, also in August and September 1901; S. NIGERIA for operations in March, April, and May, 1901, and for JUBALAND to those who were in the small force sent against the truculent Ogaden Somalis between November 1900 and the end of April 1901. Only 465 silver and 26 bronze medals were issued, and these mostly to the 16th Bombay Cavalry. The other recipients of the medal and bar were sailors and marines from three of H.M. ships. The bar for SOMALILAND 1901 was issued to those who were engaged there during May, June, and July 1901, and a bar for UGANDA 1900 to those who were engaged in the Uandi country during the period between July and October 1900. Only 5 officers and 1 British non-commissioned officer received the bar, and only 373 other bars were issued—268 to the 4th King's African Rifles, and 105 to Indian soldiers. To the 24th Punjab Infantry, which was engaged in different districts between August 1899 and December 1900, a bar inscribed B. C. A. 1899-1900—meaning British Central Africa 1899-1900—was awarded. The bar for GAMBIA was granted to a detachment of the 2nd King's African Rifles, four companies of the 3rd W.I.R., and the crews of three of H.M. ships who were engaged in the operations between January and March 1901. The bar for ARO 1901-1902 was issued to those who were engaged against the Aro tribe between November 1901 and March 1902. Fourteen British officers and the crew of H.M. "Thrush," with 1,830 native soldiers, composed the Aro Field Force. The bar for LANGO 1901 was awarded to those members of the 4th King's African Rifles who were engaged against the Sudanese mutineers and the Langos between April and August 1901. To those engaged in the Bornu expedition, from February to May 1902, and in the Kontagora expedition in February 1902, the bar for N. NIGERIA 1902 was issued (the same bar was given to those who were serving at Argungu and on convoy duty), and to those who were engaged in Nigeria between July 1902 and June 1903. In April 1905 a bar was issued inscribed N. NIGERIA 1903 to those who had taken part in the Kano-Sokoto campaign. To this medal it was decided to add the bar SOMALILAND 1902-04, and one for JIDBALLI to those engaged in the operations between January 1902 and May 1904.