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Category: Round and Oval

The Medal for the Defense of O’okiep

The Medal for the Defence of O’okiep (also known as the Cape Copper Co. Medal) is a private campaign medal instituted by the Cape Copper Company Limited in 1902 and awarded to members of the O’okiep Garrison who defended the town while it was besieged by Boer Commandos from 4 April to 4 May 1902, near the end of the Second Boer War.

The Cape Copper Company had its origin in the Cape Copper Mining Company, originally established in 1862 or 1863 to take over the copper mining properties of Phillips & King, an enterprise that had been involved in copper mining around O’okiep in Namaqualand since the 1850s. The Cape Copper Mining Company was restructured as the Cape Copper Company in 1888.

The garrison of O’okiep, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel W.A.D. Shelton DSO, consisted of 206 European miners, 660 “Cape Coloureds”, 44 men of the 5th Warwickshire militia and twelve men of the Cape Garrison Artillery who assisted Shelton’s troops.

The Medal for the Defense of Ookiep Design

The medal is circular, struck in silver or bronze and measures 36 millimeters in diameter.

The obverse shows a miner and copper wagon, with the Company name and date of foundation (1888) inscribed around the circumference. The reverse bears a thirteen-lined text.

The ribbon is dark brown with a central green stripe and the medal is fitted with a scroll suspender.

The Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry Medal

The Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry Medal is an unofficial British Empire campaign medal instituted in 1900 and presented by the ‘people of Yorkshire’ to members of the Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry that served in South Africa during the Second Boer War.

The original proposal to organize Regiments of Yeomanry for service in the Boer War was made by Lord Chesham and other Yeomanry officers in October 1899. On 13 December 1899, the War Office decided it would allow a contingent of volunteer forces based on the standing Yeomanry regiments to serve overseas. Simultaneously, with the establishment of the Imperial Yeomanry, Volunteer Service Companies, each of which contained 116 men, territorially affiliated with the Infantry, were also established.

A total of 66 Volunteer Service Companies served during the Boer War. Many medals were produced locally and awarded to officers and men of county regiments.

The Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry Medal Design

The medal is a circular, struck in silver and measures 38 millimeters in diameter. Three versions of this medal were produced.

The obverse of the first two medals featured the numeral 3 below the Prince of Wales’s feathers and may be found with the dates 1900-1901 or 1901-1902. The third type has the figure “66”, denoting the two battalions that were involved.

The reverse is the same for the three versions of this medal: The white rose of Yorkshire surmounted by an imperial crown and enclosed in a laurel wreath with the inscription “A TRIBUTE FROM YORKSHIRE“.

The ribbon is dark blue with a central yellow stripe. The suspender for the first two medals was a plain ring that surmounts the medal. The third issue is of the plain, straight and swiveling style attached to the medal by a claw mount.

The recipient’s details can be found on the medal’s rim.

The Kimberley Star and Kimberley Medal

The Kimberley Star and Kimberley Medal were instituted in 1900 and awarded by the Mayor and Council of Kimberley to the defenders of the mining town against the Boer forces.

Two medals were struck in gold but about 5000 were produced in silver. The Kimberley medal (as opposed to the star) is a much scarcer award.

The Kimberley Star and Medal Design

The Star

The Kimberley Star is a six-pointed star with ball finials and a circular center and measures 43 millimeters high and 41 millimeters wide.

On the obverse is the inscription “KIMBERLEY 1899-1900” with the civic arms in the middle. The reverse is plain, except for the inscription “MAYOR’S SIEGE MEDAL 1900”. The medal’s ribbon is half yellow, half black, separated by narrow stripes of red, white and blue.

The suspension is a plain ring from a scrolled bar.

The Medal

The Kimberley Medal is a circular, struck in silver and measures 38 millimeters in diameter.

The obverse features the figure of Victory above the Kimberley Town Hall, with the dates 1899-1900 in the exergue. The reverse bears two shields with the inscription “INVESTED 15 OCT. 1899” and “RELIEVED 15 FEB. 1900”. The imperial crown appears above and the royal cipher underneath, with the legend “TO THE GALLANT DEFENDERS OF KIMBERLEY” around the circumference.

The Sultan of Zanzibar’s Medal

The Sultan of Zanzibar’s Medal was established in 1896 and awarded to the Zanzibari contingent who served under Lieut. Lloyd-Matthews RN in East Africa alongside British and Imperial forces.

The medal was awarded with the following clasps:

  • Pumwani
  • Jongeni
  • Takaungu
  • Mwele (inscribed only in Arabic)

The Sultan of Zanzibar’s Medal Design

The medal is circular, struck in silver and measures 36 millimeters in diameter.

The obverse shows a facing bust of Sultan Hamid bin Thwain surrounded by a Suaheli inscription in Arabic. The reverse has the same inscription in four lines.

The medal’s ribbon is plain bright scarlet.

The British North Borneo Company’s Medal 1888-1916

The British North Borneo Company’s Medal 1888-1916 is a British campaign medal established in 1897 and awarded for service in the 15 minor expeditions between 1883 and 1915, excluding the major action at Tambunan.

The manufacturers, Spink, supplied 12 silver medals in 1898-89 for award to officers, only three of which were named. In 1906 a further 74 silver medals were issued to be exchanged for the bronze ones initially awarded to other ranks. A further 11 silver medals were supplied unnamed later on. A total of 75 bronze medals were supplied, of which 25 were stamped with a name and sometimes rank and number.

The medal was awarded with the following clasps:

  • Punitive Expedition (1897)
  • Punitive Expeditions (1898-1915)
  • Rundum (1915)

The British North Borneo Company’s Medal 1888-1916 Design

The medal is circular, struck in silver or bronze and measures 38mm in diameter and 5mm thick.

The obverse shows the shield of the Company, supported by a warrior on either side. The company motto at the foot reads “ERGO ET PERAGO” (or “I carry and accomplish“). The reverse bears the British lion facing left, standing in front of a bush adorned with the Company flag, with a small wreath in the exergue.

The medal’s ribbon was initially gold (later yellow), watery silk and measuring 32 millimeters. It was replaced in 1917 by a 32mm ribbon with maroon edges, two yellow stripes and a dark blue central stripe. The central stripe was originally 6mm wide, although modern ones have a 10mm stripe.

The India Medal

The India Medal was approved in 1896 and issued as an award to officers and men of the British and Indian armies.

The India Medal is a campaign medal approved in 1896 for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies. This medal replaced the India General Service Medal (1854).

The India Medal was awarded for various minor military campaigns in India, chiefly for service on the North-West Frontier from 1895 to 1902.

Each campaign was represented by a clasp on the ribbon of the medals. Seven were sanctioned:

  • Defense of Chitral 1895 (3 March – 13 April 1895)
  • Relief of Chitral 1895 (7 March – 15 August 1895)
  • Punjab Frontier 1897-98 (10 June 1897 – 6 April 1898)
  • Malakand 1897 (26 July – 2 August 1897)
  • Samana 1897 2 (August – 2 October 1897)
  • Tirah 1897-98 (2 October 1897 – 6 April 1898)
  • Waziristan 1901-02 (23 November 1901 – 10 March 1902)

The India Medal Design

The medal is circular, struck in silver for soldiers of the British and Indian armies, and in bronze to native bearers and servants. It measures 36 millimeters (1.4 in) in diameter.

The obverse bears the profile of Queen Victoria or, for those awarded the medal with the Waziristan 1901–02 clasp, King Edward VII, both with a suitable inscription. The reverse portrays a British and an Indian soldier together carrying a standard with the inscription “India 1895“, and the Edward VII version omits the date. The reverse was designed by G. W. de Saulles.

The ribbon measures 1.25 inches (32 mm) wide and has five equal stripes of red, green, red, green, red.

The name and details of the recipient were engraved on the edge of the medal, normally in running script.

The Hong Kong Plague Medal

The Hong Kong Plague Medal was established in 1894 and awarded by the colonial authorities in Hong Kong to nurses, civil servants, police, British Army and Royal Navy personnel who rendered assistance when the crown colony was stricken by a severe epidemic of bubonic plague in 1894.

Even though stringent measures were taken, bubonic plague swept through Hong Kong from May to September 1894, claiming 2,500 lives. To deal with such a deadly epidemic, the Sanitary Board passed bye-laws on 11 May 1894 that permitted house-to-house searches to discover and isolate as soon as possible persons suffering from plague and to clean the houses in which plague was present. Initially, the work was carried out by the local European police inspectors and sergeants accompanied by Chinese constables and detectives, but as the epidemic spread like wildfire, the work soon exceeded the capacity of the local police.

About 400 medals were issued in silver and awarded to 300 men of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, 50 petty officers and ratings of the Royal Navy and NCOs and other ranks of the Royal Engineers, as well as about the same number of police and junior officials. Exactly 45 medals were struck in gold for award to officers, nursing sisters and senior officials.

The medal was not authorized for wear on uniform by the British troops.

The Hong Kong Plague Medal Design

The medal is circular, struck in silver or gold and measures 36 millimeters (1.4 in) in diameter.

The obverse shows a Chinese man lying on a bed being tended to by a female nurse while a man holds off the winged figure of Death. The figure of Death is aiming his spear at a plague-stricken Chinese man laid on a table. The woman, symbolizing Charity, has her right hand on the patient’s heart and her left hand holding a bottle of medicine. On the left the words ‘Hong Kong‘ are inscribed in Chinese characters, while a scroll shows the date 1894.

The reverse bears two inscriptions: ‘For services rendered during the plague of 1894‘ and ‘Presented by the Hong Kong Community‘.

The ribbon is red with yellow edges and two thin yellow stripes down the center. The naming is in impressed capitals giving the recipients rank, name, and regiment.

Notes

This page was updated on 21 March 2023. The medal showed an image that belonged to Liverpool Medals but didn’t show the correct attribution. 

The Central Africa Medal

The Central Africa Medal is a campaign medal awarded for service in Eastern and Central Africa and 1894-1898 in British Central Africa.

The Central Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded for service 1891-1894 in Eastern and Central Africa, and 1894-1898 in British Central Africa.

Award of the medal was approved by Queen Victoria in Army Order No. 66, 1 April 1895. The initial decoration was for various military expeditions from July 1891 to June 1894, but was subsequently extended to the Unyoro Expedition in 1895 and later authorized for service in British Central Africa 1895-1898.

Most medals were awarded to members of the Indian Army and British-led local forces for suppressing slave-trading or to punish raids on neighboring tribes.

No British Army units were present, although some British officers and non commissioned officers seconded to local units received the medal, as did a small number of Royal Navy personnel.

The Central Africa Medal Design

The medal is circular, measures 36 millimeters (1.4 in) in diameter and was struck in silver to combatants and in bronze to native porters and authorized servants. The medal uses the same design as the Ashantee Medal and the East and West Africa Medal, although with a different ribbon.

The obverse shows the left-facing effigy of Queen Victoria wearing a diadem with a veil behind. On either side is the inscription VICTORIA on the left and REGINA on the right. The designer for the obverse was Leonard Charles Wyon. The reverse shows a scene, inspired by the Ashanti War, of British soldiers fighting the Ashanti in the jungle. It was designed by Sir Edward John Poynter.

The ribbon measures 31.7 millimeters (1.25 in) wide, and has three equal stripes of black, white and pale brown, also described as copper or terra cotta. It was worn with the black to the left when facing the wearer and the colors symbolize the troops who took part – African, European, and Indian.

The recipient’s name and unit were usually engraved or impressed on the rim of the medal, although some were issued unnamed.

The British South Africa Company’s Medal

The British South Africa Company Medal was sanctioned by Queen Victoria to troops who had been engaged in the First Matabele War.

The British South Africa Company Medal is a British campaign medal established in 1896 and sanctioned by Queen Victoria and the British South Africa Company to troops who had been engaged in the First Matabele War. The majority of awards were to colonial and locally-raised troops, rather than members of the regular British Army.

In 1897, the award was extended to those engaged in the two campaigns of the Second Matabele War, namely Rhodesia (1896) and Mashonaland (1897). The three medals are the same except for the name of the campaign for which the medal was issued, inscribed on the reverse.

In 1927, the government of Southern Rhodesia re-issued the medal and instituted a new clasp, to commemorate the Pioneer Column that operated within Mashonaland in 1890. Those previously awarded the medal were required to exchange it for the new version.

The four clasps issued were:

  1. Matabeleland 1893
  2. Rhodesia 1896
  3. Mashonaland 1897
  4. Mashonaland 1890

The British South Africa Company’s Medal Design

The medal is circular, struck in silver and measures 36 millimeters (1.4 in) in diameter. It was manufactured by Heaton and Company of Birmingham.

The obverse shows a left-facing effigy of Queen Victoria wearing a diadem and veil. Around the edge is inscribed “Victoria Regina”.

The reverse was designed by Richard Caton Woodville Jr and depicts a charging lion, wounded in the chest with an assegai. In the foreground are native weapons and a shield, in the background is a mimosa bush, and below the scene the inscription: “BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY”. The recipient’s first eligible campaign is inscribed at the top on all versions of the medal except the 1927 issue.

The ribbon measures 35 millimeters (1.4 in) wide and is watered silk in golden yellow with three dark blue stripes.

The swiveling suspension bar is decorated with shamrocks, thistles and roses. The medals were named to the recipient using a number of different engraved and impressed styles, depending on when the medal was issued.

The Medal for Bravery (Austria)

The Medal for Bravery (or Tapferkeitsmedaille in German) was a military decoration of Austria-Hungary established in 1789.

Time Period: Pre World War I, World War I
Institution: 19 July 1789
Country: Austria, Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire
 

The Medal for Bravery (or Tapferkeitsmedaille in German) was a military decoration of Austria-Hungary established in 1789 and awarded for bravery in battle until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918.

The medal was created by Emperor Joseph II on 19 July 1789 in order to recognize courage in combat by personnel below commissioned rank. From 1789 to 1915, the Medal for Bravery existed in three classes:

  • Golden Medal for Bravery,
  • Silver Medal for Bravery 1st Class,
  • Silver Medal for Bravery 2nd Class.

A fourth class, the Bronze Medal for Bravery, was introduced on 14 February 1915 during World War I. It was the same size as the Silver Medal 2nd Class. Bars denoting subsequent awards within the same class were introduced on 29 November 1915.

On 26 September 1917, Emperor Charles I amended the statutes of the Medal for Bravery and decreed that the Golden Medal for Bravery and the Silver Medal for Bravery 1st Class could now also be awarded to commissioned officers, particularly in cases where their services were not sufficient for the Military Order of Maria Theresa.

After World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the newly established Kingdom of Hungary instituted in 1922 the Medal of Bravery in silver only. By 14 April 1939, gold, large silver, small silver and bronze awards were issued to non-commissioned officers and men and, on 12 September 1942, the gold medal for bravery award for officers was added.

The Medal for Bravery Design

All versions of the Medal for Bravery bear, on the obverse, the portrait of the reigning monarch on the obverse and the inscription “Der Tapferkeit” (“To Bravery“) on the reverse.

Medals awarded during World War I were minted with the portrait of Emperor Franz Josef on the obverse until some months after his death. Starting in April 1917, the visage of his successor, Emperor Charles I, was substituted.

Commissioned officers after WW1 wore the same medals as the ranks, plus the letter “K” (in gold or silver, depending on the class of the award) superimposed on the triangular ribbon.