The Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry Medal

• Time Period: Pre-WW1
• Year of Institution: 1900
• Country: Great Britain

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.