It commemorates the expedition which transferred the sovereignty of the well-known coaling-station to the East India Company. So far back as the year 1799 an expedition from Bombay had occupied the Island of Perim, at the entrance of the Red Sea, and during the expedition to Egypt in the year 1801 we had a garrison on that inhospitable little islet. At the close of the war with France the garrison was withdrawn. With the advent of steam it became evident that the real route to India would be by the Red Sea, and the value of Aden as a coaling-station was borne on the minds of the Government of our great dependency. Commodore Haines, of the Indian Marine, an officer of exceptional attainments, was entrusted with the task of carrying on the necessary negotiations with the Arab ruler of Aden, and in the year 1835, in return for a cash subsidy and a promise of British protection, we became virtual rulers of the place. Disputes soon arose. The neighbouring chiefs disapproved of the action of the chief with whom we had negotiated, and in the year 1838 it became evident that it would be necessary for us to maintain a garrison there in order to assert our supremacy. No resistance was anticipated, and the force sent was small. It consisted of a wing of the 1st Bombay Fusiliers (now the Royal Dublin Fusiliers) and the 24th Bombay Native Infantry, the whole under Major T. M. Bailie, of the latter regiment. Two ships of the Royal Navy, the _Volage_ and _Cruiser_, and a squadron of the Indian Marine also participated in the affair. On these were embarked the present 121st Pioneers, then known as the Bombay Marine Battalion. On the arrival of the expedition at Aden, the Arabs declined to allow the troops to land or to supply them with either food or water. The works were then shelled, and under cover of this fire the troops disembarked and occupied the town, which had been abandoned, the Arabs having taken refuge in one of the forts, from which a white flag was displayed. After a little parleying, these men surrendered; but in the act of disarming them a regrettable incident occurred, in which we lost some sixteen men killed and wounded; otherwise, with the exception of one midshipman, who was hurt in the landing, Aden was acquired without bloodshed. In the month of November following a half-hearted attempt was made to recapture the place. This was repulsed without loss, and in May, 1840, a second attempt was also repulsed. Since then our hold on Aden has been unchallenged, though on more than one occasion we have been compelled to undertake expeditions against the tribes in the hinterland, none of which, however, have been deemed of sufficient importance for special mention. Indeed, with so many hard-fought actions unrecorded, one is tempted to ask how comes it that the name "Aden" has been selected for a battle honour. PERSIA, 1856-57. This distinction is borne by the