War Medals and Their History

Name: War Medals and Their History
Author: Steward, William Augustus

Steward, William Augustus

Great Britain. Army -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.

=Ghuznee Medal, 1839.=--Shah Shoojah had also determined to decorate
the ordinary soldiers who had taken part in the campaign, but
his assassination prevented the realisation of his desire, and
subsequently--November 23rd, 1842--the Governor-General decided that
the medals which had been struck at Calcutta in commemoration of the
capture of Ghuznee should be given to the officers and men who had
participated in the capture. This, the first Indian medal to be issued
with a bar for suspension, is of silver, and, with the exception of
the medal for Seringapatam, the first to be given to all the troops
engaged, the previous medals having been bestowed upon native troops
only. It is 1½ in. in diameter, with broad flat edge, bearing on the
obverse a view of the gateway of the citadel, with GHUZNEE on an
ornamental panel underneath, running with the lines of the medal.
On the reverse, within a laurel wreath, a mural crown above 1839,
and between the terminals of the wreath the date of the capture of
the fortress, 23D. JULY, a space being left in the centre for the
recipient's name, which had to be placed there at his expense. The
medals are occasionally found with the names engraved or impressed upon
the edge. Two dies were used for the obverse, and one has a much wider
border. The medal was originally suspended from a half green and yellow
ribbon, but it was changed to crimson and green 1⅖ in. wide.

=Governor-General's Medal.=--Dr. Payne has kindly enabled me to
reproduce the unique silver medal presented to the Right Honourable the
Earl of Auckland, G.B.C., Governor-General of India and Governor of
the Presidency of Fort William. The medal is 1⅗ in. wide, has no bar
for suspension, and is enamelled. On the obverse is represented the
fortress of Ghuznee--a very different rendering to that on the medal
just referred to--with the victorious army marching through the gate.
On the reverse is the inscription AFGHANISTAN-GHUZNEE--23ʳ·ᵈ· JULY
1839. This striking is the only one known to exist. (See facing page
88.)




FIRST CHINESE WAR, 1842

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

War Medals and Their HistorySteward, William Augustus

History

War Medals and Their History

Steward, William Augustus

Great Britain. Army -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.

=Ghuznee Medal, 1839.=--Shah Shoojah had also determined to decorate
the ordinary soldiers who had taken part in the campaign, but
his assassination prevented the realisation of his desire, and
subsequently--November 23rd, 1842--the Governor-General decided that
the medals which had been struck at Calcutta in commemoration of the
capture of Ghuznee should be given to the officers and men who had
participated in the capture. This, the first Indian medal to be issued
with a bar for suspension, is of silver, and, with the exception of
the medal for Seringapatam, the first to be given to all the troops
engaged, the previous medals having been bestowed upon native troops
only. It is 1½ in. in diameter, with broad flat edge, bearing on the
obverse a view of the gateway of the citadel, with GHUZNEE on an
ornamental panel underneath, running with the lines of the medal.
On the reverse, within a laurel wreath, a mural crown above 1839,
and between the terminals of the wreath the date of the capture of
the fortress, 23D. JULY, a space being left in the centre for the
recipient's name, which had to be placed there at his expense. The
medals are occasionally found with the names engraved or impressed upon
the edge. Two dies were used for the obverse, and one has a much wider
border. The medal was originally suspended from a half green and yellow
ribbon, but it was changed to crimson and green 1⅖ in. wide.

=Governor-General's Medal.=--Dr. Payne has kindly enabled me to
reproduce the unique silver medal presented to the Right Honourable the
Earl of Auckland, G.B.C., Governor-General of India and Governor of
the Presidency of Fort William. The medal is 1⅗ in. wide, has no bar
for suspension, and is enamelled. On the obverse is represented the
fortress of Ghuznee--a very different rendering to that on the medal
just referred to--with the victorious army marching through the gate.
On the reverse is the inscription AFGHANISTAN-GHUZNEE--23ʳ·ᵈ· JULY
1839. This striking is the only one known to exist. (See facing page
88.)




FIRST CHINESE WAR, 1842

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

War Medals and Their History

War Medals and Their History

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