Medals
FIBIS resources
- Medals for Service in India. A talk given by Allan Stanistreet, FIBIS Member and Collector of Medals at the FIBIS meeting on 7 November 2009 is available to download or listen to on the podcast page. The podcast is the complete talk, but an extended version that includes the question and answer session at the end of the talk is available for FIBIS members only in the FIBIS Social Network, previously known as the Members Area.
Military medals
See Medal Rolls for details of records of names of recipients, including those in the India Office Records.
Campaign medal list
List of campaign medals issued for British India related military actions.
Nb. Years given are the date the action occured, not the date the medal was first issued as in some cases this was decades later.
| Year | Medal | Action associated with | Issued to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790-92 | Mysore Campaign Silver medal | Various battles from 3rd Mysore War | British & HEIC Armies |
| 1795-96 | Capture of Ceylon | Various battles from War against Dutch in Ceylon | British & HEIC Armies |
| 1803 - 1826 | Army of India Medal | Various battles from 2nd Maratha War, 3rd Maratha War, Gurkha War, 1st Burma War | British & HEIC Armies |
| 1839 | Ghuznee Medal | Battle of Ghazni 1839 | |
| 1842 | Candahar, Ghuznee, Cabul Medals | 1st Afghan War - Battle of Ghazni 1842, Battle of Kabul Sept 1842 | British & HEIC Armies |
| 1842 | Jellalabad Medal | End of the Siege of Jalalabad | |
| 1842 | Defence of Kelat-i-Ghilzie medal | Siege of Khelat-i-Ghilzai | HEIC Army |
| 1842 | 1st China War Medal | 1st China War | British & HEIC Armies |
| 1843 | Scinde Medal | Sind Campaign | British & HEIC Armies |
| 1843 | Gwalior Star | Gwalior Campaign | British & HEIC Armies |
| 1845/46 | Sutlej Medal | 1st Sikh War | British & HEIC Armies |
| 1848/49 | Punjab Medal | 2nd Sikh War | British & HEIC Armies |
| 1854 - 1895 | India General Service Medal | Pegu, Persian War, Early NWF Actions, Ambela Campaign, Duar War, Lushai Exp., Perak War, | British & Indian Armies |
| Jowaki Expedition, Naga Hills Exp., 3rd Burma War, Sikkim Exp., Black Mountain Exp. 1888, | |||
| Chin Lushai, Black Mountain Exp. 1891, Manipur War, Hunza Nagar Campaign, Chin Lushai Exp. | |||
| Chin Hills Exp., Kachin Hills 1892-93, Mahsud Expedition 1894-95 | |||
| 1857-58 | Indian Mutiny Medal | Indian Mutiny | British & HEIC Armies and Royal Navy Sailors who fought with the Naval Brigade |
| 1857-60 | 2nd China War Medal | 2nd China War | |
| 1878-80 | Afghanistan Medal | 2nd Afghan War | British & Indian Armies |
| 1880 | Kabul to Kandahar Star | 310 mile march with General Roberts (part of 2nd Afghan War) | British & Indian Armies |
| 1882-89 | Egypt Medal | Egyptian Campaign 1882 | British & Indian Armies |
| 1895 - 1902 | India Medal | NWF Campaigns inc. Chitral Campaign, Malakand Field Expedition, Tirah Campaign, Tochi Valley Exp. | British & Indian Armies |
| 1900 | China War | 3rd China War | British & Indian Armies |
| 1903-4 | Tibet Medal | Tibet Expedition | British & Indian Armies |
| 1908 - 1935 | India General Service Medal | Various NWF actions inc 3rd Afghan War, Waziristan Campaigns | |
| 1914-1915 | WW1: 1914-15 Star | Issued to all British and Colonial forces who rendered service in the WW1 during 1914-15 on any front including in Mesopotamia. | All British and Colonial Forces. |
| 1914-1920 | WW1: British War Medal | Issued to all British and Colonial forces who rendered service in the WW1 including in Mesopotamia and NWF. | All British and Colonial Forces and Civilian Labourers. |
| 1936 - 1939 | India General Service Medal | Various NWF actions with clasps for North West Frontier 1936–37 and North West Frontier 1937–39 | |
| 1939-45 | WW2: India Service Medal | Awarded to the Indian Military Forces for 3 years of non-operational service in India, and is equivalent to the WW2 British Defence Medal. | British & Indian Armies |
| 1941-45 | WW2: Burma Star | Awarded for campaigns in Burma and Pacific arena with Pacific clasp. | British & Indian Armies, Royal Navy and Indian Navy. |
| 1941-45 | WW2: Pacific Star | Awarded for operational service in the Pacific Theatre between 8 December 1941 and 2 September 1945, and also for certain specified service in China, Hong-Kong, Malaya and Sumatra. | British & Indian Armies, Royal Navy and Indian Navy. |
Non-campaign medals and awards
| Medal name | Awarded between | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Order of British India Illustration | 1837 - 1947 | Indian Army officers for long and faithful service |
| Delhi Durbar Medal | 1911 | Certain attendees of the Coronation Durbar for George V |
| Indian Distinguished Service Medal Illustration |
1907 - 1947 | Distinguished service (Indian soldiers/police) |
| Indian Order of Merit | 1837 - 1947 | Gallantry (Indian soldiers) |
| Order of British India | 1837 - 1947 | Long, faithful and honourable service (Officers) |
See also:
Good Conduct Badges In the British Army
Details about Good Conduct Badges in the British Army are available in this link and this link to the India List.
Civil medals and awards
| Medal name | Awarded between | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Order of the Star of India Illustration | 1861 - 1947 | For services to the Indian Empire |
| Kaisar-i-Hind medal | 1900 - 1947 | Civilians with distinguished service in the advancement of the interests of the Raj |
| Order of the Crown of India | 1878 - 1947 | Women only - British princesses or the wives/relatives of Indian Royalty or those holding the top state offices. |
| Order of the Indian Empire | 1878 - 1947 | Reward for British and Indian officials |
Temperance medals
External links
- British Campaign Medals Wikipedia
- Indian Army recipients of the VC Wikipedia
- Campaign Medals 1902-39 - www.king-emperor.com Medals issued to Indian Army Officers and Other Ranks
- Northeastmedals.co.uk
- The Guide to British War Medals includes images of British Campaign and Gallantry medals, including many relating to India, including
- India General Service Medal 1854-1895
- The India Medal 1895
- India General Service Medal 1908 with details of eligibility for the clasps "North West Frontier 1908" to "North West Frontier 1935" (twelve clasps in total)
- India General Service Medal 1936-1939 with details of eligibility for the clasps "North West Frontier 1936-37" and "North West Frontier 1937-1939"
- Medals of the Regiments. Contains information categorised by Regiment
- The Guide to British War Medals includes images of British Campaign and Gallantry medals, including many relating to India, including
- VWF Guide to Campaign Medals of the Victorian era. Includes medals for actions relating to India with images. Victorian Wars Forum
- British Medals Forum. Its website says "The objective of the British Medal Forum is to develop and further the interest, research and collecting of British and Commonwealth medals; researching their recipients; and assisting each other with specialist issues such as research, naming styles, clasp combinations, etc". It is necessary to register.
- The Orders and Medals Research Society including Medals Research FAQ
- Medal FAQs Ministry of Defence (U.K.)
- First China War Medal, rejected issue proof piece, 1842 Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
- Details about the Hong Kong Plague Medal (1894) may be found in The K.S.L.I. and the Hong Kong Plague, 1894. discovershropshire.org.uk and page lvii of the Introduction of Mayo's book, refer below.
- "Gold and silver medals of the Honourable East India Company" by Charles Winter. The British Numismatic Journal Volume 17 (1923-24), 281-87. pdf version, html version These are medals issued to native troops.
- "The Army of India Medal" by Charles Winter. The British Numismatic Journal Volume 18 (1925-26), 165-72. pdf version, html version
- "War medals issued for services in India, 1852-1924, also the first and second issue of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire" by Charles Winter. The British Numismatic Journal Volume 20 (1929-30), 271-77. pdf version, html version
- 1914-1915 Star including eligibility criteria. Includes some actions in India (scroll down) northeastmedals.co.uk
- The British War Medal 1914-1920 Includes eligibility and images of the medals. northeastmedals.co.uk.
- Great War Forum thread, includes image of bronze British War Medal awarded to "Native" Labourers including various Indian Labour Corps Units. (Image only available to logged in members of GWF)
- Eligibility criteria for the Victory Medal 1914 - 1919 includes the actions in India which are regarded as theatres of war (Scroll down) Peter Ghiringhelli's British Gallantry, Orders, Decorations, and Campaign ribbons
- Indian Princely Medals : a record of the orders, decorations and medals of the Indian Princely States by Tony McClenaghan, Lancer Publishers 1996 is in the collection of the British Library and the National Army Museum
- Awards of the Indian "Princely States", pre-1947 omsa.org
- East and Central Africa Medal 1897-99 with clasp: Uganda 1897-98, awarded to Sepoy Ahmad Khan, 27th (1st Baluch Battalion), Regiment of Bombay Light Infantry. The 27th (1st Baluch Battalion), Regiment of Bombay Light Infantry were one of three Indian Army regiments that took part in the suppression of a mutiny by the Sudanese troops used by the Colonial Government in Uganda. National Army Museum
- A Guide to British and Commonwealth Medals of WW2 military-research.uk
Historical books online
- Medals of the British Army and how they were won. Volume 3 India, China etc by Thomas Carter. 1861 Google Books
- War Medals of the British Army, and how they were won by Thomas Carter and W. H. Long. "Revised, enlarged and continued to the present time" 1893 Archive.org
- British military & naval medals and decorations. A new edition - arranged alphabetically by J. Harris Gibson 1880 Archive.org
- Medals and Decorations of the British Army and Navy With numerous coloured plates and illustrations by John Horsley Mayo 1897 Volume 1 Volume 2 Contents List of Medals Archive.org
- The ABC of war medals and decorations being the history of the manner in which they were won, and a complete record of their award, their characteristics, how they are named and how they are counterfeited 2nd edition by W. Augustus Steward 1918 (originally published 1915) Archive.org Contents
- The Medal Collector: A Guide to Naval, Military, Air-Force, and Civil Medals and Ribbons by Stanley C Johnson 1921 Archive.org. Includes Indian medals.