The Africa General Service Medal, established in 1902, was a
campaign medal
A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a hig ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It was awarded for minor campaigns that took place in tropical Africa between 1900 and 1956, with a total of forty five
clasps issued. The medal is never seen without a clasp and some are very rare.
Most medals were granted to British led local forces, including the
King's African Rifles
The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...
and the
West African Frontier Force
The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognitio ...
. The only campaigns where European troops were present in any numbers were the various Somaliland campaigns, (including to the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
), and in Kenya.
[
]
Description
* The medal is in diameter and in silver, although the King Edward VII version was also awarded in bronze to native carriers who supported a number of the campaigns.[
* The reverse shows a symbolic design depicting ]Britannia
Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
standing with a lion and offering peace and law to Africa as a new day breaks, with the word AFRICA below. Save for the wording, the reverse design is the same as for the East and Central Africa Medal. The designer was George de Saulles[
* The number, name and regiment of the recipient are inscribed on the rim of the medal in various styles.][
* The wide ribbon is yellow with black edges and two narrow green stripes towards the centre.
* From 1920 a bronze oak leaf emblem is worn on the medal ribbon to signify a ]mention in dispatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
for a campaign for which the medal was awarded.
Obverse variations
The medal was awarded with one of three obverse designs.[
File:Ashanti Medal obv.jpg, Edward VII (Campaigns of 1901–10)
File:Military Medal, close up of disc.jpg, George V (Campaigns of 1913–20)
File:Africa General Service Medal 1915 (Obverse for clasp Kenya).jpg, Elizabeth II (Kenya, 1952–56)
]
Clasps
The medal was never awarded without a clasp. While the majority of medals were awarded with one clasp, as many as seven clasps were earned by some African recipients.
The forty five clasps authorised are listed below.
References
{{British campaign medals
British campaign medals