The Ashanti Star was created in 1896 for the members of the expedition against the Ashanti King Prempeh, in the

Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged vict ...

North East Medals
The Ashanti Star, accessed 28 December 2010. that lasted from December 1895 to February 1896. The forces who qualified for the medal included the second Battalion of the

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) wa ...

and a composite battalion consisting of between 16 and 26 men from each of the three regiments of Foot Guards and from eight infantry regiments. About half the troops deployed were locally recruited

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

forces. Three Nursing Sisters were also present and received the medal.

Description

A bronze four pointed star superimposed on a

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltatori ...

cross, 38mm wide, suspended by a loop and ring. Obverse: a central medallion with a circlet inscribed "Ashanti 1896", surrounding an imperial crown. Reverse: within a circular central recess the inscription "From the Queen", the rest of the reverse surface is plain. Ribbon: wide, yellow with two black stripes. Naming: Awarded unnamed, except to members of the

, whose colonel had the medals engraved at his own expense. The design is attributed to

Princess Beatrice Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charle ...

, Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, whose husband,

Prince Henry of Battenberg Prince Henry of Battenberg (Henry Maurice; 5 October 1858 – 20 January 1896) was a morganatic descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse. He became a member of the British royal family by marriage to Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdo ...

, died of malaria during the campaign.

References

{{British campaign medals British campaign medals