The Burma Medal is 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 high ...
awarded by the
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...
to native Indian soldiers of the
armies of the Honourable East India Company (HEIC) who participated in the
First Burma War from April 1824 to February 1826.
Criteria
The War was fought between the British HEIC and the
Kingdom of Burma
The Konbaung dynasty ( my, ကုန်းဘောင်ခေတ်, ), also known as Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်) and formerly known as the Alompra dynasty (အလောင်းဘ ...
, primarily over Burmese incursions into north east India. The war ended in February 1826 with the
Treaty of Yandabo
The Treaty of Yandabo ( my, ရန္တပိုစာချုပ် ) was the peace treaty that ended the First Anglo-Burmese War. The treaty was signed on 24February 1826, nearly two years after the war formally broke out on 5March 1824, by ...
, in which Burma ceded territory to the HEIC, paid a large indemnity and agreed to sign a commercial treaty.
The medal was authorised by
Lord Amherst
Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaig ...
, the
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...
, in April 1826.
It was awarded to HEIC forces only, to native Indian officers and officials in gold (about 750 awarded) and to native other ranks in silver (about 24,000 awarded).
[ The only European to receive the medal, in gold, was General ]Sir Archibald Campbell
General Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet (12 March 1769 – 6 October 1843) was a Scottish soldier who served as an officer in the British Army. From 1824 to 1826, Gen. Campbell commanded the British forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War ...
who commanded the British and Indian forces during the campaign.[ The medal was limited to those involved in the actual fighting, it also being awarded posthumously – to the heirs of those who had died.][
Europeans who took part, including officers in HEIC service and members of the ]British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and 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 F ...
, were not eligible for the medal. However, surviving British officers, soldiers and sailors qualified for the Army of India Medal
The Army of India Medal (AIM) was a campaign medal approved in 1851 for issue to officers and men of the British Army and the Army of the Honourable East India Company. A retrospective award following the precedent set by the Naval General Servic ...
with clasp ''Ava'', when this medal was established in 1851.[ As they had already received the Burma Medal, native Indians did not receive the Army of India Medal for the campaign.
]
Description
The medal was struck at the Calcutta Mint
The India Government Mint, Kolkata was first established in 1757, and was located in a building next to the Black Hole in the old fort – where the GPO (General Post Office) stands today. It was called the Calcutta Mint and used to produce co ...
in gold and in silver. Both types were in diameter with the following design:
The obverse, designed by William Daniell
William Daniell (1769–1837) was an English Landscape art, landscape and Marine art, marine painter, and printmaker, notable for his work in aquatint. He travelled extensively in India in the company of his uncle Thomas Daniell, with whom he ...
,[ depicts the elephant of Burma crouching in submission to the victorious British lion, while behind the Burmese standard is lowered before the ]Union Flag
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
, there being palm trees behind. In the exergue is the Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
inscription ''The Elephant of Ava is obedient to the Lion of England, year 1826''.
The reverse, designed by William Wyon
William Wyon (Birmingham 1795 – 29 October 1851), was official chief engraver at the Royal Mint from 1828 until his death.
Biography
Wyon was born in Birmingham and, in 1809, was apprenticed to his father, Peter Wyon who was an engraver a ...
,[ depicts the storming of the ]Shwedagon Pagoda
The Shwedagon Pagoda (, ); mnw, ကျာ်ဒဂုၚ်; officially named ''Shwedagon Zedi Daw'' ( my, ရွှေတိဂုံစေတီတော်, , ) and also known as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda is a gilded stupa ...
in Rangoon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
. To the left is the Irrawaddy Irrawaddy may refer to:
*Irrawaddy River, the main river of Burma
*Irrawaddy Delta, a rice growing region of the country
*Ayeyarwady Region, an administrative division of Burma
*''The Irrawaddy'', a Burmese news publication based in Chiang Mai, Tha ...
Flotilla, with the British commander General Campbell directing the attack from under a palm tree. In the exergue is the Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
inscription ''A medal for the victorious British soldiers of Ava''.
No clasps were authorised and the medal was issued unnamed.
The suspension was either a ring attached to the medal by way of a steel clip, or by a straight bar attached to a steel claw.[
The medal was worn on the left chest, suspended from a wide ribbon of crimson with dark blue edges. This was the British 'military ribbon' previously used for the ]Army Gold Medal
The Army Gold Medal (1808–1814), also known as the Peninsular Gold Medal, with an accompanying Gold Cross, was a British campaign medal awarded in recognition of field officer, field and general officers' successful commands in campaigns, predom ...
and Cross, the Waterloo Medal
The Waterloo Medal is a military decoration that was conferred upon every officer, non-commissioned officer and soldier of the British Army (including members of the King's German Legion) who took part in one or more of the following battles: Li ...
and later the Military General Service Medal
__NOTOC__
The Military General Service Medal (MGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847 and issued to officers and men of the British Army in 1848.Including officers and men of the King's German Legion, Brunswick Oels and Chasseurs Britanniques, ...
. The Burma Medal was the first HEIC campaign medal to be issued with a distinct ribbon, earlier medals having been worn around the neck, most by a cord.
References
{{Campaign medals of the Honourable East India Company
British campaign medals
Medals of the Honourable East India Company
Awards established in 1826
First Anglo-Burmese War