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The British South Africa Company Medal (1890–97). In 1896,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
sanctioned the issue by the
British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expect ...
of a medal to troops who had been engaged in the
First Matabele War The First Matabele War was fought between 1893 and 1894 in modern-day Zimbabwe. It pitted the British South Africa Company against the Ndebele (Matabele) Kingdom. Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, had tried to avoid outright war with the compa ...
. In 1897, the award was extended to those engaged in the two campaigns of the Second Matabele War, namely
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...
(1896) and
Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East * Harare The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirely ...
(1897). The three medals are the same except for name of the campaign for which the medal was issued, inscribed on the reverse. In 1927, the government of
Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing colony, self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The reg ...
re-issued the medal and instituted a new clasp, to commemorate the
Pioneer Column The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia). Background Rhodes was anxio ...
that operated within Mashonaland in 1890. Those previously awarded the medal were required to exchange it for the new version. The majority of awards were to colonial and locally raised troops, rather than members of the regular
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 Gurkha ...
.


Description

The medal is circular, made of silver and in diameter. It was manufactured by Heaton and Company of Birmingham. The obverse depicts a left facing effigy of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
wearing a diadem and veil. Around the edge is the inscription ''Victoria Regina''. The reverse, designed by Richard Caton Woodville Jr, depicts a charging lion, wounded in the chest with an
assegai An assegai or assagai (Arabic ''az-zaġāyah'', Berber ''zaġāya'' "spear", Old French ''azagaie'', Spanish ''azagaya'', Italian ''zagaglia'', Middle English ''lancegay'') is a pole weapon used for throwing, usually a light spear or javelin ...
. In the foreground are native weapons and a shield, in the background is a mimosa bush, and below the scene the inscription: ''BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY''. The recipient's first eligible campaign is inscribed at the top on all versions of the medal except the 1927 issue. The medal is mounted on an ornate swivelling suspension bar decorated with
shamrocks Shamrocks is a solitaire game akin to La Belle Lucie. The object is the same as the latter: move the cards into the foundations. Rules The game is layout out as in La Belle Lucie: seventeen piles of three cards are placed on the table with one ca ...
, thistles and
rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
s. The medal hangs from a wide ribbon of watered silk in golden yellow with three dark blue stripes. They were named to the recipient using a number of different engraved and impressed styles, depending on when the medal was issued.


Clasps

The recipient's first eligible campaign is inscribed on the reverse, either ''MATABELELAND 1893'', ''RHODESIA 1896'' or ''MASHONALAND 1897'', with any subsequent campaign indicated by an appropriate clasp. The one exception is the medal for Mashonaland 1890, issued in 1927, where the reverse bears no details of the campaign, with all eligible campaigns represented by a clasp. The four clasps issued were: # Matabeleland 1893 (Only awarded with the 1927 medal. Originally recipients received the medal without clasp, with the campaign inscribed on the reverse) # Rhodesia 1896 # Mashonaland 1897 # Mashonaland 1890 (Awarded in 1927) Four men were entitled to the medal with all four bars, although only one was issued. Twelve medals were awarded with three bars.


Notable recipients

* Robert Baden-Powell - service in: Rhodesia (1896) *
Frederick Russell Burnham Frederick Russell Burnham DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to the British Army in colonial Africa, and for teach ...
- service in: Matabeleland (1893) ; Rhodesia (1896) *
James ffolliott Darling James Johnston ffolliott Darling (December 1859 – April 1929) was an Irish trooper and naturalist. Early life James ffolliott Darling was born in December 1859 in Blackrock, Dublin. His father was John Singleton Darling of Clonakilty, Manage ...
* Col. Frank Rhodes *
Frederick Selous Frederick Courteney Selous, DSO (; 31 December 1851 – 4 January 1917) was a British explorer, officer, professional hunter, and conservationist, famous for his exploits in Southeast Africa. His real-life adventures inspired Sir Henry Ride ...
- service in: Mashonaland (1890) ; Matabeleland (1893) ; Rhodesia (1896)


References


External links


The Guide to British War Medals
{{British campaign medals British campaign medals
Medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...