The Candahar, Ghuznee, Cabul Medal was awarded to those who took part in the campaign in the spring and summer of 1842, under the command of General

William Nott Major-General Sir William Nott (20 January 1782 – 1 January 1845) was a British military officer of the Bengal Army, East India Company in British India. Early life Nott was born in 1782, near Neath in Wales,Lloyd (1958), pg 686. the seco ...

, to restore British standing in Afghanistan after earlier defeats during the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking si ...

. The medal was approved by General Order at

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

by the Honourable

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

on 4 October 1842. Approximately 22,100 were awarded, about 4,400 to 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 17,700 to the mainly native forces of the Honourable East India Company.

Appearance

The medal, 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 ...

, was silver and in diameter, with the following design:
The obverse shows the

diadem A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. Overview The word derives from the Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', "I ...

ed head Queen Victoria facing left with the inscription 'VICTORIA VINDEX', Vindex translating as 'Protector'.
Four different reverses were struck, indicating the campaigns in which the recipient served:
'CANDAHAR 1842' within a laurel wreath, surmounted by a crown. For operations around

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

from March to May 1842. Slightly over 2,600 were awarded.
'CABUL 1842' within a laurel wreath, surmounted by a crown. For the advance on

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, culminating in the city's capture on 15 September 1842. Approximately 12,750 were awarded.
'GHUZNEE' 'CABUL', each within a separate laurel wreath, surmounted by a single crown and with the year '1842' below. For the forces who defeated the Afghans at Ghuznee on 30 August and who then advanced on Kabul. About 1,520 were awarded.
'CANDAHAR, GHUZNEE, CABUL 1842' within a single laurel wreath, surmounted by a crown. For those present at all three campaigns. Slightly over 5,200 were awarded. The suspension consists of a straight steel suspender, attached to the medal by way of a steel clip and pin. Some recipients later replaced this with a more ornate silver suspension. The ribbon is the watered rainbow coloured ribbon common to most East India Company medals, with a pattern of red, white, yellow, white and blue. The recipient's name and regiment were engraved on the edge for the medal. While no official clasps were awarded, 'Marzenia 1842' and 'Tazeane 1842' were sometimes privately added to the ribbon of the Cabul medal. In addition, two erroneous strikings were made. In one 'VICTORIA REGINA' rather than 'VICTORIA VINDEX' appears on the obverse; in the other the reverse reads 'CABVL 1842', 15 of these medals are known to have been issued.British Army Medals
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Anglo-Afghan War

Four separate campaign medals were awarded to British led forces who served in the Afghan War of 1839 to 1842: *

Ghuznee Medal The Ghuznee Medal is a British campaign medal awarded for participation in the storming of the fortress of Ghuznee in Afghanistan, on 21 to 23 July 1839 by troops of the British and Indian Armies. This action, the Battle of Ghazni, took place du ...

. Storming of Ghuznee fortress, 21–23 July 1839. * Jellalabad Medal. Defence of Jalalabad, 12 November 1841 – 7 April 1842. *

Medal for the Defence of Kelat-I-Ghilzie The Kelat-I-Ghilzie Medal is a campaign medal issued by the British East India Company, to the defenders of the fort at Kelat-I-Ghilzie during the First Anglo-Afghan War. History After the massacre of General Elphinstone's Army during the 1842 r ...

. Defence of Kelat-I-Ghilzie, January–26 May 1842. *Candahar, Ghuznee, Cabul Medal. Major operations of 1842, the final year of the war.

References

{{Campaign medals of the Honourable East India Company British campaign medals Medals of the Honourable East India Company 1842 establishments in the United Kingdom