The East and West Africa Medal, established in 1892, 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 ...

awarded for minor campaigns that took place in

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

between 1887 and 1900. A total of twenty one clasps were issued.Entry at Medals of the World
/ref> Awards of the medal covered

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beh ...

s against local tribesmen, generally in response to attacks against Europeans or neighbouring tribes, or for operations to suppress slavery. Most medals were granted to personnel from either 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 ...

, the

West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

or British led local forces, including locally recruited police. No units 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 ...

were present, although a number of officers and non commissioned officers received the medal while seconded to local units. Recipients of the Benin 1897 clasp included three nursing sisters. The obverse bears a left-facing portrait 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 previo ...

with the inscription "VICTORIA REGINA".
The reverse has an image of British soldiers fighting Africans in dense jungle. The design, by Sir

Edward Poynter Sir Edward John Poynter, 1st Baronet (20 March 183626 July 1919) was an English painter, designer, and draughtsman, who served as President of the Royal Academy. Life Poynter was the son of architect Ambrose Poynter. He was born in Paris, F ...

, was also used on the reverses of the Ashantee Medal and the

Central Africa Medal The Central Africa Medal was a British campaign medal awarded for service from 1891–1894 in Eastern and Central Africa, and from 1894–1898 for service in British Central Africa. Criteria Award of the Central Africa Medal was approved by Quee ...

.North East Medals entry on Ashantee Medal
/ref>
The recipient's name, rank and unit appear on the rim of the medal, using a number of different impressed and engraved styles.
The medal was issued in silver to officers and men of the British led forces. The medal with some clasps was also awarded in bronze to native porters.
The wide ribbon is yellow with black edges and two black stripes towards the centre.

Clasps

A total of 21 clasps were awarded. Those who qualified for a second or subsequent clasp received the new clasp only to be attached to their existing medal. While the majority of recipients only qualified for one clasp, medals have been seen with as many as seven. Recipients of the earlier Ashantee Medal, awarded for the Ashantee War of 1873–74, who also qualified for the East and West Africa Medal were awarded the appropriate clasp only to attach to their existing Ashantee Medal. * 1887–8 :''Operations against the Yonnie people in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

, 13 November 1887 – 2 January 1888'' * Wituland#First Expedition (1890), Witu 1890 :''A punitive expedition against the Sultan of Witu of

Wituland Wituland (also Witu, Vitu, Witu Protectorate or Swahililand) was a territory of approximately in East Africa centered on the town of Witu just inland from Indian Ocean port of Lamu north of the mouth of the Tana River in what is now Kenya. Hist ...

in present day Kenya, 17 – 27 October 1890'' *1891–2 :''An expedition in Gambia against Chief Fodeh Cabbah, 29 December 1891 – 2 February 1892'' *1892 :''Three separate expeditions against

Tambi Tambi is a village in the far east of Ivory Coast. It is in the sub-prefecture of Sorobango, Bondoukou Department, Gontougo Region, Zanzan District. Eight kilometres east of the village is a border crossing with Ghana. Tambi was a commune A comm ...

and Toniataba peoples in Sierra Leone and the Jebus in Southern Nigeria, 8 March – 25 May 1892'' * Witu August 1893 :''A further expedition against Sultan of Witu, 7 – 13 August 1893'' *Liwondi 1893 :''A small naval force sent against Chief Liwondi in British Central Africa, February – March 1893'' *Juba River 1893 :''A small volunteer force against the Somalis in Jubaland, 23 – 25 August 1893'' *Lake Nyassa 1893 :''A small volunteer boat party against Chief Makanjira, November 1893'' *1893–94 :''Two separate operations against tribesmen in Sierra Leone and Gambia, 26 November 1893 – 11 March 1894'' *Gambia 1894 :''Naval expedition up the

Gambia River The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigabl ...

, 23 February – 13 March 1894'' *Benin River 1894 :''Naval expedition up the Benin River, August–September 1894'' *Brass River 1895 :''Operations against King Koko in Southern Nigeria, 17 – 26 February 1895'' *1896–98 :''Several punitive expeditions into the Northern Territories of the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, 27 November 1896 – 27 June 1898'' *Niger 1897 :''An expedition to

Western Provinces Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada– ...

of Nigeria by the Royal Niger Constabulary, 6 January – 26 February 1897'' * Benin 1897 :''A punitive column to Benin City consisting of Royal Navy and locally recruited police, 6 February – 7 August 1897'' *Dawkita 1897 :''The defence of Dawkita in the

against Sofa tribe slavers, 28 March 1897'' *1897–98 :''Expeditions in the hinterland of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

in Southern Nigeria, September 1897 – 14 June 1898'' *1898 :''Three separate expeditions against in Northern Nigeria, 1898'' * Sierra Leone 1898–99 :''Two expeditions involving native troops and a naval brigade, 18 February 1898 – 9 March 1899'' *1899 :''Three separate expeditions in Southern Nigeria, February – May 1899'' *1900 :''Two separate expeditions against the

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...

and Munshi people in the Northern Province of Nigeria, 4 January – 9 May 1900'' Those who served in the Mwele campaign of 1895-96 on the Kenyan coast did not qualify for a clasp, but received the medal with the inscription "MWELE" and the dates "1895" or "1895-6" engraved on the rim, next to the claw of the medal. Clasps inscribed ''1896-97'' and ''1896-99'' were authorised, but never issued.

Notes

{{Authority control British campaign medals