The India Medal 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 high ...

approved in 1896 for issue to officers and men of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

armies. The India Medal was awarded for various minor military campaigns in India, chiefly for service on the North-West Frontier during 1895 to 1902. This medal replaced the

India General Service Medal (1854) __NOTOC__ The India General Service Medal (1854 IGSM) was a campaign medal approved on 1 March 1854, for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies. It was awarded for various minor military campaigns in India and nearby countries, ...

. Each campaign was represented by a clasp on the ribbon; seven were sanctioned.

Description

The medal was awarded in silver to soldiers of the

and

armies, and in bronze to native bearers and servants. The obverse shows the profile of Queen Victoria or, for those awarded the medal with the Waziristan 1901–02 clasp, King Edward VII, both with a suitable inscription.
The reverse, designed by G. W. de Saulles, portrays a British and an Indian soldier together carrying a standard with the inscription "India 1895", although the Edward VII version omits the date.
The wide ribbon had five equal stripes of red, green, red, green, red.Barthorp, p. 178 The name and details of the recipient were engraved on the edge of the medal, normally in running script.

Obverse variations

Image:India Medal obv.jpg, Victoria (1895-1901) Image:Waziristan 1901-02 Obverse.jpg, Edward VII, obverse for Waziristan 1901-02

Clasps

The following clasps were issued with the medal: * Defence of Chitral 1895 :''3 March – 13 April 1895'' *

Relief of Chitral Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impres ...

1895 :''7 March – 15 August 1895'' * Punjab Frontier 1897–98 :''10 June 1897 – 6 April 1898'' * Malakand 1897 :''26 July – 2 August 1897'' (Awarded to troops involved in the

Siege of Malakand The siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British India's North West Frontier Province.Nevill p. 232 The British faced a force of Pashtun tribesmen whose tribal lands ...

.) * Samana 1897 :''2 August – 2 October 1897'' *

Tirah The Tirah also spelled Terah ( ps, تیراہ) also called the Tirah Valley (), is a mountainous tract located in the Khyber district, lying between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan. Society Lying close to the Pak-Afghan bord ...

1897–98 :''2 October 1897 – 6 April 1898'' * Waziristan 1901–02 :''23 November 1901 – 10 March 1902''

References and notes

Bibliography

* Barthorp, Michael. 2002. ''Afghan Wars and the North-West Frontier 1839–1947'' Cassell. * Joslin, Litherland, and Simpkin (eds), ''British Battles and Medals'', (1988), Spink * Mackay, J. and Mussel, J. (eds) – ''Medals Yearbook – 2006'', (2005), Token Publishing. * Mussell, John W. (ed) – ''Medals Yearbook – 2015'', Token Publishing. * Wilkinson-Latham, Robert. 1977. ''North-west Frontier 1837–1947'' Osprey Publishing.

External links

* North East Medals, medal guide
India Medal 1895–1902
retrieved 18 November 2018 {{British campaign medals British campaign medals Military of British India