The Rhodesia Medal was initiated by 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, ...

Government in consultation with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, whose forces took part in Operation AGILA ( Operation MIDFORD for the New Zealand forces). The role of the multi-national force was to keep peace between 22,000 guerrilla fighters and the Rhodesian forces during the ceasefire and run-up to the 1980 elections. Each country treats the medal as part of its own

honour Honour (British English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of socia ...

s system.

Qualification

The medal was awarded for service of at least 14 days between 1 December 1979 and 20 March 1980, to members of the military and police forces, as well as eligible civilians, who participated in monitoring the ceasefire and supervising the elections in the lead-up to Zimbabwean independence. There was no minimum qualifying period for those killed, wounded or disabled due to service, or where a recipient was decorated for gallantry. Recipients of the Rhodesia Medal also received the Zimbabwean Independence Medal in either silver or bronze, although British personnel did not have permission to wear it in uniform,The Zimbabwean Independence Medal is not mentioned in the official British order of wear.
/ref> while New Zealand granted approval for restricted wear only.

Description

Issued by the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...

, the Rhodesia Medal had the following design: * It is circular, made of

rhodium Rhodium is a chemical element with the symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring isoto ...

-plated

cupro-nickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...

and 36 mm in diameter. * The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

features the crowned effigy of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

with the inscription 'ELIZABETH II DEL GRATIA REGINA FID.DEF'. * The reverse depicts a

sable antelope The sable antelope (''Hippotragus niger'') is an antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in East and Southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separate population in Angola. Taxonomy The sable antelope shares the genus ''Hi ...

surrounded by the inscription 'THE RHODESIA MEDAL' and '1980'. * The medal was issued named to British armed forces personnel, but unnamed to police officers. * The medal is suspended from a 32 mm sky-blue ribbon with three central stripes of red, white and blue. * No clasps were awarded.

Precedence

References

External links

It's an Honour - Australian Government site, the Rhodesia MedalADF Honours and Awards since 1975
{{New Zealand campaign medals British campaign medals Australian campaign medals New Zealand campaign medals Rhodesia History of Zimbabwe Awards established in 1980

Qualification

Description

Precedence

See also

References

External links