The Transport Medal was a British campaign medal sanctioned on 8 November 1903 and awarded by the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty. It was awarded to masters and officers of

merchant ships A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...

employed by the Transport Service to move troops to either

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

during the

South African War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

or to China during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. The officers of hospital ships also qualified. It was intended that the medal would be awarded for any future campaign where a medal was issued to the troops taking part, but it was not awarded again after the South Africa and China wars. The medal, in

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...

, is silver and has a plain straight swivel suspender. The obverse bears the head of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

in Royal Navy uniform, with the inscription ''EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR''.
The reverse depicts HMS ''Ophir'' beneath a map of the world with, below, the words in Latin ''OB PATRIAM MILITIBUS PER MARE TRANSVECTIS ADJUTAM'' which translates as ''for services rendered in transporting troops by sea''.
The recipient's name, although not his rank or ship, is impressed in block capitals on the rim of the medal.
The wide ribbon is red, with a blue stripe towards each edge.

Clasps

; S.AFRICA 1899–1902 : For services related to the

, 13 September 1899 – 31 October 1902. ; CHINA 1900 : For services related to the

, 1 June 1900 – 31 December 1901. The officers of 117 transports and eleven hospital ships qualified, with a total of 1,719 medals awarded: 1,219 with the 'S. Africa 1899-1902' clasp, 322 with the 'China 1900' clasp and 178 with both clasps.

Notes and references

{{British campaign medals British campaign medals

Clasps

See also

Notes and references