The Turkish Crimean War Medal ( tr, Kırım Harbi Madalyası) is 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 ...

issued by Sultan

Abdülmecid I Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the r ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

to allied military personnel involved in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

of 1854–56. It was only awarded to those who survived the war and not to next of kin.A. F. Flatow. ''The Turkish Crimea Medal''. Orders and Medals Research Society Journal, Summer 1984, vol 23 No 2. Page 100. There are three different issues of this medal for

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, ...

, French, or Sardinian personnel. The medal was designed by James Robertson. British recipients also qualified for the British

Crimea Medal The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of th ...

Design and identification

The medal is silver and in diameter. The obverse shows the Ottoman Sultan’s

tughra A tughra ( ota, طغرا, ṭuġrā) is a calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. Inspired by the tamgha, it was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted du ...

with the Muslim calendar year of 1271 on all versions. The reverse depicts a cannon standing upon the Imperial Russian flag, with an anchor and a mortar. The four flags of the allies are to the rear, their order identifying the country for which the medal was intended, either Great Britain, France or Sardinia. The identifying flag is the central right hand flag, positioned above the anchor, the

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

for Great Britain, the

tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

for France or the flag of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

, based on the Italian tricolore. Since Sardinia was ruled at the time by the House of Savoy, this flag has the Savoy shield in the central panel. The

Turkish flag The national flag of Turkey, officially the Turkish flag ( tr, Türk bayrağı), is a red flag featuring a white star and crescent. The flag is often called "the red flag" (), and is referred to as "the red banner" () in the Turkish national a ...

is placed centre left on all three versions. The inscription in the exergue reads "Crimea 1855" for

issue, "La Crimee 1855" for French issue, and "La Crimea 1855" for Sardinian issue. Due to the loss by shipwreck of 22,000 of the medals intended for British recipients, many awards were made with whatever issue came to hand, the most common being of the Sardinian type.Christodoulou, Glenn, ''Medals of the Crimean War'' -

Crimean War Research Society The Crimean War Research Society (CWRS) is an international society of professional and amateur historians who research the Crimean War of 1854–56. The Society aims to bring previously unpublished or under researched material concerning the Crim ...

(1985) Over the years many have mistakenly believed the flags and cannon to be the obverse of this medal, and many of the recipients wore it that way. The side with the Sultan's cypher or

is the correct obverse, although most collectors today continue to mount the medal with the flags and cannon as the obverse. The general quality of these medals was poor and some British officers had copies of superior quality made in 925 silver with plain or scroll suspenders. These have clearer detail and are generally thicker and heavier; they are often seen in groups mounted by Messrs. Hunt and Roskill. The British versions of this medal are also generally believed to have a slightly higher silver content than the French or Sardinian versions.

Ribbon

The ribbon is watered and of dark crimson with green edges. The original ribbon issued with this medal measured only wide (similar to a miniature medal ribbon) and often used two widths, but it was usually replaced by one of when awarded to British personnel. The medal was originally suspended via two small steel rings, although the one on the medal itself can be silver. Not only did they tend to rust, but these rings were almost universally altered to take the wider ribbon conforming to standard British type. Other suspensions were also used and therefore many medals are found with a privately attached scroll or other suspender akin to British medal types.

Naming

This medal was issued unnamed but examples are found with privately engraved naming of varying styles.

Criteria and numbers awarded

While the Sultan offered the medal to Turkey's three allies, it was left to each country to decide how many to accept and the criteria of award. The United Kingdom awarded 74,000 medals for all ranks of the Army who qualified for the British Crimea Medal and who had survived the war; with a further 25,000 for 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 F ...

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

gave permission for the medal to be worn in uniform. France ordered only 1,500 medals for award to French troops who had served in Turkey. The French commander in the Crimea, Marshal Pélissier, described the medals as poorly made and of “little attraction”. There was no Imperial Decree permitting its wear in uniform, in contrast to the British

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

and

Baltic Medal The Baltic Medal was a campaign medal approved on 6 June 1856, for issue to officers and men of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Sappers and Miners who served between March 1854 and August 1855 in the Baltic Sea operations against Russia ...

s, both of which were authorised by Imperial Decree for wear by French recipients. Sardinia accepted 5,000 Turkish medals, which were awarded to selected officers and men of their forces who distinguished themselves in the campaign. As many British recipients were finally issued with the medal designed for Sardinian – and sometimes French – troops, the number received by each country does not indicate the number awarded of each design.

References and further reading

*Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin, ''British Battles and Medals''. Published by Spink, London. 1988. . *David M. Goldfrank, ''The Origins of the Crimean War''. Published by Routledge. 1993. . *Winfried Baumbart, ''The Crimean War, 1853-1856''. Published by Bloomsbury Academic. 2020. . *

Guy Arnold Guy Arnold (6 May 1932 – 4 January 2020) was a British explorer, travel writer, political writer and specialist in north-south relations, who wrote mainly in the areas of African history, politics, and international affairs. He was based i ...

(Editor), John Worronoff (Editor), ''Historical Dictionary of the Crimean War''. Published by Scarecrow Press. 2002. . *Ulrich Keller, ''Ultimate Spectacle: A Visual History of the Crimean War''. Published by Routledge. 2002. . *George Frederick Dallas, Michael Hargreave Mawson (Editors), ''Eyewitness in the Crimea : The Crimean War Letters of Lt. Col. George Frederick Dallas''. Published by Greenhill Books. 2001. .

External links

* *{{cite web, last=Hayward, first=John, title=Numismatic Notes Part 7: After the War was Over - Turkish Crimea Medal 1856–1862, url=http://www.spink.com/resources/research_articles/john_hayward/jh7.asp, work=spink.com, publisher=Spink, accessdate=2010-06-15, location=London, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725040923/http://www.spink.com/resources/research_articles/john_hayward/jh7.asp, archive-date=25 July 2011, url-status=dead Detailed account of issue to British forces. Military awards and decorations of the Ottoman Empire Crimean War 1856 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Awards established in 1856

Design and identification

Ribbon

Naming

Criteria and numbers awarded

See also

References and further reading

External links