The Colonial Fire Brigades Long Service Medal, now known as the Overseas Territories Fire Brigades Long Service Medal, was established in 1934 to recognise long service in the fire services of the

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

and

overseas territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

of the United Kingdom.

History

The medal was originally established on 23 March 1934 as the ''Colonial Police and Fire Brigade Long Service Medal''. A new Royal Warrant issued on 21 March 1956 provided for separate Colonial Fire Brigades and Police medals under their own warrants, with the name of the medal changing to the ''Colonial Fire Brigades Long Service Medal''. The name was again changed in 2012 to the ''Overseas Territories Fire Brigades Long Service Medal''. This reflected the change in the way Britain's remaining colonies were described, they being classed as 'Overseas Territories' from 2002. The medal is awarded for 18 years continuous and efficient full or part-time service in a fire brigade of any British Colony or Overseas Territory. Service in more than one colony can qualify, as can previous service in any fire brigade entitled to the

Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct Medal The Fire and Rescue Service Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was established in June 1954 as a long service medal awarded to members of fire and rescue services throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. It was fir ...

, excluding any service already recognised by the award of a British long service medal. Compulsory service in the

British armed forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

or Merchant Navy which interrupted, and was continuous with, qualifying fire service counts. Clasps are awarded for completing 25 and 30 years service respectively. In undress uniform, when only

ribbons A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...

are worn, these clasps are represented by silver rosettes attached to the ribbon.

Appearance

The medal is circular and silver, 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 ...

depicts the effigy of the reigning sovereign surrounded by the royal titles. To date, there have been five types of obverse, the date in brackets showing the year the design was introduced: File:Colonial Police Long Service Medal, George V obverse.jpg, George V, robed bust (1934) File:George Medal, King George VI, first obverse.png, George VI, ''INDIAE IMP'' (1937) File:George Medal, King George VI, second obverse.jpg, George VI, omits ''INDIAE IMP'' (1948) File:George Medal, Queen Elizabeth, first obverse.png, Elizabeth II, ''BR:OMN'' (1953) File:George Medal, Queen Elizabeth, second obverse.png, Elizabeth II, ''DEI GRATIA'' (circa 1955) From the creation of the medal in 1934 the reverse was distinct from the police version of the medal, and bears the depiction of a

Firefighter's helmet For centuries, firefighters have worn helmets to protect them from heat, cinders and falling objects. Although the shape of most fire helmets has changed little over the years, their composition has evolved from traditional leather to metals (i ...

and

Fire axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...

superimposed on a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...

. Circumscribed around the central design are the words ''FOR LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT • COLONIAL FIRE BRIGADES •''. In 2012 this latter wording was changed to ''OVERSEAS TERRITORIES FIRE BRIGADES''. The medal hangs from a ring with claw suspension. The ribbon is dark blue with a central stripe of green, with the centre stripe divided by three thin stripes of white. The clasps for further service are attached to the ribbon and are silver and decorated with a spray of laurel.

References

{{Efficiency and long service decorations and medals Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth Fire service awards and honors