The Colonial Police Long Service Medal was established in 1934 to recognise long service in the police forces 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. On 10 April 2012 the medal became known as the Overseas Territories Police Long Service Medal.

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 Police and Fire Brigade medals under their own warrants, with the name of medal changing to ''Colonial Police Long Service Medal''. The name was again changed in 2012 to the ''Overseas Territories Police 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 full-time, continuous and efficient service in the Police Force of any British Colony or Overseas Territory. Service in more than one colony can qualify, as can previous service in any police force entitled to the

Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal The Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is a decoration for police officers of the United Kingdom. First instituted in 1951, the medal is presented for twenty aggregate years of service in the police services of the United Kingdom. Criter ...

, while excluding any service for which this medal has already been awarded. 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 police 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 mate ...

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

Appearance

The medal is circular, silver and 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 six 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) File:Ian Rank-Broadley effigy military medal.png, Elizabeth II (circa 2012) The reverse depicts a police officer's truncheon 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'' and ''COLONIAL POLICE FORCES''. In 2012 this latter wording was changed to ''OVERSEAS TERRITORIES POLICE FORCES''. The name and details of the recipient are engraved on the edge of the medal. The medal hangs from a ring with claw suspension. The ribbon of the medal is dark blue with a wide central stripe of green, with the centre stripe bordered by 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

External links

Design of the Colonial Police Long Service MedalMedals of the World

Medal pair with the Africa General Service Medal and Colonial Police Long Service Medal

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

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