The Long Service Medal, Gold was instituted by the President of the

Republic of Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...

in 1985, for award to all ranks for thirty years exemplary service.South African Medal Website - Venda Defence Force
(Accessed 30 April 2015)

The Venda Defence Force

The 900 member Venda Defence Force (VDF) was established upon that country's independence on 13 September 1979. The Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Venda Defence Force was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).Warrant of the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of the "UNITAS MEDAL-UNITAS-MEDALJE", Gazette no. 16087 dated 25 November 1994.

Institution

The Long Service Medal, Gold was instituted by the President of Venda in 1985. It is the senior award of a set of three medals for long service, along with the

Long Service Medal, Silver The Long Service Medal, Silver was instituted by the President of the Republic of Venda in 1985, for award to all ranks for twenty years exemplary service.

and the

Long Service Medal, Bronze The Long Service Medal, Bronze was instituted by the President of the Republic of Venda in 1985, for award to all ranks for ten years exemplary service.

.South African Medal Website - Legal aspects - Fount of Honour
(Accessed 1 May 2015) Venda's military decorations and medals were modelled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these three medals are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the Good Service Medal, Gold, the

Good Service Medal, Silver The Good Service Medal, Silver, originally named the South African Defence Force Good Service Medal, Silver, is the middle member of a set of three South African military decorations, military medals which was instituted by the South Africa, Rep ...

and the Good Service Medal, Bronze.

Award criteria

The medal could be awarded to all ranks for thirty years of exemplary service.

Order of wear

Since the Long Service Medal, Gold was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date. The position of the Long Service Medal, Gold in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1994, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first in April 1996 when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, the

Azanian People's Liberation Army The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'. After attacks on ...

and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, ;Venda Defence Force until 26 April 1994: *Official VDF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Independence Medal. ** Succeeded by the

Long Service Medal, Silver The Long Service Medal, Silver was instituted by the President of the Republic of Venda in 1985, for award to all ranks for twenty years exemplary service.

. *Venda official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the National Force Long Service Medal, 30 Years. ** Succeeded by the Police Star for Merit. ;South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994: *Official SANDF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the

Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct, Gold The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct, Gold was instituted by the State President of the Republic of Bophuthatswana in 1982, for award to all ranks as a long service medal for thirty years service and good conduct.Republic of Bophuthatswana. ** Succeeded by the

John Chard Decoration The John Chard Decoration, post-nominal letters JCD, was a military long service decoration which was instituted by the Union of South Africa on 6 April 1952. It was awarded to members of the Citizen Force of the South African Defence Force for ...

(JCD) of the South Africa, Republic of South Africa. *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Medal for Faithful Service in the Prisons Service, Gold of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. ** Succeeded by the Police Star for Merit of the

. ;South African National Defence Force from April 1996: *Official SANDF order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct, Gold of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. ** Succeeded by the Gold Service Medal of the

. *Official national order of precedence: ** Preceded by the Medal for Faithful Service in the Prisons Service, Gold of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. ** Succeeded by the Police Star for Merit of the Republic of Venda. The position of the Long Service Medal, Gold remained unchanged, as it was in April 1996, when a new set of honours was instituted on 27 April 2003.

Description

;Obverse The Long Service Medal, Gold is silver-gilt medallion, 38 millimetres in diameter, depicting the :File:Venda coat of arms.jpg, Coat of Arms of the Republic of Venda.Uniform: SA Army: Former Forces Medals - Venda Defence Force (BDF)
/ref>
/ref> The suspender is in the form of a pair of crossed elephant tusks and is different on the full size and miniature medals. On the full-size medal, depicted at the top, the ends of the tusks reach to approximately the ten-thirty and one-thirty clock positions on the medallion, while on the miniature medal, as depicted alongside, they reach to approximately the nine-thirty and two-thirty clock positions on the medallion.
/ref> ;Reverse The reverse is inscribed "MENDELE WA TSHUMELO YA TSHIFHINGA TSHILAPFU MIINWAHA YA FURARU", the number of years service. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with a 4 millimetres wide blue band and an 8 millimetres wide green band, repeated in reverse order and separated by an 8 millimetres wide yellow band.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the Long Service Medal, Gold was discontinued when the Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of Venda Long service medals Awards established in 1985 Awards disestablished in 1994 1985 establishments in Africa 1994 disestablishments in Africa