The Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was a long service medal awarded by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The medal was awarded for service in the Army

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the Haldane Reforms, military reforms im ...

, or a combination of service in the Special Reserve and other part-time military forces. Awarded between 1908 and 1930, the medal was only awarded 1,078 times. Militia Long Service Medal, obverse, King George V

Militia Long Service Medal, obverse, King George V

Award criteria

The medal was established in June 1908 by 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 an ...

after, as part of the

Haldane Reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the ...

, the

replaced the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, the new medal superseding the

Militia Long Service Medal The Militia Long Service Medal was a long service medal awarded by the United Kingdom between 1904 and 1930. Eligibility Established by King Edward VII by Army Order No. 211 of 1904, the medal was awarded to privates and non-commissioned office ...

. It was awarded to privates and

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s for 15 years efficient and irreproachable service in the Special Reserve and attending 15 annual trainings, although members of the two Irish Yeomanry regiments qualified with 10 years service and 10 annual trainings. Qualifying service for the medal could come from service in the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

, or

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

, but not the Regular Army, as long as the last five years was in the Militia or Special Reserve. The medal was superseded by the

Efficiency Medal The Efficiency Medal was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men after twelve years of efficient service on the active list of the Militia or the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom, or ...

in 1930. No recipient could receive both this and the concurrently awarded

Territorial Force Efficiency Medal The Territorial Force Efficiency Medal was a United Kingdom award for long service in the Territorial Force between 1908 and 1921. Institution Established in 1908, the medal superseded the Volunteer Long Service Medal and the Imperial Yeomanr ...

. Awards were published in Army Orders, with a total of 1,078 medals awarded: 428 bearing the effigy of King Edward VII and 650 with that of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

. In terms of unit, the following were conferred:

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

: 164;

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

: 9; Anglesey Royal Engineers: 3;

Monmouthshire Regiment The Monmouthshire Regiment was a Territorial infantry regiment of the British Army. Originating in units of rifle volunteers formed in Monmouthshire in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and both World War I and World War II ...

: 5;

RAMC The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

: 4; Labour Corps: 4;

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tank ...

: 1;

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was on ...

: 16;

South Irish Horse The South Irish Horse was a Special Reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Formed as an Imperial Yeomanry regiment in 1902 as the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry, it perpetuated a unit formed during the Second Boer War. It transferred t ...

: 30;

King Edward's Horse King Edward's Horse (The King's Overseas Dominions Regiment) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1901, which saw service in the First World War. Early history The regiment was originally formed as part of the Imperial Yeomanry ...

: 14;

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

: 823; Channel Islands (

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

): 5. Figures exclude two cancelled awards.

Appearance

The Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is a silver wide oval shaped medal of the following design:
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 bust of the reigning King in Field Marshal's uniform facing left. Originally Edward VII was shown, with the legend, ''EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR''. In 1911 the image was changed to that of George V, the legend reading ''GEORGIVS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:''.
The reverse bears the words ''SPECIAL RESERVE'' arched above ''FOR LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT'' on four lines.
A claw suspension and ring suspender attaches the medal from a 32 mm wide dark blue ribbon with a centre stripe of light blue.
The recipient's service number, rank, name, and unit were impressed on the edge of the medal.

References

External links

Special Reserve Long Service Medal
Online Medals, Medal Encyclopaedia
Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal awarded to Sgt Kane, 4th Connaught Rangers, 1910
National Army Museum {{Efficiency and long service decorations and medals Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth