Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, Edward VII, obverse

The Territorial Force Efficiency Medal was a

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 ...

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

for long service in the

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 ...

between 1908 and 1921.

Institution

Established in 1908, the medal superseded the

Volunteer Long Service Medal The Volunteer Long Service Medal was instituted in 1894 as an award for long service by other ranks and some officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the medal was discontinued when it was superseded by the Territorial Force E ...

and the Imperial Yeomanry Long Service Medal when the

was formed on 1 April 1908. This followed the enactment of the

Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (''7 Edw. 7, c.9'') was an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer ...

, (7 Edw.7, c.9) which instigated a major re-organisation of the old Volunteer Force and the remaining units of

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 ...

and

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, f ...

. The Militia were transferred to the

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 military reforms implemented by Rich ...

rather than the

, and were therefore eligible for the

Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal The Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was a long service medal awarded by the United Kingdom. The medal was awarded for service in the Army Special Reserve, or a combination of service in the Special Reserve and other part-time mi ...

. The medal was superseded by the

Territorial Efficiency Medal The Territorial Efficiency Medal (TEM) was a United Kingdom award for long service in the Territorial Army. It superseded the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal when the Territorial Force became the Territorial Army in 1921. It was superseded by ...

when the

was elevated to become the Territorial Army in 1921.

Award criteria

The Territorial Force Efficiency Medal was awarded to

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 and men for a minimum of 12 years service in the Territorial Force, providing they attended 12 annual

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

s. Previous service in other part-time forces including the Volunteer Force could count, while war service counted double. Bars were awarded for further periods of 12 years. The equivalent award for

commissioned officers An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

was the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the T ...

. A recipient could wear both awards together, provided they completed the full periods of qualifying service for each.

Description

The Territorial Force Efficiency Medal is an oval silver medal, high and wide.
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, ...

depicts the bust of the reigning King in

Field Marshall Field-Marshall was a brand of farm tractor which was manufactured by Marshall, Sons & Co. of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. Field-Marshalls were in production from 1945 to 1957. However, the first single-cylinder Marshall ...

's uniform, facing left. Originally

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 Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

was shown, with the legend, EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR. In 1911 the image was changed to 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 his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

, the legend reading GEORGIVS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:.
The reverse has a raised rim and bears the inscription "TERRITORIAL FORCE EFFICIENCY MEDAL" on four lines.
The recipient's service number, rank, name, and unit were impressed on the edge of the medal. The medal hangs from a ring suspension, attached to the medal by a claw fixing. The wide ribbon was originally plain dark green with a central yellow stripe, but in December 1919 was changed to plain dark green with yellow edges..

Honourable Artillery Company

For members of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) the ribbon differed, being half blue, half scarlet with yellow edges, reflecting the racing colours of King

. This distinction was bestowed by

for the

Volunteer Long Service And Good Conduct Medal The Volunteer Long Service Medal was instituted in 1894 as an award for long service by other ranks and some officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the medal was discontinued when it was superseded by the Territorial Force E ...

and the honour was extended to long service medals under the Territorial designations.Honourable Artillery Company websit
www.hac.org.uk

References

External links