__NOTOC__ The Punjab Medal was a

campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a hig ...

issued to officers and men of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and

Honourable East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

who served in the Punjab campaign of 1848-49, which ended in the British annexation of the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

.Medal Yearbook 2015, p141 The medal was approved on 2 April 1849, for award to all who served in the Punjab between 7 September 1848 and 14 March 1849.British Battles and Medals, p115

Description

* A circular silver medal, in diameter, designed by

William Wyon William Wyon (Birmingham 1795 – 29 October 1851), was official chief engraver at the Royal Mint from 1828 until his death. Biography Wyon was born in Birmingham and, in 1809, was apprenticed to his father, Peter Wyon who was an engraver a ...

. * Obverse: The diademed head of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

with the legend VICTORIA REGINA. * Reverse: A scene showing

Sir Walter Gilbert General Sir Walter Raleigh Gilbert, 1st Baronet, (18 March 1785, Bodmin – 12 May 1853, Stevens' Hotel, Bond Street, London) was an army officer in the British East India Company. Life He was the third son of the Reverend Edmund Gilbert (d ...

receiving the Sikh surrender with the legend TO THE ARMY OF THE PUNJAB above, and below MDCCCXLIX, the year 1849 in Roman numerals. * Naming: The medals were impressed in roman capitals with the recipient's name and details. * Ribbon: The wide ribbon is dark blue with a yellow stripe towards each edge.

Clasps

Three clasps were authorised, although no medals were awarded with more than two, since no unit qualified for both the ''Mooltan'' and ''Chilianwala'' clasps.British Battles and Medals, p116 The medal was issued without a clasp to those who were present in the Punjab but did not take part in any of the principal battles.
The three clasps awarded were: * Mooltan :''7 September 1848 – 22 January 1849''. Awarded to troops engaged in the siege of

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

. In total, 18,967 of these clasps were awarded, 2,900 to Europeans and 16,067 to Indian troops.British Battles and Medals, p117 * Chilianwala :''13 January 1849''. Awarded to troops under the command of

Lord Gough Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, (3 November 1779 – 2 March 1869) was an Irish people, Irish officer of the British Army. After serving as a junior officer at the Invasion of the Cape Colony, seizur ...

who engaged with the Sikh army of

Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his ...

and

Lal Singh Raja Lal Singh (died 1866) was Wazir of the Sikh Empire and commander of Sikh Khalsa Army forces during the First Anglo-Sikh War. Along with Tej Singh, Lal Singh was in the employ of the East India Company during the course of the war. Lal Sin ...

near Chilianwala. In total, 21,453 of these clasps were awarded, 4,300 to Europeans and 16,153 to Indian troops. * Goojerat :''21 February 1849''. Awarded to troops under the command of

who defeated the Sikh army of

at Goojerat. In total, 32,960 of these clasps were awarded, 6,200 to Europeans and 26,760 to Indian troops. The clasps read downwards from the top of the medal, varying from the usual practice of placing the earliest clasp nearest the medal.

Notes

Bibliography

* Mussel, J (ed) – ''Medals Yearbook – 2015'', (2014), Token Publishing. * Joslin, Litherland, and Simpkin (eds), ''British Battles and Medals'', (1988), Spink {{Campaign medals of the Honourable East India Company British campaign medals Medals of the Honourable East India Company Anglo-Sikh wars 1849 establishments in British India