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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is 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 award may be d ...

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 in ...

between 1908 and 1921.

Institution

Established in 1908, the medal superseded the Volunteer Long Service Medal and the Imperial Yeomanry Long Service Medal when the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 act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer and Yeomanry units into a new Territor ...

, (7 Edw.7, c.9) which instigated a major re-organisation of the old

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

and the remaining units of

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

and

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

. 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 Ri ...

rather than the

, and were therefore eligible for the Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. 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 Army_Reserve_(United_Kingdom)#Interwar_re-establ ...

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 an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

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 (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

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 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

. 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 The obverse and reverse are 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, ''obverse'' ...

depicts the bust of the reigning King in Field Marshall's uniform, facing left. Originally

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

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 Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

, 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 The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

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

References

External links