India Medal

Instituted:
An Army Order of 1st April 1896 authorised the India Medal and two clasps for the Defence of Chitral 1895 and the Relief of Chitral 1895.

Qualification:
Awarded to all those who took part in North-West Frontier operations between 1895 and 1902.

Description:
There were two issues of this medal, one depicting the head of Queen Victoria, and the other depicting the bust of King Edward VII. Both medals were silver, 36mm diameter, although the Edward version has a thinner gauge.

1. Queen Victoria (first issue)
The obverse depicts the crowned and veiled head of Queen Victoria and the legend, VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPERATRIX. The reverse portrays a British soldier on the left and a Punjabi warrior on the right, both men supporting the same standard. The word INDIA appears on the left, and the date 1895 on the right. Thomas Brock (1847-1922) designed the obverse and George William de Saulles (1862-1903), the reverse.

2. King Edward VII (second issue)
The obverse depicts the bust of King Edward VII in Field Marshall's uniform and the legend, EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR. The reverse is the same as above but with the date omitted. Both the obverse and reverse of the second issue were designed by George William de Saulles.

The medal could be issued in silver or bronze.

Suspension:
A floreated swivelling suspension.

Ribbon:
32mm wide; crimson with two dark green stripes down the centre.

Naming:
Generally in running script. However, medals with the Punjab Frontier clasp or Tirah clasp awarded to the Highland Light Infantry are named in block capitals.

Clasps:
Seven clasps were issued for this medal, as follows:


1. Defence of Chitral 1895
Awarded for the Defence of the Indian state of Chitral on the North West Frontier between 3rd March and 19th April 1895 (above).

2. Relief of Chitral 1895
Awarded for the Relief of Chitral on between 7th March and 15th August 1895.

3. Punjab Frontier 1897-98
Awarded for actions between 10th June 1897 and 6th April 1898. The clasp was authorised in June 1898.

4. Malakand 1897
Awarded for to those who took part in the defence and relief of Chakdara and Malakand between 26th July and 2nd August 1897.

5. Samana 1897
Awarded to the garrisons beyond Kohat for the part they played between 2nd August and 2nd October 1897. This clasp, authorised in June 1898, is always paired with at least one other clasp.

6. Tirah 1897-98
This clasp, authorised in June 1898, was awarded to the Tirah Expeditionary Force for the role it played between 2nd October 1897 and 6th April 1898. Like the Samana 1897 clasp, the Tirah clasp was never awarded singly.


7. Waziristan 1901-2
This bar was awarded to those who were engaged in the Mahsud and Waziri districts between 23rd November 1801 and 10th March 1902. It was authorised in March 1903. All single clasp Waziristan 1901-2 medals were issued with the Edward VII medal version (above).

Acknowledgements:
The photographs are courtesy of Dix Noonan Webb, whilst British Battles and Medals has, as always, proven invaluable in compiling the information.

Army of India Medal

Instituted:
An order dated 21st March 1851 authorised the East India Company to issue a medal to all survivors who served in India between 1799 and 1826.

Qualification:
See above. The period covered encompassed four wars: the Second Mahratta War (1803–4), the Gurkha War (1814–16), the Pindaree or Third Mahratta War (1817–18), and the First Burmese War (1824–26). Because the medal was issued retrospectively, and some 48 years after the first qualifying action at Allighur in 1803, fewer medals were issued than would have been the case had awards been made immediately after the campaigns. As it was, around 4,500 medals were issued in total, the vast majority of these with only a single clasp.

Description:
A silver, 35mm diameter medal featuring the diademed head of Queen Victoria on the obverse and the legend VICTORIA REGINA. The reverse depicts the figure of Victory, seated and facing left. In her right hand she holds a laurel branch, and in her right hand a wreath. A palm tree can be seen to the left and around the top is the wording, TO THE ARMY OF INDIA. The dates 1799-1826 appear at the bottom. The medal was designed by William Wyon who was the official chief engraver of the Royal Mint from 1828 until his death in 1851. It was a William Wyon design which was the model for Queen Victoria's head on the Penny Black and other later Victorian postage stamps.

The length of the hyphen between the two dates is known to vary. Those with a long hyphen are thought to have been sent out to India unnamed and then named in Calcutta and sent to claimants still serving in India. Medals with a shorter hyphen and the designer's initials (WW) were largely issued to the Queen's ships and regiments.

Ribbon:
32mm wide and light blue.

Naming:
Generally in indented capitals to British and European troops and various indented capitals and script to natives.

Clasps:
This medal was only issued with clasps and there were twenty-one clasps issued in total. These are listed below in date order, earliest first. The order of the clasps on this medal is different from most medals in that the last award is placed nearest the medal.

1. Allighur
Awarded for the action of 4th September 1803.

2. Battle of Delhi
Awarded for the action of 11th September 1803.

3. Assye
Awarded for the action of 23rd September 1803.
Assye is today, Assaye in the state of Maharashtra. Read more about the Battle of Assye at British Battles.com. The Duke of Wellington, who was a colonel (and acting Major General) at Assye would later say that Assye was his hardest fought battle.

4. Asserghur
Awarded for the action of 21st October 1803.

5. Laswaree
Awarded for the action of 1st November 1803.

6. Argauum
Awarded for the action of 29th November 1803.

7. Gawilghur
Awarded for the action of 15th December 1803.

8. Defence of Delhi
Awarded for the actions of 8th-14th October 1804.

9. Battle of Deig
Awarded for the action of 13th November 1804.

10. Capture of Deig
Awarded for the actions of 11th-23rd December 1804.

11. Nepaul
Awarded for the actions of October 1814 to March 1816.

12. Kirkee
Awarded for the action of 5th November 1817.

13. Poona
Awarded for the actions of 11th-16th November 1817.

14. Kirkee and Poona
Awarded for the actions of 5th-16th November 1817.

15. Seetabuldee
Awarded for the actions of 26th-27th November 1817.

16. Napgore
Awarded for the action of 16th December 1817.

17. Seetabuldee and Nagpore
Awarded for the actions of 26th-27th November 1817 and 16th December 1817.

18. Maheidpoor
Awarded for the action of 21st December 1817.

19. Corygaum
Awarded for the action of 1st January 1818.

20. Ava
Awarded for actions between 1824 and 1826.

21. Bhurtpoor
Awarded to men who took part in the siege of Bhurtpoor between 17th and 18th January 1826.

Other:
The first action commemorated on a clasp for this medal was the assault on the fortress at Allighur on 4th September 1803, a date which does not of course agree with the dates 1799-1826 that are mentioned on the reverse of the medal.

Seven clasps were awarded to one man - the most awarded. Two men received five clasps, twenty-three received four, and one hundred and forty nine received three.

Medals with the Ava clasp are the most common; those with the Kirkee (seven known issues) and Seetabuldee (two issues to Europeans) clasps, the most rare.

Sales:
An Army of India medal with a scarce combination of Battle of Deig and Capture of Deig clasps (only 32 entitlements for this combination) was sold at auction by Dix Noonan Webb in June 2009 for £7,800 against a top estimate of £4,500.

Acknowledgements:
The photograph is taken from Dix Noonan's September 2009 auction catalogue whilst British Battles and Medals has been invaluable in putting together the information.