Military General Service Medal
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| Military General Service Medal | |
|---|---|
   Obverse (top left) and reverse (top right) of the medal. Ribbon: 31mm, crimson edged with dark blue. |
|
| Awarded by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | |
| Type | Campaign medal |
| Eligibility | British Army. |
| Awarded for | Campaign service. |
| Campaign | French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1793-1814, Anglo-American War of 1812.. |
| Description | Silver disk, 36mm diameter. |
| Clasps | 29 authorised. |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1 June 1847 |
The Military General Service Medal (MGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847, for issue to officers and men of the British Army.[1]
The MGSM was approved on 1 June 1847 as a retrospective award for various military actions from 1793 to 1814; a period encompassing the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Anglo-American War of 1812. Each battle or action covered by the medal was represented by a clasp on the ribbon; twenty-nine were sanctioned[2] the maximum awarded to one man was fifteen.[3] The medal was never issued without a clasp.
A point to note is that the medal was only awarded to surviving claimants; one had both to have survived until 1847 and then to actively apply for it. A combination of factors, from general illiteracy to limited publicity for the new medal meant that many did not. There are substantially fewer medals issued compared with the number of men who served during this period.
The medal was awarded only to surviving claimants; next of kin could not apply for a medal on behalf of a deceased relative. However, the medal was awarded to next of kin of those claimants who had died between the date of their application and the date of presentation. There were some 25,650 applications in total.[4]
This medal and its naval counterpart, the Naval General Service Medal, were amongst the first real British campaign medals, the first to be issued to all ranks just for "being there".
[edit] Clasps
- Egypt
- Maida
- Roleia
- Vimiera
- Sahagun
- Benevente
- Sahagun and Benevente
- Corunna
- Martinique
- Talavera
- Guadaloupe
- Busaco
- Barrosa
- Fuentes D'Onor
- Albuhera
- Java
- Ciudad Rodrigo
- Badajoz
- Salamanca
- Fort Detroit
- Chateauguay
- Chrysler's Farm
- Vittoria
- Pyrenees
- St Sebastien
- Nivelle
- Nive
- Orthes
- Toulouse
[edit] Notes
- ^ Although a handful of awards were made to officers and men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, on attachment to the army, British Battles and Medals, p83.
- ^ Medals Yearbook 2005, p133.
- ^ Two men were awarded medals with fifteen clasps, eleven men qualified for fourteen clasps, British Battes and Medals, p69.
- ^ British Battles and Medals, p69.
[edit] Bibliography
- Mackay, J and Mussel, J (eds) - Medals Yearbook - 2005, (2004), Token Publishing.
- Joslin, Litherland, and Simpkin (eds), British Battles and Medals, (1988), Spink
