Efficiency Medal
| Efficiency Medal |
|
| Awarded by The United Kingdom |
| Type |
Medal |
| Eligibility |
Territorial Army (UK) - Ranks; Indian Volunteer Forces; Colonial Auxiliary Forces |
| Awarded for |
Granted for a minimum of 12 years service with war service and West African peacetime service counting double. |
| Status |
This award:
- Superseded the awards to ranks throughout the volunteer forces of Britain and the Commonwealth including:
- Superseded by the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal in 1999.
-
- In 1969 the Efficiency Medal also re-consolidated the Army Emergency Reserve Efficiency Medal which had been an offshoot of the Efficiency Medal in 1953.)
|
| Description |
as follows:
- Ribbon = 32mm plain dark green with yellow edges.
- In 1969 this was altered to half blue, half green, with yellow edges following the formation of the T&AVR.
- Members of the Honourable Artillery Company wore a half blue, half scarlet ribbon, with yellow edges.
- Metal = Silver
- Size = Height 39mm; max.width 32mm
- Shape = Oval, with fixed suspender bar decorated with two palm leaves and an inscribed scroll. See sub-heading 'Scroll Inscriptions' for details of variations in inscription.
- Obverse = Sovereign's effigy (George V; George VI; Elizabeth II)
- Reverse = Inscription: FOR EFFICIENT SERVICE on three lines.
- Naming = Name of recipient inscribed on the rim of the medal (Service Number, Rank, Name, Initials of Regiment)
|
| Clasps |
Additional Bars were granted for further periods of 6 years service. These were decorated with an embossed King's crown or Queen's crown dependent upon the time of issue. |
| Statistics |
| Established |
17 October 1930 |
The Efficiency Medal was a medal of Britain and the Commonwealth awarded for long service in the Territorial Army of the UK, the Indian Volunteer Forces and Colonial Auxiliary Forces. This award superseded the awards to ranks throughout the volunteer forces of Britain and the Commonwealth. The criteria were for a minimum of 12 years service in the Territorial Army with war service and West African peacetime service counting double. Bars for further periods of 12 years were also awarded. The medal was superseded in 1999 by the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal.[1]
The equivalent award for commissioned officers was the Efficiency Decoration.
Medals Superseded by the Efficiency Medal
- Territorial Efficiency Medal: This medal had been that awarded to the Territorial Army.
- Volunteer Long Service And Good Conduct Medal: Although this medal had previously been superseded in 1908 by the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal (which itself had been superseded by the Territorial Efficiency Medal in 1921) it was still being awarded until 1930 in Bermuda, India, Isle of Man and to the 7th (Isle of Man) Volunteer Battalion of the King's (Liverpool) Regiment.[2]
- Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal: This medal had been in existence since 1899[3] before being superseded by the Efficiency Medal. The inscription on the suspender bar scroll of the Efficiency Medal was of the name of the country of the overseas (in relation to the UK) force.
- New Zealand Territorial Service Medal: This medal, instituted in 1912, had been for the Territorial Force, New Zealand. It was replaced when the NEW ZEALAND inscription on the scroll bar of the Efficiency Medal was adopted in 1931.[4]
- Militia Long Service And Good Conduct Medal: This medal had been instituted for the Militia in 1904. Although the Militia had for the most part become the Special Reserve in 1908, they had reverted back to Militia status in 1921 and then to the Supplementary Reserve in 1924. Both Militia and Supplementary Reserve were entitled to the Militia Long Service And Good Conduct Medal. From 1930 the Efficiency Medal replaced the Militia Long Service And Good Conduct Medal. Those categories of the Supplementary Reserve whose roots lay the Militia were granted the MILTIA inscription on the suspender bar scroll.
This lasted until the formation of the Army Emergency Reserve in 1951 which had their own medal instituted (the Army Emergency Reserve Efficiency Medal.
- Army Emergency Reserve Efficiency Medal: This medal was more than a variation of the Efficiency Medal but was a medal in its own right for the Army Emergency Reserve.[5] When the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve was created the Army Emergency Reserve was abolished, as was its associated medals and thus this medal was in effect superseded by the Efficiency Medal which from this point had a T&AVR inscription on the suspender bar scroll.
Five different obverse types were used during the life of the medal with the following effigies:[6]
- George V displayed as crowned bust in Coronation Robes.
- George VI displayed in a crowned profile in Coronation Robes (from 1949 to 1952).
- George VI displayed in a crowned profile with the FID:DEF inscription.
- Elizabeth II displayed wearing the Tudor crown (from 1954 to 1980).
- Elizabeth II displayed wearing the Tudor crown (from 1980 onwards).
An exception exists for Canada where the second obverse type for Elizabeth II was substituted for a type showing her wearing the Imperial Crown.[7]
Scroll Inscriptions
The fixed suspender bar was decorated with an inscribed scroll the inscription of which had a number of variations.
- TERRITORIAL: This was the inscription for those serving in the Territorial Army of UK. It lasted from 1930 to 2000, with a hiatus of approximately 12 years when the T&AVR inscription was used (see below). During this period there were 4 Obverse types for the main body of the medal being the two effigies of George VI and the two of Elizabeth II).
- MILITIA: This was granted to members of the Supplementary Reserve until the formation of the Army Emergency Reserve in 1951 which had its own medal. It lasted from 1930 to 1951. During this period there were 3 Obverse types for the main body of the medal being the one effigy of George V and the two effigies of George VI.
- T&AVR: This was introduced when the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve was created and lasted from 1969 to 1982 after which the TERRITORIAL inscription was resumed. During this period there was one Obverse type for the main body of the medal being the second effigy type of Elizabeth II.
- (NAME OF COMMONWEALTH COUNTRY): For medals awarded to a member of a force outside of the United Kingdom the scroll had the name of the country of that force inscribed upon it. During this period all 5 Obverse types were used across the various medals for the main body of the medal, although not all countries had all five types.
The countries were:
-
- Antigua (only one effigy on Obverse (Elizabeth II type 1)
- Australia (all five Obverse effigies)
- Barbados (all five Obverse effigies)
- Bermuda (all five Obverse effigies)
- British Guiana (four Obverse effigies, the exception being type 2 of Elizabeth II)
- British Honduras (four Obverse effigies, the exception being type 2 of Elizabeth II)
- Burma (only one effigy on Obverse (George VI type 1))
- Canada (all five Obverse effigies)
- Ceylon (four Obverse effigies, the exception being type 2 of Elizabeth II)
- Dominica (only one effigy on Obverse (George VI type 1))
- Falkland Islands (four Obverse effigies, the exception being type 2 of George VI)
- Fiji (three Obverse effigies, the exceptions being George V and type 1 of George VI)
- Gibraltar (three Obverse effigies, the exceptions being George V and type 1 of George VI)
- Gold Coast (only two effigies on Obverse (George VI type 1 and 2)
- Grenada (only one effigy on Obverse (George VI type 1))
- Guernsey (four Obverse effigies, the exception being George V)
- Hong Kong (all five Obverse effigies)
- India (only two effigy on Obverse (George V and George VI type 1)
- Jamaica (four Obverse effigies, the exception being type 2 of Elizabeth II)
- Jersey (three Obverse effigies, the exceptions being George V and type 1 of Elizabeth II)
- Kenya (three Obverse effigies, the exceptions being George V and type 2 of Elizabeth II)
- Leeward Island (three Obverse effigies, the exceptions being George V and type 2 of Elizabeth II)
- Malaya (three Obverse effigies, the exceptions being George V and type 2 of Elizabeth II)
- Malta (four Obverse effigies, the exception being George V)
- Mauritius (only one effigy on Obverse (Elizabeth II type 1))
- Montserrat (only one effigy on Obverse (Elizabeth II type 2))
- New Zealand (all five Obverse effigies)
- Nigeria (three Obverse effigies, the exceptions being type 1 of George VI and type 2 of Elizabeth II)
- Rhodesia/Nyasaland (only one effigy on Obverse (Elizabeth II type 1))
- St Christopher Nevis (only one effigy on Obverse (Elizabeth II type 1))
- St Lucia (only one effigy on Obverse (George VI type 1))
- St Vincent (only one effigy on Obverse (George VI type 1))
- S. Rhodesia (four Obverse effigies, the exception being type 2 of Elizabeth II)
- Trinidad/Tobago (three Obverse effigies, the exceptions being George V and type 2 of Elizabeth II)
Ribbon Variations
- Original Ribbon: The main ribbon was originally plain dark green with yellow edges, in keeping with the Territorial Efficiency Medal ribbon.
- T&AVR Alteration: In 1969 this was altered to half blue, half green, with yellow edges following the formation of the T&AVR. Even after 1982 when the TERRITORIAL inscription replaced the T&AVR inscription, this new ribbon remained in place.
- Honourable Artillery Company: For members of the Honourable Artillery Company the ribbon differed, being a half blue, half scarlet ribbon, with yellow edges. This distinction was bestowed by King Edward VII for the Volunteer Long Service And Good Conduct Medal and the honour extended to the same medals under the Territorial designations. The HAC ribbon colours were the household colours of King Edward VII. [8]
Note regarding South Africa
The Efficiency Medal (South Africa) is a very similar medal but is not included in the above Commonwealth Country types because it is a separate medal. The scroll inscription read UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA, but the inscription also had the Afrikaans equivalent below as well as the reverse of the medal bearing a bilingual inscription.[9]
References
- ^ Ministry of Defence website
- ^ Mackay, J., Mussell, J.W., Editorial Team of Medal News, (2005), The Medal Yearbook, page 225, (Token Publishing Limited)
- ^ Mackay, J., Mussell, J.W., Editorial Team of Medal News, (2005), The Medal Yearbook, page 234, (Token Publishing Limited)
- ^ Mackay, J., Mussell, J.W., Editorial Team of Medal News, (2005), The Medal Yearbook, page 238, (Token Publishing Limited)
- ^ Mackay, J., Mussell, J.W., Editorial Team of Medal News, (2005), The Medal Yearbook, page 229, (Token Publishing Limited)
- ^ Mackay, J., Mussell, J.W., Editorial Team of Medal News, (2005), The Medal Yearbook, page 209, (Token Publishing Limited)
- ^ Mackay, J., Mussell, J.W., Editorial Team of Medal News, (2005), The Medal Yearbook, page 228, (Token Publishing Limited)
- ^ www.hac.org.uk
- ^ Mackay, J., Mussell, J.W., Editorial Team of Medal News, (2005), The Medal Yearbook, page 236, (Token Publishing Limited)