Africa General Service Medal

The Africa General Service Medal 1902-1956 was a campaign medal of the Commonwealth. It was awarded for minor campaigns in tropical Africa, it was still current in 1914 and nine later clasps were issued. The medal is never seen without a clasp and some are very rare, most being granted to local forces like the King's African Rifles.

Description

• The obverse with uncrowned head, name and title of the reigning monarch (shown here is Queen Elizabeth II).
• The reverse with a highly symbolic design depicting Britannia standing with a lion and offering peace and law to Africa as a new day breaks.

Clasps

• East Africa 1914, East Africa 1915, East Africa 1918 all mainly for service against the Turkana people.
• Shimber Berris 1914-15, recalled service in two brief campaigns in November 1914 and February 1915 in which Indian troops were largely employed to destroy fortifications in British Somaliland.
• Nyasaland 1915, was granted mainly to the KAR and local volunteers for service during a rebellion in the Shire Highlands.
• Jubaland 1917-18, was awarded for operations against the Aulihan tribe along the Jubba River.
• Nigeria 1918, was granted for service during a revolt by the Egba people between Abeokuta and Lagos known as the Adubi War.
• British Somaliland 1920, was a much larger affair and commemorated the last of the campaigns against Mohammed Abdullah Hassan ('the Mad Mullah') and was awarded to Army, Navy and Air Force personnel.
• Kenya, this clasp was awarded fifty years after the medal was introduced and is by far the most common, for service between 21 October 1952 and 17 November 1956 during the Mau Mau Uprising by the Kikuyu people. A large number of British regiments and Royal Air Force squadrons received the medal.

References

• Shire Books - British Campaign Medals 1914-2005