British Crimean Medal

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Portrait of a British War Veteran with His Wife; the veteran wears the Crimean Medal; anonymous photography, 1860s

The Crimea Medal , also known as the Crimea War Medal, is a British military award donated in 1854 . It was awarded to British soldiers who took part in the Crimean War 1854-1856.

Appearance and material

The medal has a diameter of 36 mm and is made of silver . The obverse shows the head of Queen Victoria crowned with a diadem and the inscription 'VICTORIA REGINA'. Below the head is the foundation year 1854. The reverse shows a Roman warrior with a round shield in his left hand and a short sword in his right hand, crowned by a flying Victoria with a laurel wreath. To the right of the warrior, the inscription 'Crimea' is placed vertically.

The medal was carried by a clasp in the shape of an oak leaf, which was also made of silver. There are acorns on both sides of the leaf. The design of the clasp is unique for British awards. The name of the battle for which the award was given is attached to the clasp. There are five versions in total:

The medal was often given to French soldiers with the inscriptions Traktir , Tchernaia , Mer d'Azoff , and Malakof on the clasp, but these are not officially authorized versions.

The medal itself is attached to the clasp on a swiveling, floral suspension. This version is also unique for British awards.

The band is 28 mm wide. It is light blue with 3mm wide yellow edges on each side.

  • Crimea Medal, obverse, balaclava finish

  • Crimea Medal, lapel, made by Sebastopol

  • Crimea War Medal, volume

carrier

The medal was given to British soldiers and members of the Royal Navy who had participated in the relevant battles and campaigns. For soldiers who took part in the Crimean War, but not in one of the battles indicated by the statements, received the medal without an inscription on the clasp. Although there were a total of five versions, a single soldier could only be awarded the medal four times. A medal with five clasps, which was not awarded, is in the Royal Collection . The medal was usually awarded together with the Turkish Crimean Medal . However, since the ship with the Turkish medals intended for British soldiers was shipwrecked, they were often given the Turkish medal in the Sardinian version.

Web links

literature

  • James A. Mackay, Philip Mussel: Medals Yearbook. 2006 . Edited by John W. Mussell. Token Publishing Ltd, Honiton 2005, ISBN 1-870192-70-2 (English).
  • EC Joslin, AR Litherland, BT Simpkin (Eds.): British battles & medals . New Edition. Spink, London 1988, ISBN 0-907605-25-7 (English).

Remarks

  1. ↑ the English names are given as they were worn on the clasp, the link leads to articles about the corresponding battles or the geographical names used today in German-speaking countries