Waterloo Medal (Great Britain)
The British Waterloo Medal was awarded by the Prince Regent on the part of and on behalf of King George to every officer, sergeant and soldier in the British Army , including members of the King's German Legion , who had participated in one or more of the following battles: Ligny (16. June 1815), Quatre-Bras (June 16, 1815) and Waterloo (June 18, 1815).
history
After the victory at Waterloo, the British House of Commons decided to coin a medal for everyone who had taken part in the campaign. The Duke of Wellington supported this endeavor in a letter to the Duke of York , suggesting “that we should all have the same medal”, as was the custom with the Army Gold Medal.
The medal was issued from 1816 to 1817 to each of the soldiers who had participated in at least one of the three battles of the designated campaign. Each soldier was also credited with two years of service to his seniority rank and pension entitlement and his “Waterloo Men” award was confirmed.
It was the first medal given by the British Government to all soldiers who had taken part in a campaign and also awarded to the closest relative of a fallen man. At that time, such honors were not yet common and were therefore extremely gratefully received by those who were honored. On the other hand, the British participants in the Iberian wars in particular felt neglected towards their comrades, some of whom had participated in the Waterloo campaign “only as recruits”. Because they had only received a general thank you message from the British Parliament, which was in keeping with British tradition, according to which the pride of the British Army was not, as is customary on the continent, expressed in the handing over of medals and personal awards to every soldier or regiment, but everyone was just doing their duty in the military. However, the medal had become as much a symbol of the importance of victory as it was then in response to the desire to generally issue campaign medals to soldiers.
Excellent
Not all of the 39,000 medals minted were awarded. 6,000 went to members of cavalry units, 4,000 to guards on foot, 16,000 to line troops of the infantry, 5,000 to artillery units and 6,500 to members of the King's German Legion. With the soldiers of the staffs, the engineer and mine troops as well as eight supply companies, a total of about 38,500 men were awarded.
description
The medal is 37 millimeters (1.5 inches) in diameter, weighs 31.6 grams and is made from the finest silver. The design comes from Thomas Wyon Jr., the then chief designer of the Royal Mint , whose name is given on both sides. On the front is the left-facing portrait of the Prince Regent and the inscription "GEORGE P. REGENT". The reverse depicts Victoria, the goddess of victory enthroned on a rectangular base, above the words WELLINGTON and below WATERLOO and the date JUNE 18 1815. The design of the medal is based on an ancient coin from Elis , which is now on display in the British Museum . The medal is attached to an iron ring through which the ribbon is passed. The ribbon made of ribs silk is 37 millimeters (1.5 inches) wide and crimson with dark blue side stripes each 7 millimeters (0.28 inches) wide. The same ribbon was used for the Army Gold Medal. A medal clasp was not issued.
The Waterloo Medal is the first medal to have the rank, name and regiment of the distinguished person engraved on the edge, with spaces filled in with star-shaped stamps.
The design of the medal, especially its size, the metal and the lettering with the name, served as a model for many other British campaign medals.
Individual evidence
- ↑ This section is largely borrowed from the English version
- ↑ Chris Cawthorne: The Origin and Numismatics of the British Waterloo Medal , In: Orders & Medals Research Society Journal , June 2015. Volume 54, No. 2. ISSN 1474-3353.
- ^ Joslin, Litherland, Simpkin .: British Battles and Medals (6th ed.), (Spinks & Son.) London 1988, ISBN 0907605257
- ↑ Harold E. Raugh: The Victorians at War 1815-1914 , in: An Encyclopedia of British Military History , 2008, ISBN 978-1-57607-925-6