Indian Meritorious Service Medal
History
The Indian Meritorious Service Medal (for the Indian Army) was instituted in 1888. The medal was awarded for meritorious service to one Daffadar or Havildar of each of the regiments of the Presidency armies who had served for at least 18 years and had ‘…performed in a meritorious manner, with no court-martials, and having been entered in the defaulters book fewer than five times’.
Additionally, they must also have been recommended by their commanding officer. Recipients of the Indian Meritorious Service Medal had to subsequently surrender any previously awarded Indian Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. The award became obsolete in 1947.
The Indian Meritorious Service Medal (for Europeans of the Indian Army) was established by the East India Company in 1848, it was established along the same lines as the Meritorious Service Medal but for non-commissioned officers in the British Army and was awarded to European personnel of the forces of the East India Company and conferred upon sergeants serving or already discharged, for distinguished or meritorious service. An annuity of £20 accompanied the award.
Even after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (which brought the end of company rule), the medal continued to be awarded to eligible European personnel serving in the British Indian Army. This continued until 1873, when it was decided that European personnel would be awarded the same Meritorious Service Medal as was awarded to the members of the British Army
Description
The medal for the Indian Army is 36mm in diameter and was struck in silver. The obverse of this medal bears the effigy of the reigning monarch at the time that the medal was issued and a corresponding inscription. This is summarised in the table below:-
Monarch
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Issue & Type
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Obverse Style & Inscription
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Dates
|
|
Victoria
|
1
|
V:R 1
|
An effigy of the young Victoria facing left
VICTORIA REGINA
|
1888 - 1901
|
Edward VII
|
2
|
EVII 1
|
An effigy of the King in Field Marshal's uniform, facing left
EDWARDVS VII KAISER - I –HIND
|
1901 - 1910
|
George V
|
3
|
GV 1
|
An effigy of the King in Admiral’s uniform, facing left
GEORGIVS V BRITT: OMN: KAISER - I – HIND
|
1911 - 1931
|
George V
|
4
|
GV 2
|
An effigy of the King in coronation robes, facing left
GEORGIVS. V. BRITT. OMN.
REX. ET. INDIAE. IMP.
|
1932 - 1936
|
George VI
|
5
|
GVI 1
|
A crowned effigy of the King, facing left
GEORGIVS VI G: BR: OMN: REX ET INDIAE IMP:
|
1937 - 1947
|
The reverse depicts an outer wreath of lotus flowers and leaves surrounding an inner wreath of palm leaves. Between the two wreaths is the inscription; ‘FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE’. Inside the inner wreath is the inscription; ‘INDIA’.
The medal for Europeans of the Indian Army is also 36mm in diameter and was also struck in silver. The obverse of this medal bears the effigy Queen Victoria wearing a diadem with the inscription; ‘VICTORIA REGINA’,
The reverse depicts the arms, motto, and crest of the East India Company in the centre, surrounded by an outer ring. Upon the ring is the inscription; ‘FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE’.
In both cases the ribbon suspender is of the swivelling ornate scroll style, attached to the medal by a claw mount.
The recipient's details can be found impressed on the medal's rim.
Ribbon
Original Issue
Later Issue
The ribbon is 32mm wide was originally crimson in colour. In 1917, the ribbon changed to include a white central stripe and a white stripe along either edge.
Bars/Clasps
None were authorised for this medal.
Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.
Dealer Retail Value */**
Victorian issue to European recipients
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£550.00
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Victorian issue to Indian recipients
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£225.00
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Edward VII issue to Indian recipients
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£225.00
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All other issues to Indian recipients
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£125.00
|
* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.
** The individual medal value will vary considerably based on the recipient’s details.
Further Historical Context
- The Indian Army.
- The Honourable East India Company.
- The Army Of The Honourable East India Company.
- The British Empire.
The Indian Army - The Indian Army was the principal army of India before independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of both British India and the Princely states, which could also have their own armies. The Indian Army was an important part of the British Empire's forces, both in India and abroad, particularly during the First World War and the Second World War.
The term ‘Indian Army’ appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the Presidency armies (the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army) of the Presidencies of British India, particularly after the Indian Rebellion.
The first army officially called the ‘Indian Army’ was raised by the government of India in 1895, existing alongside the three long-established presidency armies. However, in 1903 the Indian Army absorbed these three armies.
The Indian Army should not be confused with the ‘Army of India’ (1903-1947) which was the Indian Army itself plus the ‘British Army in India’ (British units sent to India).
This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.
The Honourable East India Company - The East India Company, originally chartered as the Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies, and more properly called the Honourable East India Company, was an English and later (from 1707) British joint-stock company formed for pursuing trade with the East Indies but which ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent, Qing Dynasty China, North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan.
Commonly associated with trade in basic commodities, which included cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea and opium, the Company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600, making it the oldest among several similarly formed European East India Companies. Shares of the company were owned by wealthy merchants and aristocrats.
The government owned no shares and had only indirect control. The Company eventually came to rule large areas of India with its own private armies, exercising military power and assuming administrative functions. Company rule in India effectively began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and lasted until 1858 when, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 led to the British Crown assuming direct control of India in the era of the new British Raj.
The company was dissolved in 1874 as a result of the East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act passed one year earlier, as the Government of India Act had by then rendered it vestigial, powerless and obsolete. Its functions had been fully absorbed into the official government machinery of British India and its private presidency armies had been nationalised by the British Crown.
This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.
The Army Of The Honourable East India Company - The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India. The presidency armies were named after the presidencies: the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army. Initially, only Europeans served as commissioned or non-commissioned officers. In time, Indian Army units were garrisoned from Peshawar in the north, to Sind in the west, and to Rangoon in the east.
The army was engaged in the wars to extend British control in India (the Mysore-, Maratha and Sikh wars) and beyond (the Burma, Afghan, First and Second Opium Wars, and the Expedition to Abyssinia).
The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the Company until the Indian Rebellion of 1857, when the Crown took over the Company and its three armies. In 1895 the three presidency armies were merged into a united Indian Army.
This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.
The British Empire - The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries.
At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time.
The empire covered more than 33,700,000 km2 (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, the phrase ‘the empire on which the sun never sets’ was often used to describe the British Empire, because its expanse around the globe meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia.
A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (and then, following union between England and Scotland in 1707, Great Britain) the dominant colonial power in North America and India.
The independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Following the defeat of Napoleonic France in 1815, Britain enjoyed a century of almost unchallenged dominance and expanded its imperial holdings around the globe. Increasing degrees of autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies, some of which were reclassified as dominions.
By the start of the twentieth century, Germany and the United States had eroded some of Britain's economic lead. Subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military, financial and manpower resources of Britain.
Although the empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the world's pre-eminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War, Britain's colonies in South-East Asia were occupied by Japan. Despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the inevitable decline of the empire.
India, Britain's most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger decolonisation movement in which Britain granted independence to most of the territories of the Empire. The political transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire.
Fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states. Sixteen Commonwealth nations share their head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, as Commonwealth realms.
This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.
End of database.