National Fire Brigade’s Union Medal For South Africa

 

The Second Boer War 1899-1902.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The National Fire Brigade Union Medal For South Africa was a medal presented by the Union for service during the Second Boer War. The medal was instituted in January 1902 and was awarded to 42 members of the Ambulance Detachment who served in South Africa as stretcher bearers.

 

Those eligible for this medal were also awarded the St. John Ambulance Brigade Medal For South Africa along with the Queen’s South Africa Medal with the Cape Colony clasp.

 

 

The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in silver. The obverse of this medal bears the uncrowned head of King Edward VII.

 

The reverse depicts a bust of a fireman in uniform and helmet above a spray of laurel leaves with a Geneva Cross to one side as the centre of a sunburst. Above this is the inscription; ‘SOUTH AFRICA’, and the dates; ‘1899’ and ‘1902’ can be seen either side.

 

The ribbon suspender is of the plain, straight and swivelling style.

 

The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and is red in colour with two orange stripes towards the centre and a narrow orange stripe along ether edge.

 

 

None were authorised for this medal.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* 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.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Second Boer War.

 

The Second Boer War - The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State.

 

It ended with a British victory and the annexation of both republics by the British Empire; both would eventually be incorporated into the Union of South Africa, a dominion of the British Empire, in 1910.

 

The conflict is commonly referred to as The Boer War but is also known as the South African War outside South Africa, the Anglo-Boer War among most South Africans, and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog (Second War of Liberation or Second Freedom War) or the Engelse oorlog (English War).

 

The Second Boer War and the earlier, much less well known, First Boer War (December 1880 to March 1881) are collectively known as the Boer Wars.

 

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.