South Africa Medal

 

General Service In South Africa between 1877-79 Including The Anglo-Zulu War 1879.

 

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

 

 

The South Africa Medal was a British Empire campaign medal presented to those who participated in operations in South Africa between 1877-79 including the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 for which no other separate medal was intended. The medal was instituted in 1879 and was awarded to those who participated in a number of campaigns to bring this area under British control, which effectively meant the pacification by force of the local tribes in the eastern area of the Cape and the north-east of that territory.

 

It was also awarded for participation in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.

 

This medal was established at a time when the enormous mineral wealth of this area of the continent was beginning to be realised and the greater importance of South Africa as a strategic position in terms of a staging post on the sea route to India began to be understood. 

 

Participants in the Anglo-Zulu War received this medal without a bar if they remained on the Natal side of the Tugela River, or with the bar '1879' if they actually saw service in Zululand. Particularly sought after are medals awarded to members of the 24th Regiment of Foot involved in action at Rorke's Drift or Isandlhwana in January 1879.

 

 

The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in silver. The obverse of this medal bears the head of Queen Victoria with the inscription; 'VICTORIA REGINA'.

 

The reverse depicts a crouching lion drinking from a waterhole in front of a protea bush with the inscription; 'SOUTH AFRICA' above and a native shield and spears below.

 

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 on the medal's rim impressed in Roman capital letters or engraved.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and orange-yellow in colour, with a blue stripe toward either edge and an inner narrow blue stripe.

 

 

The medal was commonly issued with a date bar corresponding to the recipients year(s) of service, although a significant number (15%) were issued without a clasp.

 

This medal was issued with the following bar:-

 

 

NB: Where the medal is awarded alone, it is likely that this was for service during the Zulu campaign period (11 January and 1 September 1879) but the recipient remained on the Natal side of the Tugela River  - as the fighting was confined to the other side of the Tugela no clasp medals are frequently viewed as 'non combat' awards'.

 

An un-offical bar; ‘ULUNDI’ exists with the; '1879' date being erased and; 'ULUNDI' then engraved on medals awarded to members of the 17th Lancers.

 

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.

 

** The individual medal value will vary considerably based on the recipient’s details.

 

*** Due to the large number of clasps available for this medal, the value for medals which contains certain clasps will vary considerably.

 

**** Medals named to a confirm defender of Rorke’s Drift or was present at the Battle of Isandhlwana command an impressive premium.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Anglo-Zulu War.

- The Battle Of Isandlwana.

- The Battle of Rorke's Drift.

- The Battle Of Ulundi.

 

The Anglo-Zulu War - The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following a campaign by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that similar combined military and political campaigns might succeed with the African kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics in South Africa.

 

In 1874, Sir Henry Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner for the British Empire to bring such plans into being. Among the obstacles were the presence of the independent states of the South African Republic and the Kingdom of Zululand and its army.

 

Frere, on his own initiative, without the approval of the British government and with the intent of instigating a war with the Zulu, had presented an ultimatum on 11 December 1878, to the Zulu king Cetshwayo with which the Zulu king could not comply.

 

Cetshwayo did not comply and Bartle Frere sent Lord Chelmsford to invade Zululand. The war is notable for several particularly bloody battles, including a stunning opening victory by the Zulu at Isandlwana and the British defence at Rorke's Drift, as well as for being a landmark in the timeline of imperialism in the region.

 

The war eventually resulted in a British victory and the end of the Zulu nation's independence.

 

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 Battle Of Isandlwana - The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.

 

Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zululand in South Africa, a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of about 1,800 British, colonial and native troops and perhaps 400 civilians.

 

The Zulus were equipped mainly with the traditional assegai iron spears and cow-hide shields, but also had a number of muskets and old rifles though they were not formally trained in their use.

 

The British and colonial troops were armed with the state-of-the-art Martini-Henry breech-loading rifle and two 7 pounder artillery pieces as well as a rocket battery. Despite a vast disadvantage in weapons technology, the numerically superior Zulus ultimately overwhelmed the poorly led and badly deployed British, killing over 1,300 troops, including all those out on the forward firing line. The Zulu army suffered around a thousand killed.

 

The battle was a decisive victory for the Zulus and caused the defeat of the first British invasion of Zululand. The British Army had suffered its worst defeat against a technologically inferior indigenous force. Isandlwana resulted in the British taking a much more aggressive approach in the Anglo-Zulu War, leading to a heavily reinforced second invasion and the destruction of King Cetshwayo's hopes of a negotiated peace.

 

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 Battle of Rorke's Drift  - The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was a battle in the Anglo-Zulu War. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers, immediately followed the British Army's defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, and continued into the following day, 23 January.

 

Just over 150 British and colonial troops successfully defended the garrison against an intense assault by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The massive, but piecemeal, Zulu attacks on Rorke's Drift came very close to defeating the tiny garrison but were ultimately repelled.

 

Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders, along with a number of other decorations and honours.

 

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 Battle Of Ulundi - The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi on 4 July 1879 and was the last major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War.

 

The British army finally broke the military power of the Zulu nation by defeating the main Zulu army and immediately afterwards capturing and razing the capital of Zululand, the royal kraal of Ulundi.

 

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.