St John Ambulance Brigade Medal For South Africa

 

The Second Boer War 1899-1902.

 

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

 

 

The St John Ambulance Brigade Medal For South Africa was a medal of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem presented for service during the Second Boer War. The medal was instituted in 1902 and was awarded to all St. John Ambulance Brigade personnel who either served in, or trained those who went on to serve in South Africa.

 

Approximately 1,871 medals were issued. Of these, some 20 were issued to notable people and 40 were issued to those involved in training in the UK. As these 60 people did not leave the UK, they were not eligible to receive the Queen's South Africa Medal.

 

 

The medal is circular, 37mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. The obverse of this medal bears the uncrowned head of King Edward VII and the inscription; ‘EDWARDVS VII. D. G. BRITT. REX. F. D. IND. IMP.’. The Manufactures name; ‘FUCHS 1901’ is found at the bottom of the medal.

 

The reverse depicts the arms of the Order with the inscription; ‘SOUTH AFRICA’ along with the dates; ‘1899’ and; ‘1902’ above and; ‘PRO FIDE PRO UTILATE HOMINIM’ below.

 

Around the circumference of the medal is the inscription; ‘MAGNUS PRIORATUS ORDINIS HOSPITALIS SANCTI JOHANNIS JERUSALEM IN ANGLIA’.

 

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

 

The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim. The details of those who also earned the Queen's South Africa Medal also had the 'unit details' of: 'St John Ambulance Brigade' impressed on the medal.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and is black in colour with a narrow white stripe along either 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.

- St. John Ambulance.

 

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.

 

St. John Ambulance - St John Ambulance, branded as St John in some territories, is a common name used by a number of affiliated organisations in different countries dedicated to the teaching and practice of medical first aid and the provision of ambulance services, all of which derive their origins from the St John Ambulance Association founded in 1877 in the United Kingdom.

 

Each national group falls within the charge of a Priory or National Council of the Venerable Order of Saint John in which each Priory ranks alongside the others.

 

In several priories St John Ambulance has commercial sections or subsidiaries operating to generate surplus for charitable activities; these are structured much like other commercial bodies. The membership aspect of St John Ambulance is largely ranked, and members fall into a hierarchical structure of command.

 

Ranks run from corporals, through sergeants and officers all the way up to high national ranks, but there is significant variation between Priories and it is hard to generalise the structure too much from an international perspective.

 

Most members of St John Ambulance are not themselves members of the Order, and vice versa, so a major presence of the Order does not dictate a major presence of St John Ambulance. Most notably, the Order of St John is a Christian organisation, whereas St John Ambulance is keen to ensure there is no allegiance to any particular religion or denomination, so as to remain available to all.

 

St John Ambulance works on a more geographical nature than the Order, and has to contend with the differing national laws, medical practices and cultures of countries.

 

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.