Date
Instituted: 1842.
Campaign: Afghanistan 1841-42.
Description: As with most early Victorian
medals this award bears the young head of Queen Victoria and the
legend 'VICTORIA REGINA' on its obverse. The reverse of this
medal can differ depending on which action(s) for which it was awarded. There are
four variants including:
- 'CANDAHAR' with
the date '1842' within a laurel wreath underneath a royal crown;
- identical but with 'CABUL' inscribed within the wreath;
- a pair of intertwined
laurel wreaths with 'GHUZNEE' and 'CABUL' inside and the date 1842
in the exergue below;
- same as 1 and 2 above but with ' CANDAHAR',
'GHUZNEE' and 'CABUL' within the wreath.
The suspender is
wide enough to take a 40mm ribbon and is attached to the medal
by a steel clip.
Metal: Silver.
Size: 35mm.
Clasps: None authorised for this medal.
| Ribbon: |
 |
Naming: Usually encountered
with running script, indented capitals or simply unnamed.
Comments: A very rare version
of the 'CABUL' medal exists with the spelling 'CABVL' to the reverse
(only 15 examples known). About 160 medals with the Candahar reverse were issued to Europeans making it also rare.
This medal was awarded to both Imperial and Honorable East India Company troops. This included Indians as well as Europeans. |
