Date
Instituted: 1847.
Campaign: Naval battles and boat actions 1793-1840.
Description: The obverse of this medal bears the head of Queen Victoria
with the inscription 'VICTORIA REGINA' while the reverse depicts
Britannia riding a seahorse and holding a trident. The swivelling
suspender is plain and straight.
Metal: Silver.
Size: 36mm.
Clasps: Some 230 clasps exist for this medal of which the
more notable or commonly encountered are listed below:
Fleet
Actions - '1 JUNE 1794', '14 MARCH 1795', '23 JUNE 1795', 'ST
VINCENT', 'CAMPERDOWN', 'NILE', '12 OCTBR 1798', 'EGYPT', 'COPENHAGEN',
'GUT OF GIBRALTER', 'TRAFALGER', '4 NOVR 1805', 'ST DOMINGO', 'MARTINQUE',
'BASQUE ROADS', 'GUADALOUPE', 'JAVA', 'ST SEBASTIAN', 'ALGIERS',
'NAVARINO' and 'SYRIA'.
Ship
Actions - 'MARS 21 APRIL 1798', 'LION 15 JULY 1798', 'ACRE
30 MAY 1799', 'LONDON 13 MARCH 1806', 'CURACAO 1 JANY 1807', 'STATELY
22 MARCH 1808', 'SHANNON AND CHESAPEAKE', 'GLUCKSTADT 4 JANY 1814'
and 'GAIETA 24 JULY 1815'.
Boat
Service - '16 JULY 1806', '1 NOVR 1809', '28 JUNE 1810', '29
SEPR 1812', '8 AP AND MAY 1813', '2 MAY 1813', '8 APRIL 1814', '24
MAY 1814' and '14 DECR 1814'.
| Ribbon: |
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Naming: Impressed
Roman captial letters.
Comments: Instituted in 1847 for naval actions between 1793 and 1840 including the famous Battle of Trafalgar.
As with the Military General Service Medal veterans had to claim
this medal receiving the award long after the action for which it was earned.
As a result many who would have been entitled had since died so
few medals (20,933 in total) were issued in camparison to the numbers that took part
in the actions.
Originally this medal was intended to cover only the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars but was extended to cover actions up to 1840. Many of the clasps are very rare with only a very small number issued (in fact some intended clasps were never claimed or issued). The most common clasp however is that of 'SYRIA' of which 7,057 were awarded.
Perhaps the most sought after, and therefore most expensive, are those awarded with the 'TRAFALGAR' clasp especially if the recipient served on HMS Victory.
See also: Military General Service Medal |
