- Time Period: Pre-WW1
- Year of Institution: 1854
- Country: Great Britain
The South Africa Medal (1853) is a campaign medal awarded to officers and men of the Royal Navy, British Army and locally recruited Cape Mounted Riflemen who served in the Cape of Good Hope during the Xhosa Wars between 1834 and 1853.
The medal was instituted in 1854 by Queen Victoria. It was awarded to surviving participants in one or more of three campaigns in the eastern Cape of Good Hope:
No clasps were awarded, therefore it is not possible to determine which of the wars any particular medal was awarded for.
The South Africa Service Medal Design
The South Africa Service medal was struck in silver and is a disk measuring 36 millimeters in diameter. The medal has a swiveling suspender. The medal was designed by William Wyon and his son Leonard Charles Wyon, while the dies for the medal engraved by Leonard Charles Wyon.
- The obverse shows the diademed head of Queen Victoria facing left.It’s inscribed “VICTORIA” at left and “REGINA” at right around the perimeter. The name of designer W. Wyon is inscribed on the truncation of the Queen’s neck.
The reverse displays a crouching lion on a plinth in front of a protea bush with a single flower. The medal is inscribed “SOUTH AFRICA” around the top perimeter and has the year “1853” in the exergue. The name of engraver L.C. Wyon is inscribed at the bottom, below the year.
- The ribbon measures 32 millimeters wide, and it has a 2½ millimeters wide golden yellow band, a 4 millimeters wide dark blue band, a 3 millimeters wide golden yellow band and a ½ millimeter wide dark blue band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 12 millimeters wide golden yellow band.
