- Time Period: Pre-WW1
- Year of Institution: 1902
- Country: Great Britain
The Africa General Service Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom awarded for minor campaigns that took place in tropical Africa between 1900 and 1956. The medal was established in 1902.
A total of forty five clasps were issued. The medal is never seen without a clasp and some are very rare. Most medals were granted to British led local forces, including the King’s African Rifles and the West African Frontier Force. While the majority of medals were awarded with one clasp, as many as seven clasps were earned by some African recipients.
The only campaigns where European troops were present in any numbers were the various Somaliland campaigns and in Kenya.
The Africa General Service Medal Design
The Africa General Service medal was designed by George de Saulles. It measures 36 millimeters (1.4 in) in diameter and struck in silver. The King Edward VII version was also awarded in bronze to native carriers who supported a number of the campaigns.
The obverse bears the uncrowned head, name and title of the reigning monarch. The reverse shows a symbolic design depicting Britannia standing with a lion and offering peace and law to Africa as a new day breaks, with the word AFRICA below. Save for the wording, the reverse design is the same as for the East and Central Africa Medal.
The ribbon measures 32 millimetres (1.3 in) wide and is yellow with black edges and two narrow green stripes towards the centre. From 1920 a bronze oak leaf emblem is worn on the medal ribbon to signify a mention in dispatches for a campaign for which the medal was awarded.
