Faithful Service Medal (Transkei)
| Faithful Service Medal | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Miniature medal in bronze instead of silver
|
|
| Awarded by the State President | |
| Country |
 Transkei
|
| Type | Military long service medal |
| Eligibility | All ranks |
| Awarded for | Ten years faithful service |
| Status | Discontinued in 1994 |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1987 |
| TDF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear | |
| Next (higher) |
TDF precedence:
SANDF precedence:
|
| Next (lower) |
SANDF succession:
|
   Ribbon bar versions |
|
.svg){kind=small}
The Faithful Service Medal was instituted by the State President of the Republic of Transkei in 1987, for award to all ranks as a long service medal.
The Transkei Defence Force (TDF) was established upon that country's independence on 26 October 1976. The Republic of Transkei ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Transkei Defence Force was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
The Faithful Service Medal was instituted by the State President of Transkei in 1987.
The medal could be awarded to all ranks for ten years of long and faithful service. It is considered as Transkei's approximate equivalent of South Africa's Good Service Medal, Bronze.
While only one medal is officially documented as an award for ten years service in the Transkei Defence Force, two versions are known to exist, the one in silver, as presented to recipients of the medal, and also another in bronze.
It is possible that the bronze versions are proof specimens which were never officially accepted or presented, but it is equally possible that an as yet undiscovered third silver-gilt medal also exists. The same official documentation lists long service medals for the Transkei Police and Transkei Prisons for 10, 18, 20, 30 (two versions each) and 35 years service. Since no warrants have yet been traced for several decorations and medals which are known to have been instituted and likely also awarded in Transkei, and since it is unlikely that only the one long service award exists for the Transkei Defence Force while so many exist for the Transkei Police and Transkei Prisons, it can be surmised that, of the two known existing versions of this medal, the bronze was actually intended to recognise ten years faithful service and the silver, twenty years.
Since the Faithful Service Medal was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date.
...
Wikipedia