Meritorious Service Medal (Cape of Good Hope)
| Meritorious Service Medal (Cape of Good Hope) | |
|---|---|
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|
| Awarded by the Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India | |
| Country |
 Cape of Good Hope
|
| Type | Military long service medal |
| Eligibility | Warrant officers and senior non-commissioned officers |
| Awarded for | 21 years meritorious service |
| Status | Discontinued in 1913 |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1896 |
| Order of wear | |
| Next (higher) |
 Queen Elizabeth II’s Long and Faithful Service Medal |
| Equivalent |
Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom) Meritorious Service Medal (Natal) Meritorious Service Medal (New Zealand).svg){kind=small} Meritorious Service Medal (South Africa)
|
| Next (lower) |
Accumulated Campaign Service Medal
|
.png){kind=small} Ribbon Bar |
|
In May 1895, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various British military medals and to award them to members of their local permanent military forces. The Cape of Good Hope introduced this system in September 1895 and, in 1896, instituted the Meritorious Service Medal (Cape of Good Hope).
The medal is a distinctive Colonial version of the British Meritorious Service Medal. It was coupled to a Meritorious Service Annuity and was awarded in limited numbers, usually upon retirement, to selected warrant officers and senior non-commissioned officers of the Permanent Force of the Cape of Good Hope who had completed twenty-one years of meritorious service.
The United Kingdom's Meritorious Service Medal was instituted by Queen Victoria on 19 December 1845 to recognise meritorious service by senior non-commissioned officers of the British Army. The medal was initially only awarded to sergeants but, on 10 June 1884, eligibility was extended to all soldiers above the rank of Corporal. Recipients were also granted a Meritorious Service Annuity, the amount of which was based on rank.
Upon its institution in 1845, a sum of £2,000 of public money was made available annually to grant Meritorious Service Annuities of £20 each to sergeants of the Regular Army as a reward for good, faithful and efficient service. This allowed for a maximum of 100 British Army soldiers to be in receipt of the annuity at any time and, since those selected to receive the annuity were also awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the medal was awarded sparingly. Even though the budgeted amount for these annuities was increased from time to time, further awards of the medal and annuity were therefore restricted to only those registered candidates, recommended by their commanding officers, who were selected by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army from a list as those whom he considered to be the most deserving to receive any annuities which may have fallen vacant.
In the late 19th century, the military forces of the Cape of Good Hope, colloquially also known as the Cape Colony, consisted of three separate military organisations, the permanent para-military Frontier Armed and Mounted Police and two part-time forces, the Burgher Force and the Volunteer Force, both district-based. These Cape Colonial Forces were established in 1855, after the United Kingdom granted the Cape of Good Hope representative government in 1853.
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