South Africa Medal (1853)
| South Africa Medal (1853) | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Awarded by the Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Type | Military Campaign medal |
| Eligibility | British forces |
| Awarded for | Campaign service |
| Campaign(s) | 1834–36 First Kaffir War 1846–47 Second Kaffir War 1850–53 Third Kaffir War |
| Status | Discontinued in 1880 |
| Clasps | None |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1854 |
| Order of wear | |
| Next (higher) | Waterloo Medal |
| Next (lower) | Ghuznee Medal |
| Related | South Africa Medal (1880) |
.png){kind=small} Ribbon bar |
|
The South Africa Medal (1853) is a campaign medal instituted in 1854, for award 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 (called the 'Kaffir Wars' at the time) between 1834 and 1853.
In 1854, Queen Victoria instituted the South Africa Medal for award to members of the Royal Navy, British Army and local forces who had served in any one of three of the South African Xhosa Wars on the Eastern Frontier of the Cape of Good Hope.
The South Africa Medal (1853) was awarded to survivingparticipants 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, without reference to the appropriate medal rolls.
The 1834–36 campaign began with a response to a Xhosa cattle raid when, on 11 December 1834, a Cape Government Commando party killed a chief of high rank. This incensed the Xhosa and an army of 10,000 men swept across the frontier into the Cape of Good Hope, pillaged and burned homesteads and killed all who resisted. In response, Boer commandos under Piet Retief, Burgher and Khoikhoi commandos and British Imperial troops which arrived via Algoa Bay launched a retaliatory campaign.
The 1846–47 and 1851–53 campaigns were both fought against the Gaika tribe of Chief Mgolombane Sandile, who resented British land encroachments and had recently begun to receive fire-arms.
On 26 February 1852 the troopship HMS Birkenhead struck a rock off what is now Gansbaai in the Western Cape while transporting reinforcing troops to Algoa Bay. The ship sank within 20 minutes and, since there were not enough serviceable lifeboats for all the passengers, the soldiers aboard stood fast rather than escape, allowing the women and children to reach the lifeboats in safety. Of the 639 persons on board, only 193 survived. A number of the survivors were soldiers who went on to serve in South Africa and receive this medal.
...
Wikipedia