Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Obverse and reverse of the medal
TypeLong service and good conduct medal
Awarded forAwarded for 15 years service and attending 15 annual camps.
Presented bythe United Kingdom
EligibilityEfficient and irreproachable service in the Special Reserve
StatusSuperseded by the Efficiency Medal
Established1908
Last awarded1930
Total1,078
Ribbon bar
Order of Wear
Next (higher)Efficiency Medal[1]
Next (lower)Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve[1]
RelatedMilitia Long Service Medal

The Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was a long service medal awarded by the United Kingdom. The medal was awarded for service in the Army Special Reserve, or a combination of service in the Special Reserve and other part-time military forces. Awarded between 1908 and 1930, the medal was only awarded 1,078 times.[2]

Obverse 1911-1930

Award criteria

The medal was established in June 1908 by King Edward VII after, as part of the Haldane Reforms, the Special Reserve replaced the Militia,[3] the new medal superseding the Militia Long Service Medal. It was awarded to privates and non-commissioned officers for 15 years efficient and irreproachable service in the Special Reserve and attending 15 annual trainings, although members of the two Irish Yeomanry regiments qualified with 10 years service and 10 annual trainings.[4][5] Qualifying service for the medal could come from service in the Militia, Imperial Yeomanry, Volunteer Force, or Territorial Force, but not the Regular Army, as long as the last five years was in the Militia or Special Reserve.[4][6] The medal was superseded by the Efficiency Medal in 1930.[7]

No recipient could receive both this and the concurrently awarded Territorial Force Efficiency Medal.[4]

Awards were published in Army Orders, with a total of 1,078 medals awarded: 428 bearing the effigy of King Edward VII and 650 with that of George V. In terms of unit, the following were conferred: Royal Artillery: 164; Royal Engineers: 9; Anglesey Royal Engineers: 3; Monmouthshire Regiment: 5; RAMC: 4; Labour Corps: 4; Machine Gun Corps: 1; North Irish Horse: 16; South Irish Horse: 30; King Edward's Horse: 14; Infantry: 823; Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey): 5.[8][9]

Appearance

The Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is a silver 32 millimetres (1.3 in) wide oval shaped medal of the following design:[9]
The obverse depicts the bust of the reigning King in Field Marshal's uniform facing left. Originally Edward VII was shown, with the legend, EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR. In 1911 the image was changed to that of George V, the legend reading GEORGIVS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:.
The reverse bears the words SPECIAL RESERVE arched above FOR LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT on four lines.
A claw suspension and ring suspender attaches the medal from a 32 mm wide dark blue ribbon with a centre stripe of light blue.[10]
The recipient's service number, rank, name, and unit were impressed on the edge of the medal.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "No. 56878". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 March 2003. p. 3353.
  2. ^ Tamplin, John Michael Alan (1972). "The Special Reserve Long Service Medal". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 50 (204): 239–246. JSTOR 44225349.
  3. ^ Ian F. W. Beckett (2011). Britain's Part-Time Soldiers: The Amateur Military Tradition: 1558–1945. Barnsley, Yorkshire: Pen & Sword. pp. 206–216. ISBN 978-1-84-884395-0.
  4. ^ a b c d Collett, D. W., ed. (1981). Medal Year Book 1981. p. 182. Published by Medals Yearbook, London E4.
  5. ^ This ensured consistent criteria with the former Imperial Yeomanry Long Service Medal, for which the two Irish Yeomanry regiments qualified prior to April 1908.
  6. ^ Duckers, Peter (16 September 2013). British Military Medals: A Guide for the Collector and Family Historian Second Edition. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-47-382983-1. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  7. ^ "No. 33653". The London Gazette. 17 October 1930. p. 6311.
  8. ^ Tamplin, J. M. A. (1979). The Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. Medal Booklet No 3. London: Spink & Son. p. 8. Figures exclude two cancelled awards.
  9. ^ a b Mussell, John, ed. (2015). Medal Yearbook 2015. p. 238. Published Token Publishing Limited, Honiton, Devon.
  10. ^ "Object Number: CM.1312-2009". Fitzwilliam Museum. Retrieved 25 June 2015.