The Rhodesia General Service Medal was the most widely awarded military medal of

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

. It was awarded to members of the security forces and

British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' Britis ...

for service on operations undertaken for the purpose of combatting terrorists or enemy incursions into Rhodesia. Some members of

INTAF The Ministry of Internal Affairs, commonly referred to as INTAF (or Intaf), was a cabinet ministry of the Rhodesian government. One of Rhodesia's most important governmental departments, it was responsible for the welfare and development of the ...

were conferred the Rhodesian District Service Medal instead of the General Service Medal.

Institution

The medal was instituted in 1968. The medals appear to have been last issued in June 1980, although in 2002 the

Zimbabwe National Army The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is the primary branch of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces responsible for land-oriented military operations. It is the largest service branch under the Zimbabwean Joint Operations Command (JOC). The modern army h ...

advertised their intention to dispose of 9,000 unclaimed medals, and invited recipients to claim them.

Medal

The medal was struck in

cupro-nickel Cupronickel or copper–nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper with nickel, usually along with small quantities of other metals added for strength, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. ( Monel is a ...

by Matthews Manufacturing of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

, and bore a relief portrait of

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( ; 5 July 185326 March 1902) was an English-South African mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded th ...

on the

obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...

and the arms of Rhodesia on the reverse. The ribbon of the medal represented the

(central stripes of

Oxford blue A blue is an award of sporting colours earned by athletes at some universities and schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of blues began at University of Oxford, Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge universities in Eng ...

and old gold); the Rhodesian Army (guardsman red) and the

Rhodesian Air Force The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury (now Harare) which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was th ...

(

Cambridge blue A blue is an award of sporting colours earned by athletes at some universities and schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of blues began at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. They are now awarded at a number of other ...

). The medal was impressed in small capitals with the recipient's name, rank and service number on the rim.

Recipients

"Tens of thousands" of Rhodesian General Service Medals were issued. Awards were not gazetted, and no full roll of recipients has ever been published. It was known familiarly as the "First Street Medal" (after the main street in the capital city) as it was so widely awarded.

Zimbabwe

The General Service Medal was superseded in 1982 by the Zimbabwe Service Medal,''Zimbabwe Government Statutory Instrument Nos. 74-75 of 1982''. which is awarded to members or former members of the armed forces of Zimbabwe on completion of ten years' service.

References

External links

Orders, Medals and Decorations of Zimbabwe
*Saffery, D., 2006. ''The Rhodesia Medal Roll''
Jeppestown Press
United Kingdom.

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050911204555/http://lists.topica.com/lists/RWW/read/message.html?mid=903266176&sort=d&start=0 , date=2005-09-11
Guide to Rhodesian General Service Medals
Military awards and decorations of Rhodesia