The Gwalior Star is a

Campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a hi ...

presented by the

Honourable East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

to the soldiers of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and the British led

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

who took part in the 1843

Gwalior campaign The Gwalior campaign was fought between the British and Scindia forces in Gwalior in India, December 1843. Background The Maratha Empire had controlled most of central and northern India but fell to the British in 1818, giving the British ...

History

Rising tensions between the East India Company and the State of

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

led to a British led advance into Gwalior early in December 1843 in a two pronged attack. On December 29, 1843, the British Army defeated

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Shrimant Jayaji Rao Scindia, and regained control of

. The first division of the army, commanded by General Sir Hugh Gough, was victorious at the Battle of Maharajpoor. Major-General Grey, on the same day, with the second division, was victorious at the Battle of Punniar.

Description

This medal is a diameter six pointed star made of bronze, from guns captured during the Gwalior Campaign. In the centre of the star is a silver disk, which bears the Date 29th Dec, 1843 and the name of one of the Gwalior Campaign battles, either Maharajpoor or Punniar. The reverse of the medal is plain and engraved with the name and regiment of the soldier to whom the medal was awarded.
Manufactured at the Calcutta Mint, this medal was presented by the British India Government originally as a star with a clip on the back to be worn on the breast. Eventually most of these were fitted with a ring or bar of varying design, so that they could be suspended by a ribbon and worn with other medals. The ribbon used was the common ribbon used on many East India Company medals, which was a red-white-yellow-white-blue gradient ribbon such as that found on the

Candahar, Ghuznee, Cabul Medal The Candahar, Ghuznee, Cabul Medal was awarded to those who took part in the Kabul Expedition (1842), campaign in the spring and summer of 1842, under the command of General William Nott (British general), William Nott, to restore British standin ...

Lady's Star for Maharajpoor

Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General of India, presented a special gold star to each of four wives of army officers who, due to the speed of events, found themselves present at the Battle of Maharajpoor.
While the design of the star broadly follows that of the campaign medal, the obverse centre bears the head of Queen Victoria, with the name and date of the battle on the reverse. The star is suspended from a gold and enamel imitation ribbon and buckle. Lady Gough had her portrait painted wearing the Lady's Star.

References

External links

Gwalior Campaign Star (Maharajpoor), awarded to Cpt. Lawrence Fyler 1843
The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, date accessed 2011-03-10.
Topic: Gwalior Star Medal (Medal # 112, Medal Yearbook)
World of Coins, date accessed 2011-03-10.
Lady Gough wearing her Maharajpoor Star
National Army Museum, Online collection. {{Campaign medals of the Honourable East India Company British campaign medals Medals of the Honourable East India Company