The Java Medal is a
campaign medal awarded by the
Governor-General of India to soldiers of the
armies of the Honourable East India Company (HEIC) who participated in the
Invasion of Java in August and September 1811, during the
Napoleonic Wars.
Criteria
The medal was authorised in February 1812 by
Lord Minto, the
Governor-General of India, who had accompanied the expedition to Java. It was awarded to more senior officers in gold (133 awarded) and other ranks in silver (6,519 awarded).
Recipients of the silver medal included both native Indian (5,761 recipients) and European (about 750 recipients) soldiers in HEIC service.
Members of the
British Army and
Royal Navy present did not receive the medal. Army officers of the rank of Major and above qualified for the
Army Gold Medal,
while surviving British officers, soldiers and sailors qualified for either the
Military or
Naval General Service Medal with clasp 'Java', when these medals was established in 1847.
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Description
The medal was struck at the Calcutta Mint
The India Government Mint, Kolkata was first established in 1757, and was located in a building next to the Black Hole in the old fort – where the GPO (General Post Office) stands today. It was called the Calcutta Mint and used to produce co ...
[Dr K. G. Klietmann. ''The Medal for Java of the H.E.I.C. of 1811''. Orders & Medals Research Society Journal, Winter 1976, pages 208-210.] in gold and in silver. Both types were in diameter
The obverse depicts the storming of Fort Cornelis, which British and HEIC troops captured on 26 August 1811, with the word ''CORNELIS'' above.
The reverse has the Persian inscription ''This medal was conferred in commemoration of the bravery and courage exhibited by the Sepoys of the English Company in the capture of the Kingdom of Java, in the Hijri year 1228'' with, around the edge, the English wording ''JAVA CONQUERED XXVI AUGUST MDCCCXI''.
The medal was issued unnamed.
The suspension is a flattened loop, pinned at the base, through which passes a suspension cord allowing the medal to be worn around the neck.
The Hijri year 1228 cited on the medal's reverse commenced on 4 January 1813. This is the year the medals were minted, not the year of the campaign, and appears to be an error.[
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References
{{Campaign medals of the Honourable East India Company
British campaign medals
Medals of the Honourable East India Company
Awards established in 1811
British military medals of the Napoleonic Wars
Dutch East Indies