Naval General Service Medal (1847)
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__NOTOC__ The Naval General Service Medal (NGSM) was 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 ...
approved in 1847, and issued to officers and men of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
in 1849. The final date for submitting claims was 1 May 1851. Admiral Thomas Bladen Capel was one of the members of the board that authorised the medal. The NGSM was awarded retrospectively for various naval actions during the period 1793–1840, a period that included the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
, the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
and the Anglo-American
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. Each battle or campaign covered by the medal was represented by a clasp on the ribbon. The medal was never issued without a clasp, 231 of which were sanctioned. The clasps covered a variety of actions, from boat service, ship to ship skirmishes, to major fleet actions such as the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
. This medal and its army counterpart, the
Military General Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Military General Service Medal (MGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847 and issued to officers and men of the British Army in 1848.Including officers and men of the King's German Legion, Brunswick Oels and Chasseurs Britanniqu ...
, were amongst the first real British campaign medals, issued to all ranks for serving in combat actions.


Eligibility

The medal was only awarded to surviving claimants. A combination of factors, from general illiteracy to limited publicity for the new medal meant that many who had survived did not apply for it. While next of kin could not apply on behalf of a deceased relative, they did receive the medal in cases where the claimant had died between their application and actual award. The belated nature of the award meant that, for many clasps, substantially fewer medals were issued than the number of those eligible. Frequently the number of claimants for individual clasps was reckoned in single figures, and for ten clasps there were no claimants. Sir John Hindmarsh and
Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...
Sir James Gordon were awarded medals with seven clasps, the most awarded to any individual. Four men qualified for six clasps and fourteen for five clasps. A baby born on board during the battle of the Glorious First of June, christened Daniel Tremendous McKenzie, applied for and received the medal with the '1 June 1794' clasp. Jane Townshend, a woman aboard at the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
, had her application for the medal initially approved. The medal was not finally awarded however, with the roll of recipients endorsed "upon further consideration this can not be allowed". An award may have set a precedent for claims by other women, mainly wives of sailors present during naval actions. A total of 126 awards were made to officers and men 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 ...
present on board HM's ships at qualifying actions. This included 26 with the 'Copenhagen 1801' clasp and 50 with the 'Syria' clasp. Of these recipients, 8 officers and 18 men also received the
Military General Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Military General Service Medal (MGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847 and issued to officers and men of the British Army in 1848.Including officers and men of the King's German Legion, Brunswick Oels and Chasseurs Britanniqu ...
. The Admiralty awarded 20,933 medals in total. Of these, 15,577 went to individuals who received a single clasp.


Appearance

The medal, designed by William Wyon, is of silver and in diameter. * Obverse: a left facing effigy of Queen Victoria with the inscription "VICTORIA REGINA" and the date “1848”. * Reverse: The figure of Britannia, holding a trident, seated on a seahorse. * Naming: The name of the recipient is impressed on the rim in block Roman capitals. Medals to officers and
warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...
s also include the recipient's rank. * Ribbon: The wide ribbon is white, with dark blue edges, based on the ribbon previously used for the Naval Gold Medal.


Clasps

A total of 231 clasps were authorised, including 176 for specific actions and 55 for Boat Service, that is service in ships' boats when boarding enemy ships or as part of a shore raiding party.


French Revolutionary Wars


Napoleonic Wars


War of 1812


Later battles or actions


Citations


References

* * * * * *


External links


Naval General Service Medal Roll (1793–1840)
*
Some muster rolls, for ships involved in fleet actions 1794–1811
held at The National Archives, Kew {{British campaign medals British campaign medals British military medals of the Napoleonic Wars