The Rhodesia Medal was initiated by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Government in consultation with

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New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, whose forces took part in Operation AGILA ( Operation MIDFORD for the New Zealand forces). The role of the multi-national force was to keep peace between 22,000 guerrilla fighters and the Rhodesian forces during the ceasefire and run-up to the 1980 elections. Each country treats the medal as part of its own

honour Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...

s system.

Qualification

The medal was awarded for service of at least 14 days between 1 December 1979 and 20 March 1980, to members of the military and police forces, as well as eligible civilians, who participated in monitoring the ceasefire and supervising the elections in the lead-up to Zimbabwean independence. There was no minimum qualifying period for those killed, wounded or disabled due to service, or where a recipient was decorated for gallantry. Recipients of the Rhodesia Medal also received the Zimbabwean Independence Medal in either silver or bronze, although British personnel did not have permission to wear it in uniform,The Zimbabwean Independence Medal is not mentioned in the official British order of wear.
/ref> while New Zealand granted approval for restricted wear only.

Description

Issued by the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

, the Rhodesia Medal had the following design: * It is circular, made of

rhodium Rhodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring isot ...

-plated

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 ...

and 36 mm in diameter. * 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'' ...

features the crowned effigy of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

with the inscription 'ELIZABETH II DEL GRATIA REGINA FID.DEF'. * The reverse depicts a

sable antelope The sable antelope (''Hippotragus niger'') is a large antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in East and Southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separated population in Angola. Taxonomy The sable antelope shares the genu ...

surrounded by the inscription 'THE RHODESIA MEDAL' and '1980'. * The medal was issued named to British armed forces personnel, but unnamed to police officers. * The medal is suspended from a 32 mm sky-blue ribbon with three central stripes of red, white and blue. * No clasps were awarded.

Precedence

References

External links

It's an Honour - Australian Government site, the Rhodesia MedalADF Honours and Awards since 1975
{{New Zealand campaign medals British campaign medals Australian campaign medals New Zealand campaign medals Rhodesian Bush War 1980 in Zimbabwe Awards established in 1980

Qualification

Description

Precedence

See also

References

External links