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The Union Medal was instituted by the
(Accessed 30 April 2015)
(Accessed 30 April 2015)Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 457, no. 25213, Pretoria, 25 July 2003
/ref>
(Accessed 30 April 2015)
(Accessed 1 May 2015)
*Official SANDF order of precedence:
** Preceded by the Silver Service Medal of the
/ref> ;Reverse The reverse depicts Queen Elizabeth II's royal cipher, a crown over "E II R", and has a raised rim and decorated ribbon suspender, similar to those of the obverse. The medals and ribbon suspenders were minted separately and soldered together. The medal number was impressed at the bottom on the rim. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with bands of orange, white and blue repeated, three times, the outer orange and blue bands each 4 millimetres wide and the seven inner bands all approximately 3½ millimetres wide. Orange, white and blue are the colours of the pre-1994 national flag. ;Clasp The clasp, awarded after thirty years of service, was struck in silver and is wide, with the coat of arms of South Africa in the centre and with a hole at each corner to enable it to be sewn to the ribbon. When ribbons only are worn, recipients of the clasp would wear a silver button on the ribbon bar, embellished with the South African coat of arms.
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...
in 1952. It was awarded to Permanent Force members of the South African Defence Force for eighteen years of service and good conduct.Alexander, E.G.M., Barron, G.K.B. and Bateman, A.J. (1986). ''South African Orders, Decorations and Medals''. Human and Rousseau.Monick, S, (1988). ''South African Military Awards 1912-1987''. South African National Museum of Military History.
The South African military
The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1952-1975(Accessed 30 April 2015)
(Accessed 30 April 2015)Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 457, no. 25213, Pretoria, 25 July 2003
/ref>
Institution
The Union Medal was instituted byQueen 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. ...
on 6 April 1952, during the Tercentenary
An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded.
Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...
Van Riebeeck Festival.CometoCapeTown.com Blast from the past – Van Riebeeck festival in 1952(Accessed 30 April 2015)
(Accessed 1 May 2015)
Award criteria
The medal could be awarded to Permanent Force members of the South African Defence Force for eighteen years of good service. A clasp could be awarded after thirty years of service.Order of wear
With effect from 6 April 1952, when the Union Medal and several other new decorations and medals were instituted, these new awards took precedence before all earlier British orders, decorations and medals awarded to South Africans, with the exception of theVictoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
, which still took precedence before all other awards. The other older British awards continued to be worn in the order prescribed by the British Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, or simply the Central Chancery, is an office of the Lord Chamberlain's department within the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the administration of orde ...
. (Access date 14 April 2015)Government Notice no. 1982 of 1 October 1954 - ''Order of Precedence of Orders, Decorations and Medals'', published in the Government Gazette of 1 October 1954.
The position of the Union Medal in the official order of precedence was revised three times after 1975, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army
The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'.
After attacks ...
and Umkhonto we Sizwe
uMkhonto weSizwe (; abbreviated MK; ) was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC), founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. Its mission was to fight against the South African government to brin ...
, and again when a new series of military orders, decorations and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003.
;South African Defence Force until 26 April 1994:
*Official SADF order of precedence:
** Preceded by the Good Service Medal, Silver.
** Succeeded by the Permanent Force Good Service Medal.
*Official national order of precedence. This national precedence was in error in respect of the next lower medal as determined according to their dates of institution. It was corrected by 1994.
** Preceded by the Railways and Harbours Police Medal for Faithful Service.
** Succeeded by the Permanent Force Good Service Medal of 1961. (This is an error and should be the Railway Police Good Service Medal of 1960.)Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993
;South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994:
*Official SANDF order of precedence:
** Preceded by the Long Service Medal, Silver of the Republic of Venda.
** Succeeded by the Permanent Force Good Service Medal of the Republic of South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
*Official national order of precedence:
** Preceded by the Railways and Harbours Police Medal for Faithful Service of the Republic of South Africa.
** Succeeded by the Railway Police Good Service Medal of the Republic of South Africa.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005. In the document, the printed identification number is 9771682584003.
;South African National Defence Force from April 1996:
*Official SANDF order of precedence:
** Preceded by the Silver Service Medal of the Azanian People's Liberation Army
The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'.
After attacks ...
.
** Succeeded by the Permanent Force Good Service Medal of the Republic of South Africa.
*Official national order of precedence:
** Preceded by the Railways and Harbours Police Medal for Faithful Service of the Republic of South Africa.
** Succeeded by the Railway Police Good Service Medal of the Republic of South Africa.
;South African National Defence Force from 27 April 2003:
*Official SANDF order of precedence:
** Preceded by the Medalje vir Troue Diens and Bar, 20 years of the Republic of South Africa.
** Succeeded by the Permanent Force Good Service Medal of the Republic of South Africa.
*Official national order of precedence:
** Preceded by the Railways and Harbours Police Medal for Faithful Service of the Republic of South Africa.
** Succeeded by the Railway Police Good Service Medal of the Republic of South Africa.
Description
;Obverse The Union Medal is a medallion with a scalloped edge and a raised rim, 38 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres thick at the rim and struck in silver, depicting the pre-1994 South African coat of arms encircled with the inscription "UNIE-MEDALJE • UNION MEDAL". The ribbon suspender is decorated with proteas and leaves.SA Army - Uniform: Former Forces Medals: South African Defence Force.svg.html){kind=link}
/ref> ;Reverse The reverse depicts Queen Elizabeth II's royal cipher, a crown over "E II R", and has a raised rim and decorated ribbon suspender, similar to those of the obverse. The medals and ribbon suspenders were minted separately and soldered together. The medal number was impressed at the bottom on the rim. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide, with bands of orange, white and blue repeated, three times, the outer orange and blue bands each 4 millimetres wide and the seven inner bands all approximately 3½ millimetres wide. Orange, white and blue are the colours of the pre-1994 national flag. ;Clasp The clasp, awarded after thirty years of service, was struck in silver and is wide, with the coat of arms of South Africa in the centre and with a hole at each corner to enable it to be sewn to the ribbon. When ribbons only are worn, recipients of the clasp would wear a silver button on the ribbon bar, embellished with the South African coat of arms.
Discontinuation
Conferment of the Union Medal was discontinued on 31 May 1961, when South Africa became a republic and the medal was replaced by the Permanent Force Good Service Medal.References
{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of South Africa Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth 1952 establishments in South Africa 1961 disestablishments in South Africa Awards established in 1952 Awards disestablished in 1961