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Mint:
London
Ruler:
Edward VII (1901-10)
Artist:
Saulles, George W. de
Ruler:
Edwardvs VII rex imperator
(With the title of)
Numerous actions in the British-controlled parts of Africa were felt to merit the award of a medal, but not a distinct one for every action. The Africa General Service Medal replaced the East and West Africa Medal which had previously been awarded for service in this theatre. Bars were awarded for a variety of small campaigns, sometimes only one expedition and sometimes rather more complex operations.
The repeated uprisings in what is now Somalia led by Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, whom the British called `the Mad Mullah', were perceived as threats not just by the British Empire, but Italy and the Ethiopian Empire also. Operations were begun against Sayyid Mohammed and his army of so-called Dervishes in 1901 by forces of all three states, with only scant success. A series of three campaigns between 1902 and 1904 were similarly inconclusive until the Dervish army were heavily defeated at the Battle of Jidballi in January 1904. After this Sayyid Mohammed's considerable power was temporarily confined to a smaller area, but he remained an irreducible and expanding opposition to British and Ethiopian rules until his death by influenza in 1921.
This medal was awarded to British troops who fought at Jidballi, which naturally also entitled them to the bar for the wider campaign. It was awarded to Private C. Summerbell of the 1st Hampshire Regiment. Lester Watson purchased it from the London dealers Spink on 12 November 1924.
History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Spink 12 Nov 1924
Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009
Diameter: 36.3 mm
Weight: 40.85 g
Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester
Production date: AD 1904
Inscription present: Bust of Edward facing left
Inscription present: Britannia with lion gesturing right to sun on horizon
Accession number: CM.1134-2009
Primary reference Number: 141228
Watson Catalogue: 17
Ordering: M-0017
Previous object number: LW.0017
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Coins and Medals
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Africa General Service Medal" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141228 Accessed: 2024-11-08 13:44:00
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141228
|title=Africa General Service Medal
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-08 13:44:00|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-141228
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0017_281_29.jpg"
alt="Africa General Service Medal"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Africa General Service Medal</figcaption>
</figure>
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