IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 141307 accession number: CM.1213-2009 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 15 January 2024 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: Peace-keeping operations in the British possessions in Africa, as anywhere else, required a large number of small campaigns, several of which, from 1892 until 1900, were considered to merit this medal, which in terms of design is a continuation of the Ashantee War Medal. Recipients who held that medal already were therefore awarded only extra clasps. British interests in what is now Gambia were complicated by numerous French possessions nearby, most obviously Senegal, from which territorial claims and clandestine expansion could be moved. It also meant that when, as in 1894, British forces were committed to campaigns against slave-raider chiefs, they had somewhere close by to retreat to and hide. Thus after a month of unusually bloody fighting against the raider chief Fodi Silah, British forces were thwarted by his surrender to the French authorities in Senegal, although he died there soon afterwards. This example of the medal and bar for that campaign was awarded to Able-Bodied Seaman W. D. Cole, of the paddle-steamer gunboat HMS Alecto (also committed to the Benin River expedition). Lester Watson purchased the medal at some point before 1928. title: East and West Africa Medal (1887-1900) NOTES ----- type: history note value: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt before 1928 LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Coins and Medals collection: Lester Watson Collection creditline: Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009 STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141307 TECHNIQUES ---------- struck CATEGORIES ------ category: medal DATING ------ creation date: 1892 - 1900 creation date earliest: 1892 creation date latest: 1900 CREATORS -------- maker: London maker: Wyon, Leonard Charles maker: Poynter, Edward John maker: Victoria (1837-1901) maker: Victoria regina DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Diameter units: mm value: 36.3 dimension: Weight units: g value: 37.99 CITATIONS -------- British Battles and Medals 7th edn British and other Campaign and Gallantry Medals From the Collection of Lester Watson (d. 1959) --- IMAGES surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0096_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 115 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0096_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 115 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0096_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 115 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0096_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 115 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0096_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 116 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0096_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 116 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0096_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 116 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0096_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 116 pixels