IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 141310 accession number: CM.1216-2009 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 15 January 2024 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: General Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1798 not yet in power in France, conceived the idea of attacking Egypt to cut Britain off from India and was sent to do so at least partly so as to remove him from turbulent Paris. However, facing a triumphant naval victory by Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson at Aboukir Bay, and a general lack of strategic success despite several crushing victories over Egyptian and Ottoman forces, Bonaparte returned to France in 1799 to take power by coup. French troops remained in the country until 1801, however, when a force under Sir Ralph Abercromby were dispatched to expel them. They were aided in this by a contingent supplied by the Honourable East India Company, and in 1802 the Company approved the issue of this medal for the troops who had taken part. The medal appears not to have finally been issued until 1811, and then unnamed, so we do not know who the recipient of this example was. Lester Watson acquired the medal at some point before 1928. title: Honourable East India Company's Egypt Medal NOTES ----- type: history note value: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, acquired 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/141310 TECHNIQUES ---------- struck CATEGORIES ------ category: medal DATING ------ creation date: 1801 - 1801 creation date earliest: 1801 creation date latest: 1801 CREATORS -------- maker: Calcutta maker: East India Company maker: George III (1760-1820) DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Diameter units: mm value: 50.8 dimension: Weight units: g value: 55.85 EXHIBITIONS HISTORY ------------------- title: Images of Empire: The British Empire on 19th century medals CITATIONS -------- Handbook of British and Foreign Orders, War Medals and Decorations Awarded to the Ar 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_0099_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 205 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0099_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 205 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0099_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 205 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0099_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 205 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0099_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 203 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0099_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 203 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0099_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 203 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0099_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 203 pixels