IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 141338 accession number: CM.1244-2009 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 15 January 2024 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: The numerous campaigns of the forces of the British East India Company were not officially recognised with a medal until 1851, in the same move as that which created the Military and Naval General Service Medals for service in the contemporary French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The resulting Army of India medal covered battles from 1799 to 1826 in a theatre where many subsequent conflicts had arisen, so many of those involved were no longer living. Queen Victoria, by whose order the medal was issued and whose bust it therefore carried, was likewise not on the throne for the actions for which it was awarded. At the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries what is now Nepal was an area under pressure from two converging empires, the British in India and the Gurkhas of Kathmandu. The Gurkha Empire had been somewhat curtailed by war with China, but it and the British Empire had an undefined border in the Nepalese hills, in an area where a deliberately provocative Gurkha governor had been installed, and war inevitably followed in 1814. An unfortunate British campaign, in which one of the generals deserted, was nonetheless brought to a succesful conclusion in 1815, and when the Gurkhas failed to ratify the resulting treaty a more determined war was waged. The Treaty of Sugauli in 1816 resolved the conflict to the considerable benefit of the British East India Company. This medal was awarded to Private P. McHugh of the 66th Foot. Lester Watson purchased this medal at some point before 1928. title: Army of India Medal 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/141338 TECHNIQUES ---------- struck CATEGORIES ------ category: medal DATING ------ creation date: 1851 - 1851 creation date earliest: 1851 creation date latest: 1851 CREATORS -------- maker: London maker: East India Company maker: Wyon, William maker: Victoria (1837-1901) maker: Victoria regina DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Diameter units: mm value: 35.9 dimension: Weight units: g value: 38.83 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_0127_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 142 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0127_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 142 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0127_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 142 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0127_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 142 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0127_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 144 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0127_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 144 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0127_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 144 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0127_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 144 pixels