IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 141348 accession number: CM.1254-2009 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 15 January 2024 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: The Army of India Medal's issue in 1849 having marked the previous half-century's combats in the region, further conflicts in the 1850s led in 1854 to the design and issue of a General Service Medal for the theatre, for which bars would be issued as each new campaign merited. Lushai is now a mountain district of modern India, but was not part of any large state for much of the nineteenth century, and its inhabitants not afraid to raid British India. When one raid massacred the staff of a British plantation and abducted the owner's daughter in 1871, an expedition into the area was finally mounted, which achieved a settlement and the girl's release in 1872. This bar was awarded to the troops involved. This medal is inscribed to Private J. Cairn, of the 55th Regiment. This unit is not known to have served on this campaign, which was fought entirely with Indian troops, but it is possible that Cairn was on secondment or similar. Be that as it may, Lester Watson acquired the medal at some point before 1928. title: Indian General Service Medal (1854-95) 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/141348 TECHNIQUES ---------- struck CATEGORIES ------ category: medal DATING ------ creation date: 1872 - 1895 creation date earliest: 1872 creation date latest: 1895 CREATORS -------- maker: London maker: Wyon, William maker: Wyon, Leonard Charles maker: Victoria (1837-1901) maker: Victoria regina DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Diameter units: mm value: 36.4 dimension: Weight units: g value: 40.43 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_0137_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 131 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0137_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 131 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0137_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 131 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0137_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 131 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0137_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 134 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0137_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 134 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0137_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 134 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0137_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 134 pixels