Skip to main content

Indian General Service Medal (1908-35): CM.1275-2009

An image of Indian General Service Medal (1908-35)
View image details

Terms of use

The low-resolution images published on this Website are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY-NC-ND). For more details: Fitzwilliam Terms of Use

This licence does not include any images of works that are still in copyright. Artistic copyright extends from the life of the artist to 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the artist died.

Download this image

For further information on use of images or to license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who can discuss terms and fees.

Alternative views

An image of Indian General Service Medal (1908-35)
Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Mint: London
Mint: Royal Mint
Ruler: George V (1910-36)
Artist: Garbe, Richard
Ruler: GEORGIVS V KAISAR. I. HIND (With the title of)

Entities

Categories

Description

The India Medal of 1895 having needed alteration for its last issues due to the death of Queen Victoria, in 1908 it was decided to replace it entirely with a new medal of Edward VII, which was first issued in 1909. When the first issue was made under King George V, in 1911, Richard Garbe designed a new obverse but the medal was otherwise unaltered.
The ignominious defeat of Afghan forces in the Third Anglo-Afghan War left considerable dissatisfaction among the border tribesmen, resulting in persistent raiding. Various British punitive expeditions were mounted in retaliation into what was by then independent Waziristan (briefly independent again for a while during 2006, in defiance of Pakistani claims to it) over the years 1919-1921, against the Tochi and Wana Wazir tribes.
This medal was awarded to Private F. J. Connolly of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers for participation in one such expedition. It was one of the last pieces acquired by Lester Watson, purchased from the London dealers Baldwin in 1936.

Notes

History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Baldwin 1936

Legal notes

Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 36.2 mm
Weight: 43.82 g

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester

Dating

1922 CE - 1935 CE

Materials used in production

Silver

Techniques used in production

Struck

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: Bust of George facing left

  • Text: GEORGIVS V KAISAR-I-HIND
  • Location: Obverse
  • Type: Design

Inscription present: Jamrud fort overlooking Khyber Pass with mountains behind

  • Location: Reverse
  • Type: Design

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: CM.1275-2009
Primary reference Number: 141369
Watson Catalogue: 177
Ordering: M-0158
Previous object number: LW.0158

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 25 March 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Coins and Medals

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Indian General Service Medal (1908-35)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141369 Accessed: 2025-12-25 11:38:45

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141369 |title=Indian General Service Medal (1908-35) |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-25 11:38:45|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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-141369

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

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_0158_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Indian General Service Medal (1908-35)"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Indian General Service Medal (1908-35)</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...

University of Cambridge Museums logo
Cambridge City Council logo
Arts Council England Logo
Research England logo