1592963646000 1312637261000 Standard Record object-141578 1747245967828 1711380518000 1747245849312 adlib fitz-online adlib-object-141578 https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141578 f14769ce-2b59-34af-a110-b63fa31b1add 7 reference term-42993 adlib-term-42993 93884c6f-c60c-39f7-a75d-f84d65288fe0 medal reference term-122711 adlib-term-122711 1db96904-a474-3b61-a8e5-6c2d9dd557ab Lester Watson Collection Coins and Medals The Indian Order of Merit, instituted by the Honourable East India Company in 1837, is the oldest award for gallantry of the British Empire. The Order had three classes until 1912, for which medals were awarded in silver, silver and gold and gold respectively, and promotion from one class to a higher was achieved by further acts of bravery. This medal was awarded to Subadar Jangbir Rana of the 8th Gurkha Rifles for his services on the Tibet campaign of 1903-1904. Tibet, on the frontier between the British possessions in India and the sphere of interest of expanding Russia, evoked the same kind of international political paranoia among British strategists as did the Indian North-West Frontier, and after a trade mission in 1903 had met with a hostile reception there a British expedition was sent that forced its way through to Lhasa, where new and more favourable trading arrangements were decided on in collaboration with the Chinese. Although the Dalai Lama of the time had fled to Mongolia at the British approach, the secular officials who agreed on the Treaty were able to confine the British to the city of Gyantse until 1944. Some of the most vicious fighting on the British expedition was met with in and around Gyantse, and the Certificate for Subadar Rana's Order of Merit indicates that the award was made in respect of this, citing `his conspicuous gallantry during the assault on a village near Gyantse Jong on the 8th July 1904, when he climbed a wall ten feet high strongly held by the enemy. From this position he checked the fire of the enemy and killed several of them being himself wounded.' This is one of four medals that were awarded to Subadar Rana that are now in the Watson Collection; the others follow. The medals are not attached to each other so although the Watson Collection catalogue considers them as Group 3 they have been treated separately here. Nonetheless, it was as a group that Lester Watson purchased them from the dealer Gifford, in 1928. CM.1482-2009 1 accession number CM.1482-2009 141578 priref 141578 Watson Catalogue 189 ordering M-0367 previous object number LW.0361a uri https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141578 https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141578 Blue boss with crossed swords in circle with lettering around; wreath around and eight star points obverse REWARD OF VALOR design Eight-pointed star, plain save inscription reverse design reference agent-149638 adlib-agent-149638 7376d833-d0a7-3be0-916e-9c892b7a24d8 The Fitzwilliam Museum Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009 reference agent-206432 adlib-agent-206432 e0b1da8e-f9e4-30be-9257-f82c89d45afb Watson, Lester 2009 2009 2009 given on loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum 2005-2009 1904 1904 1904 mint reference agent-167755 adlib-agent-167755 627a5b0f-5cae-3ff7-a61b-7f2fe07b5c96 Calcutta issuer reference agent-167567 adlib-agent-167567 5ce1f666-30e0-383b-bee5-fff00c8b2f38 East India Company struck in the rule of ruler reference agent-167399 adlib-agent-167399 5bcafb25-0bd3-36ad-9878-d98c9e13c293 Edward VII (1901-10) reference term-123133 adlib-term-123133 f13e3f6e-a3e0-3063-8865-7cbee4ef9327 Calcutta reference term-39778 adlib-term-39778 8bd60ed6-968d-3faf-8ad5-b4e4ee9bb245 silver Diameter mm 40.8 Weight g 49.04 reference media-116707 adlib-media-116707 cd0e1802-dae6-3f6d-a533-c8100820dc9e jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0361a_281_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 119 1742589831144 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0361a_281_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 119 1742589831144 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0361a_281_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 119 1742589831144 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0361a_281_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 119 1742589831144 1 image 0 media image reference media-116708 adlib-media-116708 38c07655-73d8-30bb-9ea3-5ad0fccc7e60 jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0361a_282_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 125 1742589859268 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0361a_282_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 125 1742589859268 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0361a_282_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 125 1742589859268 1 image jpeg cm/cm15/LW_0361a_282_29.jpg 1 height pixels 365 width pixels 125 1742589859268 1 image 1 media image reference term-122906 adlib-term-122906 a9766dc6-4418-3434-af95-2a77149f9401 Indian Order of Merit, 3rd Class denomination reference term-98222 adlib-term-98222 b5ccc43a-7491-344e-b6ca-5df39a11c50e medals series reference term-108659 adlib-term-108659 cc732dec-4543-389e-a737-cf22bb7d2ee2 Military subseries reference term-106787 adlib-term-106787 1a9822e8-4f24-3dab-8ea0-50acb9edb236 India subsubseries reference term-122717 adlib-term-122717 140af9ad-d215-34d9-9d42-52ecb5d3fead British Army subsubsubseries history note Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Gifford 1928 reference agent-149638 adlib-agent-149638 7376d833-d0a7-3be0-916e-9c892b7a24d8 The Fitzwilliam Museum 30 reference publication-5895 adlib-publication-5895 0203db2c-278b-39ec-a933-7f85feae70f1 Medal Yearbook 2001 reference publication-5910 adlib-publication-5910 0d1d8526-5493-32bd-93b4-acd4cdcec7f9 British and other Campaign and Gallantry Medals From the Collection of Lester Watson (d. 1959)

reference term-122906 adlib-term-122906 a9766dc6-4418-3434-af95-2a77149f9401 Indian Order of Merit, 3rd Class

Indian Order of Merit, 3rd Class reference term-119622 adlib-term-119622 dd6626e9-5822-307d-aa31-13c8813e7555 struck object OBJECT