Ribbon: Yellow with black edges and 2 black stripes towards the centre
The East and West Africa Medal, established in 1892, was a campaign medal awarded for minor campaigns that took place in East and West Africa between 1887 and 1900. A total of twenty one clasps were issued.[1]
Awards of the medal covered punitive expeditions against local tribesmen, generally in response to attacks against Europeans or neighbouring tribes, or for operations to suppress slavery. Most medals were granted to personnel from either the Royal Navy, the West India Regiment or British led local forces, including locally recruited police. No units of the British Army were present, although a number of officers and non commissioned officers received the medal while seconded to local units.[2] Recipients of the Benin 1897 clasp included three nursing sisters.[3]
The obverse bears a left-facing portrait of Queen Victoria with the inscription "VICTORIA REGINA".[1] The reverse has an image of British soldiers fighting Africans in dense jungle. The design, by Sir Edward Poynter, was also used on the reverses of the Ashantee Medal and the Central Africa Medal.[4] The recipient's name, rank and unit appear on the rim of the medal, using a number of different impressed and engraved styles.[2] The medal was issued in silver to officers and men of the British led forces. The medal with some clasps was also awarded in bronze to native porters.[5] The 31.7 millimetres (1.25in) wide ribbon is yellow with black edges and two black stripes towards the centre.[5]
Clasps
A total of 21 clasps were awarded. Those who qualified for a second or subsequent clasp received the new clasp only to be attached to their existing medal.[6] While the majority of recipients only qualified for one clasp, medals have been seen with as many as seven.[2]
Recipients of the earlier Ashantee Medal, awarded for the Ashantee War of 1873–74, who also qualified for the East and West Africa Medal were awarded the appropriate clasp only to attach to their existing Ashantee Medal.[7]
1887–8
Operations against the Yonnie people in Sierra Leone, 13 November 1887 – 2 January 1888
Two expeditions involving native troops and a naval brigade, 18 February 1898 – 9 March 1899
1899
Three separate expeditions in Southern Nigeria, February – May 1899
1900
Two separate expeditions against the Kaduna and Munshi people in the Northern Province of Nigeria, 4 January – 9 May 1900
Those who served in the Mwele campaign of 1895-96 on the Kenyan coast did not qualify for a clasp, but received the medal with the inscription "MWELE" and the dates "1895" or "1895-6" engraved on the rim, next to the claw of the medal.[8]
Clasps inscribed 1896-97 and 1896-99 were authorised, but never issued.[2]
The Benin Expedition of 1897 was a punitive expedition by a British force of 1,200 men under Sir Harry Rawson in response to the ambush of a previous British party under Acting Consul General James Phillips. Rawson's troops captured and sacked Benin City, bringing to an end the Kingdom of Benin, which was eventually absorbed into colonial Nigeria.
Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, also called Overami, was the Ọba (king) of the Kingdom of Benin up until the British punitive expedition of 1897.
British campaign medals are awarded to members of the British Armed Forces, Allied forces and civilians participating in specified military campaigns. Examples include the Defence Medal, for homeland defence in World War II, and the Atlantic Star for World War II sea service in the Atlantic.
The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognition, becoming the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF).
The India General Service Medal was a campaign medal approved on 1 March 1854, for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies. It was awarded for various minor military campaigns in India and nearby countries, between 1852 and 1895.
Bank of British West Africa (BBWA) was a British Overseas bank that was important in introducing modern banking into the countries that emerged from the UK's West African colonies. In 1957 it changed its name to Bank of West Africa, and in 1965 was acquired by Standard Bank.
The India Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1896 for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies.
Sir Lloyd William Mathews, was a British naval officer, politician and abolitionist. Mathews joined the Royal Navy as a cadet at the age of 13 and progressed through the ranks to lieutenant. He was involved with the Third Anglo-Ashanti War of 1873–4, afterwards being stationed in East Africa for the suppression of the slave trade. In 1877 he was seconded from the navy to Sultan Barghash of Zanzibar in order to form a European-style army; he would remain in the employment of the government of Zanzibar for the rest of his life. His army quickly reached 6,300 men and was used in several expeditions to suppress the slave trade and rebellions against the Zanzibar government.
The East and Central Africa Medal, established in February 1899, was a British campaign medal awarded for minor military operations in the Uganda Protectorate and Southern Sudan between 1897 and 1899. Four separate clasps were issued.
The Hazara Expedition of 1888, also known as the Black Mountain Expedition or the First Hazara Expedition, was a military campaign by the British against the tribes of Kala Dhaka in the Hazara region of what is now Pakistan.
The South Africa Medal (1880), often referred to as the Zulu War Medal, is a campaign medal instituted in 1880 and awarded by the British Government to members of the British Army, Royal Naval Brigade and Colonial Volunteers who were involved in a series of South African tribal wars in the Cape of Good Hope, Colony of Natal and Transvaal between 1877 and 1879, most notably for the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.
The Ashantee Medal is a British campaign medal instituted on 1 June 1874. It was awarded to British, Colonial and allied native forces, under the command of Major General Sir Garnet Wolseley, who were deployed against the army of the Ashanti King Kofi Karikari, during the Third Anglo-Ashanti War, June 1873 to February 1874.
Colonel Henry Halcro Johnston CB CBE DL FRSE FLS was a Scottish botanist, physician, rugby union international and Deputy Lieutenant for Orkney. As a member of Edinburgh University RFC he represented Scotland in 1877 and went on to make a significant contribution to botany and horticulture through his meticulous collection and recording of plant species during and after his distinguished military career.
The Central Africa Medal was a British campaign medal awarded for service from 1891–1894 in Eastern and Central Africa, and from 1894–1898 for service in British Central Africa.
Sir James Crawford Maxwell, was a British physician and colonial administrator.
HMS Swallow was a Nymphe-class composite screw sloop and the twenty-seventh ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. Developed and constructed for the Royal Navy on a design by William Henry White, Director of Naval Construction, she was launched at Sheerness Dockyard on 27 October 1885.
Sir Samuel Rowe was a British doctor and colonial administrator who was twice governor of Sierra Leone, and also served as administrator of the Gambia, governor of the Gold Coast and governor-general of the West Africa settlements. He was known for his ability to form pro-British relationships with the local people. He was in favour of a vigorous programme of expansion from the coast into the interior in response to French activity in the Sahel region, at times in opposition to Colonial Office policy.
Alfred Burdon Ellis (1852–1894) was a British Army officer and ethnographer, known for his writings on West Africa.
James Robert Phillips was the deputy commissioner and consul for the Niger Coast Protectorate. He is remembered for his part in the events that led to the Benin Expedition of 1897. In 1897, Phillips set out to depose the Oba of Benin, although his reasons for doing so remain unclear. He and his party was ambushed and slaughtered as they approached Benin City, with Phillips being among the casualties. Though Phillips had acted without consulting the Royal Niger Company authorities, after his death the British government dispatched an punitive expedition against the Benin monarchy, which the force defeated and deposed, leading to the kingdom's eventual absorption into colonial Nigeria.
The Royal Niger Company’s Medal was a campaign medal issued in 1899 by the Royal Niger Company for service in minor military operations in Nigeria between 1886 and 1897. The award was approved by the British Government and could be worn by British servicemen.
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