North West Canada Medal

Last updated
North West Canada Medal
North West Canada Medal, 1885, obverse.png North West Canada Medal, reverse.png
Obverse and reverse of the medal
Type Campaign medal
CountryCanada
Presented by Queen Victoria
EligibilityCanadian local forces, attached British Army officers and members of the North-West Mounted Police
Campaign(s) North-West Rebellion
Clasps Saskatchewan [1]
Established18 September 1885
Total5,650 [2]
North West Canada Medal ribbon.svg
Ribbon bar of the medal

The North West Canada Medal is a British campaign medal issued to the soldiers, volunteers, and North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) personnel who participated in putting down the North-West Rebellion in 1885. [3]

Contents

Eligibility

The medal was established by the Canadian government in September 1885 after consultation between the governor general of Canada and the British secretary of state for the colonies. [4]

It was awarded to those who took part in the suppression of the North-West Rebellion of 1885 and who served west of Port Arthur, Ontario. Recipients included a number of volunteers, including the crew of the steamer Northcote for service at the Battle of Batoche, and members of the Prince Albert Volunteers for service at the Battle of Duck Lake. Initially, members of the NWMP were not eligible. However, a Canadian order in council of 13 December 1886 recommended that the NWMP receive the medal, this being accepted by the British government on 16 February 1887. [2] A total of 920 medals were then awarded to the NWMP. [2]

No British Army units took part, although seventeen British Army officers were attached to Canadian units. [4]

All those who received the medal, except for members of the NWMP, also received a grant of 320 acres (130 ha) of land, or scrip of $80 in lieu. [5] During the 1930s, surviving NWMP recipients were each granted $300. [2]

Appearance

The medal is a circular, silver and 36 millimetres (1.4 in) in diameter.
The obverse, designed by Leonard Charles Wyon, bears an effigy of Queen Victoria, facing left and wearing a diadem and veil. Around the edge is the inscription "VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPERATRIX". The reverse, designed by Thomas Brock, has the inscription "NORTH WEST 1885 CANADA" in three lines surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves. [4]

The medal is suspended from a ribbon in slate grey 32 millimetres (1.3 in) wide, with crimson 6 millimetres (0.24 in) stripes, 3 millimetres (0.12 in) from each edge. [2]

The clasp "SASKATCHEWAN" was awarded to those present at any of the three main encounters during the rebellion; along the Saskatchewan and Fish rivers and the Battle of Batoche. Approximately 1,760 medals were awarded with the clasp. [4] A number of veterans of the Battle of Batoche added an unofficial "BATOCHE" clasp to their medal. [5]

Medals were issued unnamed, although many recipients had their name and unit engraved on the rim. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North-West Rebellion</span> 1885 rebellion by the Métis and Cree peoples against Canada

The North-West Rebellion, also known as the North-West Resistance, was an armed resistance movement by the Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of Saskatchewan against the Canadian government. Many Métis felt that Canada was not protecting their rights, their land, and their survival as a distinct people.

The Battle of Frenchman's Butte, fought on May 28, 1885, occurred when a force of Cree, dug in on a hillside near Frenchman's Butte, was unsuccessfully attacked by the Alberta Field Force. It was fought in what was then the District of Saskatchewan of the North-West Territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acheson Irvine</span> Canadian politician

Acheson Gosford Irvine, ISO served as Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) from November 1, 1880, to March 31, 1886.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Duck Lake</span>

The Prince Albert Volunteers (PAV) is the name of two historical infantry units headquartered in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The unit was first raised in 1885 during the North-West Rebellion and disbanded after hostilities ceased. In the 20th century, the unit was operational from 1913 to 1936 and 1941 to 1946. The PAV is now incorporated by amalgamation in the North Saskatchewan Regiment (N Sask R).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India General Service Medal (1936)</span> British campaign medal awarded for service on the North-West Frontier of Inidia

The Indian General Service Medal was a campaign medal approved on 3 August 1938, for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies, and of the Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punjab Medal</span> Award

The Punjab Medal was a campaign medal issued to officers and men of the British Army and Honourable East India Company who served in the Punjab campaign of 1848-49, which ended in the British annexation of the Punjab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutlej Medal</span> Award

The Sutlej Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1846, for issue to officers and men of the British Army and Honourable East India Company who served in the Sutlej campaign of 1845–46. This medal was the first to use clasps to denote soldiers who fought in the major battles of the campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natal Native Rebellion Medal</span> Award

The Natal Native Rebellion Medal was a British campaign medal. It was authorised in 1907 for service in Natal during a Zulu revolt against British rule and taxation in 1906. The 1906 Clasp to the medal was awarded to those who had served for more than fifty days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India Medal</span> Award

The India Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1896 for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British South Africa Company Medal</span> Award

The British South Africa Company Medal (1890–97). In 1896, Queen Victoria sanctioned the issue by the British South Africa Company of a medal to troops who had been engaged in the First Matabele War. In 1897, the award was extended to those engaged in the two campaigns of the Second Matabele War, namely Rhodesia (1896) and Mashonaland (1897). The three medals are the same except for name of the campaign for which the medal was issued, inscribed on the reverse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East and Central Africa Medal</span> Award

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East and West Africa Medal</span> Award

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan Medal (United Kingdom)</span> Award

The Afghanistan Medal, sanctioned on 19 March 1881, was awarded to members of the British and Indian armies who served in Afghanistan between 1878 and 1880 during the Second Afghan War, the first war being from 1839 to 1842.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egypt Medal</span> Award

The Egypt Medal (1882–1889) was awarded for the military actions involving the British Army and Royal Navy during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War and in the Sudan between 1884 and 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashantee Medal</span> Award

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jellalabad Medals</span> Medal of the First Afghan War

The Jellalabad Medal was a campaign medal issued by the British East India Company. It was established by Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General of India, on 30 April 1842.
The medal was awarded for the defence of Jalalabad from 12 November 1841 to 7 April 1842, during the First Afghan War, to the troops under the command of Sir Robert Sale. About 2,600 soldiers took part, including the 13th Foot, the 35th Bengal Native Infantry, as well as detachments from other Indian Army units and some loyal Afghan forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victory Medal (South Africa)</span> Award

The Victory Medal (South Africa) is the Union of South Africa's version of the Victory Medal (United Kingdom), a First World War campaign medal of Britain and her colonies and dominions. The medal, never awarded singly, was awarded to all those South Africans who were awarded the 1914–15 Star or the British War Medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mountain Rangers (1885)</span> Military unit

The Rocky Mountain Rangers were one of the volunteer militia units raised in Canada's North West in response to the 1885 North-West Rebellion. It was a body of mounted irregulars, mostly cowboys and ranchers from the area around Fort Macleod, the headquarters of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, about 150 miles (240 km) west of Medicine Hat. This unit is not to be confused with the present-day Canadian Army Reserve unit The Rocky Mountain Rangers of Kamloops, British Columbia. Rather, it is the ultimate ancestor of the South Alberta Light Horse (SALH).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North-West Mounted Police during the North-West Rebellion</span>

The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) played a significant role during the North-West Rebellion in Canada in 1885. The NWMP suffered early reverses and, although they supported the relief force sent to the region under the command of Major-General Frederick Middleton, their performance was heavily criticized. Commissioner Acheson Irvine resigned from his command of the police as a result.

References

  1. Robertson, Megan C. (12 April 2008). "United Kingdom: North West Canada Medal 1885". Medals of the World. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "North West Canada Medal". War Medals (1866-1918). Veterans Affairs Canada. 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  3. Duckers, Peter (2004). British Campaign Medals 1815-1914. Buckinghamshire: Shire Publications Ltd. p. 25. ISBN   0-7478-0465-6.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin (1988). British Battles and Medals. London: Spink. pp. 165–6. ISBN   0907605257.
  5. 1 2 Joslin, Edward C (1973). Observer Book of British Awards and Medals. London: Frederick Warne & Co. pp. 117–8. ISBN   0723215383.