New Zealand War Medal, awarded to Captain Hugh Shaw, 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot

Circular, silver medal with, on the obverse, a portrait of Queen Victoria wearing diadem and veil, with the inscription, 'Victoria D: G: Britt: Reg: F:D:'; on the reverse, a laurel wreath and the inscription, 'New Zealand' and 'Virtutis Honor' (Honour of valour). The medal is suspended from a ribbon with a red vertical stripe flanked by dark blue vertical stripes.

Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) Hugh Shaw (1839-1904), Royal Irish Regiment, was born in India on 4 February 1839 and was the son of James Shaw, an Inspector General of Hospitals in Madras. The younger Shaw was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for his actions at Nukumaru in New Zealand on 24 January 1865.

This campaign medal, designed by J S and A B Wyon, was authorised in 1869 and was awarded to British and Imperial troops involved in the Maori Wars (1845-1847 and 1860-1866).

From a medal group awarded to Major General Hugh Shaw VC, 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment.