South Africa Medal for Zulu and Basuto Wars 1877-79, with clasp, '1879', awarded to Captain H R Gough, 5th Battalion Natal Native Infantry

Silver campaign medal with the diademed head of Queen Victoria on the obverse with the inscription, 'Victoria Regina'. On the reverse a male lion in front of a protea bush above a trophy of arms with a Zulu shield and four crossed spears. The medal is suspended from a golden yellow ribbon with vertical blue stripes with a clasp, '1879'.

Hugh Rupert Gough, the son of 2nd Viscount Gough, having retired from the Coldstream Guards in 1878, volunteered to serve in South Africa with the Natal Native Contingent. January 1879 saw the Zulu army inflict a catastrophic defeat on a British invasion force at Isandlwana. Despite suffering from dysentery, Gough joined the relief column heading for the besieged fort at Eshowe in March 1879. The following month Gough succumbed to his illness and died shortly after the Battle of Gingindlovu.

This medal was instituted in 1880 and was awarded to service personnel who participated in a number of campaigns in South Africa, including the Basuto Wars (1872-1878), the Griqualand West Rebellion (1878-1879),the Sekukuni Campaign (1878-1879) and, most notably, the Zulu War (1879).