Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, with two clasps, awarded to Private G Goode, Royal York Rangers
Silver medal with the portrait of Queen Victoria on the obverse, with the inscription, 'Victoria Regina' with the date '1848'. On the reverse the figure of Queen Victoria crowns a kneeling figure of the Duke of Wellington with a wreath, with the inscription, 'To The British Army' and the date range, '1793-1814', with a red and blue ribbon. Two clasps, 'Martinique' and 'Guadeloupe'.
The Royal York Rangers was formed in 1807 from condemned men, mostly British and Irish prisoners desperate to escape hanging. Despite this it was an extremely effective regiment. The two clasps on this medal indicate that Private Goode served at the battles of Martinique (1809) and Guadeloupe (1810).
The Military General Service Medal commemorated the battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815). However, it was not issued until 1847. This was 33 years after the last battle the medal marked. Therefore the numbers issued were fairly small and just over 25,000 were awarded. The next of kin of the dead, unless the veteran had lodged a claim prior to his death, were not eligible to claim the medal.
NAM Accession Number
NAM. 1994-07-156-1
Copyright/Ownership
National Army Museum Copyright
Location
National Army Museum, Formation gallery
Object URL
https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1994-07-156-1
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