Ashantee War Medal 1873-74, awarded to William Edward Cutler, Royal Navy and 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment

Silver, circular campaign medal with, on the obverse (designed by Leonard Charles Wyon), Queen Victoria wearing a diadem and veil, with the inscription, 'Victoria Regina'. On the reverse (designed by Sir Edward Poynter), a scene of bush fighting in the Ashanti War (1873-1874); engraved on the rim with the recipient's ship and name, 'W Cutler, Asst Sk Bth Attdt HMS Himalaya 73.74.'. The medal is suspended from a yellow ribbon with two thin black vertical stripes and black edging.

Reginald Cutler was an Assistant Sick Berth Attendant on board the troop ship HMS Himalaya when he qualified for this medal. He subsequently transferred to the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment.

HMS Himalaya served as a troopship for 40 years, providing transport for the Army serving in the Crimean War (1854-1856), the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859) and the 2nd Ashanti War (1873-1874). In the 1920s, no longer seaworthy, the Himalaya was used as a coal hulk (HM Hulk C60). She was eventually sunk by German dive-bombers in 1940.