Indian General Service Medal 1908-1935, with bar for North West Frontier 1908, awarded to Pvt. A. Austin, 1909
Image["Indian General Service Medal, 1908-1911"]Obverse, a bust of King Edward VII
Image["Indian General Service Medal, 1908-1911"]Reverse, Jamrud fort overlooking Khyber Pass with mountains behind
Indian General Service Medal, 1909
The
India Medal of 1895 having needed alteration for its last issues due to the death of Queen Victoria, in 1908 it was decided to replace it entirely with a new medal of Edward VII, which was first issued in 1909.
The first issue was for actions on the
North-West Frontier between British India and Afghanistan, which had been a source of
political tension for
the length of
the nineteenth century, as the precarious Imperial
accommodations with
local tribes required
continual maintenance.
A variety of small operations in and beyond the area of the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan, against the Pashtun Mohmands and others in the years preceding 1908, qualified soldiers for the first issue of this medal. This one went to Private A. Austin of the 1st Royal Warwicks. Lester Watson acquired the medal before 1928.