Obverse, a bust of Queen Victoria with crown and veil |
Reverse, a scene of bush fighting around a tree with a fallen African to the fore |
Peace-keeping operations in the British possessions in Africa, as anywhere else, required a large number of small campaigns, several of which, from 1892 until 1900, were considered to merit this medal, which in terms of design is a continuation of the Ashantee War Medal. Recipients who held that medal already were therefore awarded only extra clasps.
The bar for 1891-92 on this medal refers to a 3-month campaign known as the Gambia Expedition to suppress a rising in the territory of what is now Gambia under a local chief called Kaba. As Hayward's, Birch's and Bishop's new manual puts it, "the resulting punitive expeditions were not entirely successful".
The medal was awarded to Private G. Gooding of the 2nd West India Regiment. Lester Watson purchased the medal from the London dealer Spink at some point before 1928.