Transport Medal, with bar for China 1900, awarded to J. Collier 1903
Obverse, a bust of King Edward VII |
Reverse, a section of world map at top, with a naval transport at sea below |
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Obverse, a bust of King Edward VII |
Reverse, a section of world map at top, with a naval transport at sea below |
In 1903, with the Second Boer War and the Boxer Rebellion both recently ended, and various medals awarded for service in each, consideration was also given to those involved in ferrying the troops to these unusually farflung theatres of war. The result was the Transport Medal, which was awarded to the senior officers of the 117 transports and 10 hospital ships that had been pressed into service during those campaigns. Provision was made to award the medal in future to officers of the Merchant Navy serving in transports, but when opportunity came in the form of the Great War of 1914-1918, this was not in fact done and merchant seamen sailing in war zones were awarded the new (but less splendid) Mercantile Marine War Medal instead. Only some 250 Transport Medals were therefore awarded.
This example was awarded to J. Collier, of whose service nothing more is known. Lester Watson purchased the medal from the London dealers Spink in 1926.