- Naval General Service Medal (1847)
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Naval General Service Medal 
Obverse (top left) and reverse (top right) of the medal. Ribbon: 32mm, white with dark blue edges.Awarded by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Type Campaign medal Eligibility Royal Navy. Awarded for Campaign service. Campaign Naval Actions 1793–1840. Description Silver disk, 36mm diameter. Clasps 231 authorised, not all issued. Statistics Established 1847 Total awarded 20,933 The Naval General Service Medal (NGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847, for issue to officers and men of the Royal Navy. (A handful of awards were made to officers and men of the British Army, present on board HM's ships at qualifying actions.)[1] William Wyon was the designer. Admiral Thomas Bladen Capel was one of the members of the board that authorized the medal.
The NGSM was retrospectively awarded for various naval actions during the period 1793–1840, a period including the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Anglo-American War of 1812. Each battle or action covered by the medal was represented by a clasp on the ribbon. The medal was never issued without a clasp, 231 of which were sanctioned.[2] The clasps covered a variety of actions, from boat service to ship to ship skirmishes all the way to major fleet actions such as the Battle of Trafalgar.
Sir John Hindmarsh and Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Alexander Gordon were awarded medals with seven clasps, the most awarded to any individual. Four men qualified for six clasps, and fourteen men qualified for five clasps.[3]
A point to note is that the medal was only awarded to surviving claimants; one had both to have survived until 1847 and then to actively apply for it. A combination of factors, from general illiteracy to limited publicity for the new medal meant that very many did not. There are substantially fewer medals issued when compared with the number of men who served during this period; frequently the number of claimants for individual clasps was reckoned in single figures—for ten clasps, there were no claimants.[2] 20,933 medals were awarded in total—most with a single clasp.[4]
The final date for submitting claims was 1 May 1851.[1] The medal was awarded only to surviving claimants; next of kin could not apply for a medal on behalf of a deceased relative. However, the medal was awarded to next of kin of those claimants who had died between the date of their application and the date of presentation.[1]
This medal and its army counterpart, the Military General Service Medal, were amongst the first real British campaign medals, the first to be issued to all ranks just for "being there".
Clasps
Main article: List of clasps to the Naval General Service Medal (1847)French Revolutionary Wars
Clasp Battle or Action Date Comments Nymphe 18 June 1793 Capture of French frigate Cleopatre 18 June 1793 Britain vs. France Crescent 20 Octr. 1793 Capture of French frigate Zebra 17 March 1794 Capture of Fort Saint Louis (Martinique) 20 March 1794 Britain vs. France 17 Mar. Boat Service 1794 Capture of the French frigate Fort Royal Bay (Martinique) 20 March 1794 Britain vs. France Carysfort 29 May 1794 Recapture of HMS Castor 29 May 1794 Unissued
Britain vs France1 June 1794 Glorious First of June 1 June 1794 Britain vs France Romney 17 June 1794 Capture of French frigate Sibylle 17 June 1794 Britain vs France Blanche 4 Jany. 1795 Capture of French frigate Pique 5 January 1795 Britain vs France Lively 13 March 1795 Capture of French frigate Naval Battle of Genoa (1795) 14 March 1795 Britain & Naples vs France Mosquito 9 June 1795 Capture of privateer 9 June 1795 Unissued (vessel and crew lost soon after) 23 June 1795 Battle of Groix 23 June 1795 Britain vs France Dryad 13 June 1796 Capture of Prosperine 13 June 1796 Britain vs France St. Vincent Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797) 14 February 1797 Britain vs Spain San Fiorenzo 8 March 1797 Capture of Résistance 9 March 1797 Britain vs France 29 May Boat Service 1797 Boats of Minerve and Lively capture French corvette Mutine. 29 May 1797 Britain vs France Camperdown Battle of Camperdown 11 October 1797 Britain vs Holland Nile Battle of the Nile 1–3 August 1798 Britain vs France 12 Octr. 1798 Battle of Tory Island 12 October 1798 Britain vs France Telegraph 18 March 1799 Capture of French privateer Hirondelle 18 March 1799 Unissued
Britain vs FranceArrow 13 Sepr. 1799 Capture of Draak and Gier 13 September 1799 Britain vs Batavian Republic Wolverine 13 Sepr. 1799 Capture of Draak and Gier 13 September 1799 Unissued
Britain vs Batavian RepublicCourier 23 Novr. 1799 Capture of French privateer Guerrier 23 November 1799 Britain vs. France Egypt Battle of Abukir (1801), Battle of Alexandria (1801), Siege of Alexandria (1801) March - September 1801 Britain vs France Copenhagen Battle of Copenhagen (1801) 2 April 1801 Britain vs Denmark-Norway Gut of Gibraltar 12 July 1801 Battle of Algeciras Bay 12 July 1801 Britain vs France & Spain Napoleonic Wars
Clasp Battle or Action Date Comments Beaver 31 March 1804 Boats of Scorpion and Beaver captured the Dutch brig Atalante 31 March 1804 Unissued
Britain vs Batavian RepublicScorpion 31 March 1804 Boats of Scorpion and Beaver captured the Dutch brig Atalante 31 March 1804 Britain vs Batavian Republic San Fiorenzo 14 Feby. 1805 Capture of Psyché 14 February 1805 Britain vs France Trafalgar Battle of Trafalgar 21 October 1805 Britain vs France & Spain 4 Novr. 1805 Battle of Cape Ortegal 4 November 1805 Britain vs France St. Domingo Battle of San Domingo 6 February 1806 Britain vs France Blanche 18 July 1806 Capture of French frigate Guerriere 18 July 1806 Britain vs France 21 Jan. Boat Service 1807 Boats of Galatea vs French corvette Lynx 21 January 1807 Britain vs France 19 April Boat Service 1807 Boats of Ann 24 Novr. 1807 Capture of Spanish lugger privateer and action with ten gunboats and surrender of two 24 November 1807 Unissued
Britain vs SpainSappho 2 March 1808 Capture of brig Admiral Yawl 2 March 1808 Britain vs Denmark-Norway San Fiorenzo 8 March 1808 Capture of Piémontaise 8 March 1808 Britain vs France 28 Nov. Boat Service 1808 Boats of Heureux attack a battery and capture a brig and a schooner 29 November 1808 Britain vs France Invasion of Martinique (1809) 30 January – 24 February 1809 Britain vs France Basque Roads 1809 Battle of the Basque Roads 11–25 April 1809 Britain vs France 25 July Boat Service 1809 Boats of Fredrikshamn, Gulf of Finland 25 July 1809 Britain vs Russia Guadaloupe Invasion of Guadeloupe (1810) 28 January - 6 February 1810 Britain vs France Thistle 10 Feby. 1810 Capture of Havik 10 February 1810 Unissued
Britain vs The NetherlandsArrow 6 April 1811 Action with chasse-marees and batteries off the French coast 6 April 1811 Unissued
Britain vs FranceJava Anglo-Dutch Java War August - September 1811 Britain vs The Netherlands Lissa Battle of Lissa (1811) 13 March 1811 Britain vs France and Venice Anholt 27 March 1811 Battle of Anholt 27 March 1811 Britain vs Denmark-Norway Off Mardoe 6 July 1812 Battle of Lyngør 6 July 1812 Britain vs Denmark-Norway 21 March Boat Service 1813 Boats of Brev Drageren and Siege of San Sebastián August - September 1813 Britain & Portugal vs France Cyane 16 Jany. 1814 Capture of edit] War of 1812 Clasp Battle or Action Date Comments April & May Boat Service 1813 Boats of Marlborough, French Town and batteries at Havre-de-Grace 28 April and 5 May 8 April Boat Service 1814 Boats of Hogue, Endymion, Connecticut River 8 April 1814 Shannon Wh. Chesapeake Shannon vs Chesapeake 1 June 1813 Pelican 14 Augt. 1813 Capture of USS Argus 14 August 1813 Phoebe 28 March 1814 Capture of USS Essex and Essex Junior (Ex-Atlantic) 28 March 1814 Cherub 28 March 1814 Capture of USS Essex and Essex Junior (Ex-Atlantic) 28 March 1814 The Potomac 17 Augt. 1814 Alexandria (Virginia) and destruction of shipping in the Potomac River 17 August 1814 3 & 6 Sept. Boat Service 1814 Boats on Lake Huron captured American schooners Tigress and Scorpion 3 & 6 September 1814 14 Dec. Boat Service 1814 Battle of Lake Borgne; boats of 16 British warships captured five American gunboats and a sloop 14 December 1814 Endymion Wh. President Endymion vs President 15 January 1815 Later battles or actions
Clasp Battle or Action Date Comments Algiers Bombardment of Algiers 27 August 1816 Britain & The Netherlands vs Dey of Algiers Navarino Battle of Navarino 20 October 1827 Britain, France & Russia vs Ottoman Empire Syria Syrian War November 1840 Britain, with Austria, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia vs Egypt.
This is the most common claspReferences
- ^ a b c British Battles and Medals, p. 34.
- ^ a b British Battles and Medals, p. 33.
- ^ Medals Yearbook 2005, p. 128.)
- ^ Medal Yearbook 2005, p. 128.
Bibliography
- Mackay, J and Mussell, J (eds). Medal Yearbook — 2005, (2004), Token Publishing.
- Joslin, Litherland, and Simpkin (eds), British Battles and Medals, (1988), Spink
External links
- Naval General Service Medal Roll (1793-1840)
- Some muster rolls, for ships involved in fleet actions 1794-1811, held at TNA Kew
19th Century 
Army Gold Cross (1810) • Army Gold Medal (1810) • Waterloo Medal (1815) • 
Ghuznee Medal (1839) • 
Candahar, Ghuznee, Cabul Medal (1842) • Jellalabad Medals (1842) • Medal for the Defence of Kelat-I-Ghilzie (1842) • 
First China War Medal (1842) • Scinde Medal (1843) • Gwalior Star (1843) • 
Sutlej Medal (1846) • 
Naval General Service Medal (1847) • 
Military General Service Medal (1847) • 
Punjab Medal (1849) • 
Army of India Medal (1851) • 
India General Service Medal (1854) • 
South Africa Medal (1854) • 
Crimean War Medal (1854) • 
Baltic Medal (1856) • 
Indian Mutiny Medal (1858) • 
Second China War Medal (1861) • 
New Zealand Medal (1869) • 
Abyssinian War Medal (1869) • 
Canada General Service Medal (1866-70) • 
Ashantee Medal (1873-74) • 
South Africa Medal (1877-79) • 
Afghanistan Medal (1878-80) • Kabul to Kandahar Star (1880) • 
Cape of Good Hope General Service Medal (1880-97) • 
Egypt Medal (1882-89) • 
North West Canada Medal (1885) • _
British South Africa Company Medal (1890-97) East and West Africa Medal (1892) • 
India Medal (1896) • 
Ashanti Star (1896) • 
Queen's Sudan Medal (1899) • 
East and Central Africa Medal (1899) • 
Queen's South Africa Medal (1899) • Queen's Mediterranean Medal (1899)Pre World War 1 
China War Medal (1900) • 
Ashanti Medal (1901) • 
King's South Africa Medal (1902) • 
Africa General Service Medal (1902) • 
Transport Medal (1902) (for South Africa or China) • 
Tibet Medal (1905) • 
India General Service Medal (1909)World War 1 
1914 Star • 1914-15 Star • 
British War Medal • 
Victory Medal • 
Territorial Force War Medal • 
Mercantile Marine War MedalInter World War World War 2 _
_ 
1939-1945 Star • _
Atlantic Star • 
Air Crew Europe Star • __ 
Africa Star • _
Pacific Star • 
Burma Star • 
Italy Star • 
France and Germany Star • _
Defence Medal • 
War Medal 1939–1945Post World War 
Korea Medal (1951) • 
General Service Medal (1962) • 
Rhodesia Medal (1980) • 
South Atlantic Medal (1982) • 
Gulf Medal (1992) 
Accumulated Campaign Service Medal (1994)21st Century 
OSM for Sierra Leone (2000) • 
OSM for Afghanistan (2002) • 
OSM for Democratic Republic of Congo (2003) • 
Iraq Medal (2004) _
Iraq Reconstruction Service Medal (2004) • 
Accumulated Campaign Service Medal (2011)Categories:- British campaign medals
- British military medals of the Napoleonic Wars
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