The India General Service Medal 1854

Medal

The India General Service Medal is a British Army campaign medal first approved in 1854 and which was awarded for participation in various campaigns in and around India, primarily for fighting taking place following the 1857-8 Indian Mutiny and from then on for expeditions into the North-West Frontier of India. It went through several iterations, with this first version (with the distinctive red and dark blue ribbon) being used from 1854 until replaced by the India medal in 1896. Later versions of the IGSM were used from 1908.

The Burma 1885-7 clasp (shown here) was awarded for service in the 3rd Anglo-Burmese war, which aimed to secure Burma as part of the British Empire (in which Gurkha troops were heavily involved, as both soldiers and military police). This medal was also one of the first which could be presented to followers accompanying British troops, as opposed to being restricted only to serving soldiers. In such cases the medals were cast of bronze rather than silver.