Commemorative British medal of the participant of the Crimean War

Silver, stamping. The circumference diameter is 36 mm. The width of the edge is 4 mm. On the obverse on the left side there is an inscription in Latin "VIXTORIA" (Victoria). On the right side there is also a Latin inscription «REGINA» (the queen). At the bottom in the center is the date 1854. In the center is a bust image of Queen Victoria in profile and with a tiara on her head (the portrait was created by the sculptor William Wyon in 1834). Under the bust (on the slope of the relief) poorly readable eight Latin letters. Reverse: the inscription on the left side «CRIMEA» (Crimea). In the center is a full-length figure of a Roman warrior with a sword sheathed and a shield depicting a British lion walking to the right. On the left is the ancient Roman goddess Victoria, holding the winner's laurel wreath over his head in her right hand, and a palm branch in her left (symbol of the triumphal meeting). The plot symbolizes the victory of British weapons on the Crimean Peninsula in 1854-1855 (war with Russia). On the right side at the bottom of the letter in small font is a lowercase inscription «B. WYON. SC", denoting the master medallist Benjamin Wyon (1802-1858). The fastening suspension is a three-part movable hinge for a quarter turn (except the bottom part). The upper element is intended for connection with the ribbon, the lower one for fastening with the medal itself, and the middle one is an intermediate fastening link between them. The safety is good.

The Crimean Medal (English: Crimea Medal) is a British medal for participation in combat operations (English: Campaign medal). The medal was established on December 15, 1854 to award servicemen of the British Army, Royal Navy and Marines for their participation in hostilities against Russia in the Crimea during the Eastern War. There are also known cases of awarding this medal to soldiers of the allied French army. The issue was made in English and French money at the Royal Mint in London from the beginning of 1855 (379,908 copies were made before 1860). Awards were made for servicemen of the British Army, the Naval Brigade and the Royal Marines for fighting against the Russian Empire in the Crimea and adjacent waters during the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Medals were also issued for the French (Napoleon III's decree of April 26, 1856 on awarding his troops with the British medal "Crimea"), Sardinian and Turkish allies. The total number of Allied medals was 235,000 copies, and they were almost identical to the awards for British servicemen, except for some details.

There are many versions of when and where the first Crimean medals were distributed to British servicemen. The official distribution of Crimean medals is considered to be the moment when Lieutenant Colonel Sir Thomas Troubridge, crippled in the Battle of Inkerman (lost his right arm and left leg), received the award from the hands of Queen Victoria. There are many drawings of that time about this ceremony, but they are all extremely contradictory in dates. Some researchers date them to May 18, 1856, and some even May 18, 1858 (that is, the first batch of awards was awarded at that time). However, if we take into account the fact that Troubridge (along with the award he received the rank of colonel and the post of personal aide-de-camp to the Queen) married Jane Louise Henry in November 1855, then in all drawings of a later time he should have been depicted together with his wife, absent from all drawings until 1856.

Based on this information, it can be concluded that the first awarding of Crimean medals took place on May 18, 1855 (May 18 in the UK is the official holiday of the Order of St. George established by George I on May 18, 1725). It can also be taken into account that a lot of time should not have passed between the graduation and the award. There are still some official documents that indicate that, perhaps, the first awarding of medals took place in the Crimea itself, but they are poorly confirmed by photographs of that time. Even if they were distributed, it happened later than in England, since there are none among the mass Crimean photographic material dating back to 1855 (there are no awards at all). The first photos with medals date back to 1856 and are visible on group and individual photographs of British servicemen, where they are already present on their uniforms (the presence of other awards is excluded, since they did not exist before and, in addition, beards and a mixture of uniforms indicates that these are combat veterans, and not fresh replenishment. This award belongs to British servicemen and belongs to the so-called unnamed type of medal due to the absence of a border inscription (there are similar Crimean medals, but with a border inscription, which indicates the name of the owner, as well as the number or name of the unit). All medals "Crimea" were issued as soon as possible and unnamed (due to the large number of awards, it was impossible to know the name of the owner and the number or name of the unit in advance), except for the case when the mint issued 8,500 medals indicating the unit (most were cavalry). After receiving the award, the owner could hand over the medal to the Royal Mint for applying his name and the number (name) of the unit on its edge, or order an engraved inscription from a private master. There are two possible reasons why this medal was not inscribed:

1) the awardee himself, for some reason, did not want to do it;

2) the medal was awarded posthumously.