Territorial Force War Medal in bronze, produced as a replacement example of the medal instituted on 26 April 1920 and awarded to members of the British Territorial Force and Territorial Force Nursing Service who volunteered for overseas service before the outbreak of the First World War. This First World War campaign medal displays the recognised design in relief, the obverse bearing King George V’s bareheaded effigy facing left, surrounded by the legend “GEORGIVS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:”. The reverse design is a wreath formed from two sprigs of laurel tied together at the base by a ribbon, surrounding the centrally placed text “TERRITORIAL WAR MEDAL” and “FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE OVERSEAS 1914-19”. The medal is circular, struck in bronze, and measures 36mm in diameter. The ribbon suspender is a straight economy non-swivelling type, riveted to the medal, the ribbon itself being yellow with two narrow green stripes, measuring 32mm in width. This replacement example is produced to the original pattern specification, unnamed, in keeping with the convention for replacement issues of this medal.
The Territorial Force War Medal was authorised by Army Order 143 of April 1920, awarded to all members of the Territorial Force, including Nursing Sisters, who were members of the service on 4 August 1914, or who had completed four years’ service before that date and rejoined on or prior to 30 September 1914. To qualify, members additionally had to have undertaken on or before 30 September 1914 to serve outside the United Kingdom, to have actually served outside the United Kingdom between 4 August 1914 and the Armistice on 11 November 1918, and to have been ineligible for either the 1914 Star or the 1914-15 Star. This last condition is the defining characteristic of the medal: it was designed specifically to recognise Territorial Force volunteers whose overseas service, while genuine and often prolonged, did not fall within the narrow qualifying windows for the two Star medals — for example the East Surrey Regiment, whose Territorial battalions undertook garrison duty in India until 1917 and consequently did not qualify for either Star despite years of overseas service, received 824 awards of this medal, compared with only 63 awarded to the Seaforth Highlanders, whose three Territorial battalions had already reached France by 1915 and so generally qualified for a Star instead. A total of only 33,944 Territorial Force War Medals were awarded in all, including 227 to nurses of the Territorial Force Nursing Service — the only women to receive the medal — making it the rarest of the five British Great War campaign medals, considerably scarcer than the 1914 Star, the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal, or the Victory Medal. The Territorial Force itself had been formed on 1 April 1908 under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, combining the old Volunteer Army with the Yeomanry as the United Kingdom’s home defence reserve, with units liable for service anywhere in the United Kingdom but unable to be compelled to serve overseas unless they individually volunteered for Imperial Service. The comparatively low overall take-up of the overseas service obligation before the war makes the medal a recognised marker of early and committed volunteering.
This replacement medal is produced in bronze to the correct pattern specification, with the correct yellow and green ribbon, suitable for display or commemorative purposes by a veteran’s family seeking to represent a qualifying ancestor’s service. Territorial Force War Medals are collected as examples of the rarest British Great War campaign medal, decorations associated with the pre-war volunteer tradition of the Territorial Force, and medals recognising overseas garrison and active service that fell outside the qualifying criteria of the more commonly encountered Star medals.
Condition Excellent
