Special Constabulary Long Service Medal
Special Constabulary Long Service Medal | |
---|---|
![]() ![]() Obverse (George VI issue) and reverse | |
Type | Long service medal |
Awarded for | 9 years service |
Presented by | United Kingdom |
Eligibility | Members of the Special Constabulary |
Clasps | The Great War 1914 - 1918 Bar for 10 subsequent years of service (5 years after 11 March 2022) |
Established | 30 August 1919 |
![]() Clasp for Great War service ![]() Clasp for second award ![]() Ribbon bar | |
Order of Wear | |
Next (higher) | H.M. Coastguard Long Service and Good Conduct Medal[1] |
Next (lower) | Canadian Forces' Decoration[1] |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_George_V_obverse.jpg/120px-Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_George_V_obverse.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_second_George_V_obverse.jpg/118px-Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_second_George_V_obverse.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_George_VI_obverse.jpg/120px-Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_George_VI_obverse.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_Elizabeth_II_obverse.jpg/118px-Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_Elizabeth_II_obverse.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_Ulster_reverse.png/125px-Special_Constabulary_Long_Service_Medal%2C_Ulster_reverse.png)
The Special Constabulary Long Service Medal is a long service medal awarded in the United Kingdom to members of the Special Constabulary who have completed a specified period of service. Established in 1919 by King George V, the medal was initially created to reward members of the Special Constabulary for their service during World War I.
History
Established on 30 August 1919 by Royal Warrant, the medal was initially known as the Special Constabulary Medal. The intent of the original warrant was to recognise the service of the members of the Special Constabulary during World War I, with further regulations to recognise nine years of service as a member of the Special Constabulary.[2] A new Royal Warrant was promulgated in 1920 changing the name of the medal to the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal.[3] In 1929, subsequent awards could be recognised by a clasp inscribed Long Service.[4]
The Special Constabulary Long Service Medal was also awarded to members of the British South Africa Police Reserve for service in Southern Rhodesia after 1939, with recommendations made by the Governor of Southern Rhodesia to the Dominions Office in London. By 1965, when the last awards were made, a total of 559 medals, 71 first clasps and six second clasps had been received by members of the Reserve.[5]
Criteria
The Special Constabulary Long Service Medal may be awarded under one of four different sets of criteria:
Great War service
Special Constables who served during World War I from 1914 to 1918 for three years, and performed at least 150 police duties were eligible to be awarded the medal. Recipients who received the medal under these conditions were entitled to a clasp inscribed The Great War 1914 - 18 to denote their World War I service.[6]
Special Constabulary
The medal may be awarded to Special Constables who are recommended by the Chief Officer of Police of the department in which they serve so long as they have served for at least nine years, and willingly and competently discharged their duty as a Special Constable. Years of service during World War I from 1914 to 1918 and service during World War II from 3 September 1939 to 31 December 1945 are counted as triple.[6]
Bar Eligibility
Special Constables who completed an additional period of ten years service were eligible for a clasp to the medal, upon the recommendation of the Chief Officer of Police.[6]
On 11 March 2022, the Queen approved amendments to the medal's Royal Warrant reducing the service threshold for eligibility for the awarding of clasp from 10 years to 5 years additional period of service. [7]
Ulster Special Constabulary
Members of the Ulster Special Constabulary were eligible for award of the medal after fifteen years of service where they willingly and competently discharged their duty. Members who were serving their fifteenth year on 30 April 1970, the date the Ulster Special Constabulary was disbanded, were also eligible for award of the medal. Eligible individuals must have been recommended for award by the Chief Officer of Police, Royal Ulster Constabulary.[6]
Special Constables who completed an additional period of ten years service were eligible for a clasp to the medal, upon the recommendation of the Chief Officer of Police. Members of the Ulster Special Constabulary who were in at least the ninth year of a subsequent ten-year period of service on 30 April 1970 were eligible for award of a clasp.[6]
Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve
The medal was awarded to members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve upon the recommendation of the Chief Constable, Royal Ulster Constabulary, who served fifteen years and willingly and competently discharged their duty as a member of the RUC Reserve. Service in the Ulster Special Constabulary which was not counted for the award of the medal or bar, could be counted with service as a member of the RUC Reserve.[6]
Special Constables who completed an additional period of ten years service were eligible for a clasp to the medal, upon the recommendation of the Chief Officer of Police.[6]
Appearance
The Special Constabulary Long Service Medal is a circular bronze medal.[8]
The obverse bears the effigy of the reigning sovereign, surrounded by a suitable inscription.[6]
The reverse bears the inscription in six lines FOR / FAITHFUL / SERVICE / IN THE / SPECIAL / CONSTABULARY, with a wreath below and to the right of the inscription.[9]
In 1956, a separate reverse was created for the Ulster Special Constabulary. The only difference was in the inscription which read in seven lines: FOR / FAITHFUL / SERVICE / IN THE / ULSTER / SPECIAL / CONSTABULARY. In 1982, the reverse was modified again to recognise service in the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve.[9]
Each issued medal has the name of the recipient impressed on the rim.[6] Rank is shown for recipients above the rank of Constable.[10]
The medal hangs from a ribbon 1 3/8 inches wide with a red centre stripe, at the edges are a white stripes bisected by an equal black stripe.[11]
Clasps
The first clasp to the medal was created upon the establishment of the medal which denoted that the medal was awarded for service during World War I. This bronze clasp bears the inscription The Great War 1914 - 18.[2] For subsequent awards of the medal, recipients are entitled to wear a bronze clasp with the words Long Service followed by the year the clasp was awarded.[6] Since 1953, recipients entitled to a clasp to the medal for long service may wear a silver rosette on the service ribbon.[12]
References
- ^ a b "No. 56878". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 March 2003. p. 3353.
- ^ a b "No. 31539". The London Gazette. 5 September 1919. p. 11242.
- ^ "No. 31770". The London Gazette. 6 February 1920. p. 1557.
- ^ "No. 33527". The London Gazette. 20 August 1929. p. 5403.
- ^ Robert Brewster. The British South Africa Police long service awards, 1916-82. Orders & Medals Research Society Journal, December 2018, page 171.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "No. 49051". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 July 1982. p. 9255.
- ^ "Special Constabulary changes". Orders & Medals Research Society Journal. 61 (3): 195. September 2022. ISSN 1474-3353.
- ^ Originally to be silver, it was changed to bronze before production commenced. Long service awards to the Metropolitan Police Constabulary before August 1919, Mick Kippin. Orders & Medals Research Society Journal, June 2019, pp 132-133
- ^ a b John W. Mussell; Editorial Team of Medal News, eds. (2014). Medal Yearbook 2015. Devon, UK: Token Publishing Ltd. p. 256. ISBN 9781908828163.
- ^ D. W. Collett. Medal Year Book 1981. p. 198. Published Medal Year Book, Chingford, Essex. 1981. ISBN 0950694312.
- ^ "No. 38974". The London Gazette. 21 July 1950. p. 3749.
- ^ "No. 39754". The London Gazette. 16 January 1953. p. 357.
- v
- t
- e
meritorious
and long
service medals
Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal (Australia)
Meritorious Service Medal (Cape of Good Hope)
Meritorious Service Medal (Natal)
Meritorious Service Medal (New Zealand)
Meritorious Service Medal (South Africa)
Accumulated Campaign Service Medal
Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (Cape of Good Hope)
Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (Natal)
Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal
Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military)
Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (South Africa)
Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (1830)
Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (1848)
Indian Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (for Europeans of Indian Army)
Indian Meritorious Service Medal (for Europeans of Indian Army)
Royal Air Force Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Ulster Defence Regiment)
Indian Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (for Indian Army)
Royal West African Frontier Force Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
King's African Rifles Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Royal Sierra Leone Military Forces Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Trans-Jordan Frontier Force Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Indian Meritorious Service Medal (for Indian Army)
service medals
Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Fire and Rescue Service Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
African Police Medal for Meritorious Service
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Long Service Medal
Ceylon Police Long Service Medal
Ceylon Fire Services Long Service Medal
Sierra Leone Police Long Service Medal
Colonial Police Long Service Medal
Sierra Leone Fire Brigades Long Service Medal
Mauritius Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Mauritius Fire Services Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Mauritius Prisons Service Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Colonial Fire Brigades Long Service Medal
Colonial Prison Service Medal
Hong Kong Disciplined Services Medal
Ambulance Service (Emergency Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service Medal
Prison Services (Operational Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Royal Ulster Constabulary Service Medal
Northern Ireland Prison Service Medal
National Crime Agency Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Police Service of Northern Ireland Service Medal
Border Force and Immigration Enforcement Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
and part-time
long service
decorations
and medals
Emergency Reserve Decoration
Volunteer Officers' Decoration
Volunteer Long Service Medal
Volunteer Officers' Decoration for India and the Colonies
Volunteer Long Service Medal for India and the Colonies
Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration
Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal
Militia Long Service Medal
Imperial Yeomanry Long Service Medal
Special Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Territorial Decoration
Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal
Efficiency Decoration
Territorial Force Efficiency Medal
Territorial Efficiency Medal
Efficiency Medal
Army Emergency Reserve Efficiency Medal
Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve
Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Royal Naval Auxiliary Sick Berth Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Royal Fleet Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Royal Naval Wireless Auxiliary Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Long Service Medal
Air Efficiency Award
Volunteer Reserves Service Medal
Ulster Defence Regiment Medal
Northern Ireland Home Service Medal
Cadet Forces Medal
H.M. Coastguard Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Special Constabulary Long Service Medal
Royal Observer Corps Medal
Civil Defence Long Service Medal
Jersey Honorary Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Service Medal of the Order of St John
Voluntary Medical Service Medal
Women's Royal Voluntary Service Medal
South African Medal for War Services
Colonial Special Constabulary Medal