IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 141334 accession number: CM.1240-2009 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 15 January 2024 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: The numerous campaigns of the forces of the British East India Company were not officially recognised with a medal until 1851, in the same move as that which created the Military and Naval General Service Medals for service in the contemporary French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The resulting Army of India medal covered battles from 1799 to 1826 in a theatre where many subsequent conflicts had arisen, so many of those involved were no longer living. Queen Victoria, by whose order the medal was issued and whose bust it therefore carried, was likewise not on the throne for the actions for which it was awarded. The bar for Ava relates to the same campaign for which the East India Company awarded its Burma War Medal to their Indian troops (some 25 years earlier!). In 1824 raiding by Burmese troops of King Bagyidaw of Ava, in modern-day Myanmar, into the border states of Sylhat and Cachar (now both in India) had caused their independent rulers to appeal for help from the British in India. This led to an orchestrated reprisal expedition whose aim was to take Rangoon. The campaign lasted through two years of extremely difficult fighting, but in 1826, with his forces driven from Assam, Rakhine and Manipur, King Bagyidaw agreed a treaty with the British. He was to abdicate in 1837. This medal was awarded to Lieutenant A. Harrison of the 38th 1st South Staffordshire Regiment. Lester Watson purchased it at some time before 1928. title: Army of India Medal NOTES ----- type: history note value: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt before 1928 LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Coins and Medals collection: Lester Watson Collection creditline: Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009 STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141334 TECHNIQUES ---------- struck CATEGORIES ------ category: medal DATING ------ creation date: 1851 - 1851 creation date earliest: 1851 creation date latest: 1851 CREATORS -------- maker: London maker: East India Company maker: Wyon, William maker: Victoria (1837-1901) maker: Victoria regina DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Diameter units: mm value: 35.9 dimension: Weight units: g value: 38.14 CITATIONS -------- British Battles and Medals 7th edn British and other Campaign and Gallantry Medals From the Collection of Lester Watson (d. 1959) --- IMAGES surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0123_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 117 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0123_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 117 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0123_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 117 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0123_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 117 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0123_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 111 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0123_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 111 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0123_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 111 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0123_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 111 pixels