IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 141386 accession number: CM.1292-2009 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 15 January 2024 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: The First Afghan War of 1839 had culminated in the British restoration of the Shah Shujah al-Mulk, a situation which caused his dissatisfied people to rise in revolt in 1841. The murder of the British envoy provoked an initial evacuation of the British garrison, most of which was massacred on its march back to India. The British forces in Afghanistan were for a short while confined to those at the fort of Khelat-i-Ghilzai and the garrison of Jalalabad. Khelat-i-Ghilzai withstood an even longer siege than Jalalabad, holding out for four months before its eventual relief in the campaign that restored British control in the area. For participation in the defence of the town the British East India Company issued this silver medal to all combatants. The particularly dogged defence by the Shah's own Afghan contingent in the town caused them to be enrolled in the British forces in Bengal thereafter as the Khelat-al-Gilzie Regiment, otherwise listed as the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Bombay Pioneers. One of these men was Havildar Maun Singh, and this is his medal. Lester Watson purchased it at some point before 1928. title: Defence of Khelat-i-Gilzie 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/141386 TECHNIQUES ---------- struck CATEGORIES ------ category: medal DATING ------ creation date: 1842 - 1842 creation date earliest: 1842 creation date latest: 1842 CREATORS -------- maker: London maker: East India Company maker: Wyon, William maker: Victoria (1837-1901) DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Diameter units: mm value: 36.2 dimension: Weight units: g value: 34.95 EXHIBITIONS HISTORY ------------------- title: Imagery of War 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_0175_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 155 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0175_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 155 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0175_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 155 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0175_281_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 155 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0175_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 154 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0175_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 154 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0175_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 154 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0175_282_29.jpg height: 365 pixels width: 154 pixels