| Meritorious Service Medal (South Africa) | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Military long and meritorious service medal |
| Awarded for | 21 years meritorious service |
| Country | &sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Red_Ensign_of_South_Africa_(1912%E2%80%931951).svg){kind=small} &sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Flag_of_South_Africa_(1928-1982).svg){kind=small} Union of South Africa |
| Presented by | the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India |
| Eligibility | Warrant officers and senior non-commissioned officers |
| Status | Discontinued in 1940 |
| Established | 1914 |
| Total | 46 |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Ribbon_-_Meritorious_Service_Medal_(Union).png){kind=small} Ribbon bar | |
| Order of wear | |
| Next (higher) | &sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg){kind=small} Queen Elizabeth II's Long and Faithful Service Medal |
| Equivalent | Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom)&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Flag_of_the_Cape_Colony_(1876%E2%80%931910).svg){kind=small} Meritorious Service Medal (Cape of Good Hope)&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Flag_of_the_Natal_Colony_(1875%E2%80%931910).svg){kind=small} Meritorious Service Medal (Natal)&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg){kind=small} Meritorious Service Medal (New Zealand) |
| Next (lower) | Accumulated Campaign Service Medal |
In May 1895, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various British military medals and to award them to their local permanent military forces. The Cape of Good Hope and Colony of Natal instituted their own territorial versions of the Meritorious Service Medal in terms of this authority. These two medals remained in use in the respective territories until after the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910.[1]
In 1914, the Meritorious Service Medal (South Africa) was instituted for the Union of South Africa, for award to selected senior non-commissioned officers of the Permanent Force of the newly established Union Defence Forces who had completed twenty-one years of meritorious service.[2]
- ^ South African Medal Website – Colonial Military Forces (Accessed 6 May 2015)
- ^ South African Medal Website – Union Defence Forces (1913–1939) (Accessed 9 May 2015)