South Africa Medal (1853)

The South Africa Medal, sometimes referred to as the Cape of Good Hope General Service Medal, was a British campaign medal awarded to officers and men of the British Army, Royal Navy, and locally raised forces who served in the Cape Colony (now part of South Africa) during various campaigns and conflicts between 1834 and 1853. It was retrospectively authorized in 1854 and issued to participants of several Kaffir Wars and other military actions within the region.

The medal was awarded without a clasp until 1880, when the surviving recipients were allowed to claim a clasp to denote the specific campaign in which they participated. Several clasps were authorized, including:

• Cape Frontier 1834-35: Awarded for service during the Sixth Frontier War.
• Cape Frontier 1846: Awarded for service during the War of the Axe (Seventh Frontier War).
• Cape Frontier 1847: Awarded for continued service after the War of the Axe.
• South Africa 1850-51: Awarded for service in the early stages of the Eighth Frontier War.
• South Africa 1851-52: Awarded for continued service during the Eighth Frontier War.
• South Africa 1852: Awarded for continued service during the Eighth Frontier War.
• South Africa 1853: Awarded for the final year of the Eighth Frontier War and mop-up operations.

The medal itself is silver and circular, with a swivel suspender. The obverse features a portrait of Queen Victoria and the inscription "VICTORIA REGINA". The reverse depicts a lion resting in a landscape. The ribbon is broad watered orange, with two broad dark blue stripes.

The South Africa Medal is a significant historical artifact, representing British military involvement in southern Africa during the 19th century and recognizing the service of those who participated in these campaigns.