1918-62 BRITISH GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL WW1 SOUTH PERSIA CAMPAIGN COKE’S RIFLES

Description

Offered is an original 1918-62 General Service Medal for the South Persia Campaign to a member of the Coke’s Rifles (Frontier Force).

36 mm wide circular cupro-nickel medal with ornate scrolled ribbon suspension bar with ‘S. PERSIA’ clasp; the face with the head of King George V facing left, circumscribed ‘GEORGIVS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND : IMP:’(George V King of Great Britain and Emperor of India), signed ‘BM’ (for Sir Bertram Mackennal, 1863-1931) on the base of the neck; the reverse with a standing winged Victory with Greek helmet, an upright trident in her left hand, a laurel wreath in her right hand crowning an upright winged sword. The medal is impressed named to: 2385 L. NAIK. AKBAR KHAN. 1-55 COKE’S. R.

The medal was originally instituted on 19 January 1923 to be awarded to Army and Air Force personnel involved in small conflicts outside Africa and India where a separate campaign medal was not issued. This clasp relates to the Cyprus Campaign, when in 1956 the Cypriot movement for union with Greece (called “Enosis”) started under the leadership of Archbishop Makarios and General George Grivas rose up against the Turkish population. The General led the guerrilla organisation EOKA against the British troops stationed on the island. The conflict was often a bloody affair, involving 40,000 British troops over 4 years.

The South Persia campaign bar was awarded for service at or near Bushire with Major-General J.A. Douglas and Brigadier-General A. M. S. Elsmie from 12 November 1918 – 22 June 1919. The bar also accounted for service at or near Bandar Abbas with Major-General Sir Percy Sykes or Lieutenant Colonel E.F. Orton from 12 November 1918 – 3 June 1919.