Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal
The Army Long Service & Good Conduct medal was instituted in 1830. The medal is made from silver and is 36 millimetres in diameter. The medal's ribbon was plain crimson until 1917 when white stripes were added to both edges. As can be imaged, a medal introduced in 1830 has undergone a number of changes. Until 1901 the medal's obverse contained an image of a trophy of arms with the royal arms in an oval shield in the centre while the reverse side contained the inscription "For Long Service and Good Conduct".
The King William IV issue had the royal coat of arms with the badge of Hanover on the obverse and a small suspension ring with a plain crimson ribbon. The small ring was replaced by a larger version in 1831.
When Queen Victoria succeeded to the throne in 1837, the Hanover emblem was dropped from the medal's obverse. In 1855 a swivelling scroll suspension was introduced, followed in 1874 by small lettering replacing the original large lettering on the reverse side.
In 1901, with the succession of King Edward VI to the throne, the effigy of the reigning sovereign was placed on the medal's obverse. The reverse side remained unchanged.
In 1920 the swivelling scroll suspension was replaced by a fixed suspender.
In 1930 the title of the medals was changed to the Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) Medal. It was also decided to add a fixed suspension bar bearing the text "Regular Army" or the name of a dominion country: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India or South Africa.
The medal was originally awarded to soldiers of good conduct who had completed 21 years service in the infantry or 24 years in the cavalry. In 1870, this qualifying period was reduced to 18 years for both the infantry and cavalry. During the Second World War, officers could also be awarded this medal if they had completed at least 12 of the 18 years in the ranks. In 1940 clasps for further periods of service were introduced.
The vast majority of LS&GC medals are issued named to the recipient, with the name on the rim around the medal