Capture of Ceylon Medal
{{short description|East India Company medal for 1795 invasion of Ceylon}}
{{Infobox military award
| name = Capture of Ceylon Medal
| image = Capture of Ceylon Medal.png
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Obverse and reverse of a silver medal
| presenter = 28px East India Company
| country =
| type = Campaign medal
| eligibility = Members of the Bengal Artillery
| awarded_for =
| campaign = Invasion of Ceylon (1795)
| status =
| description = Circular medal, struck in gold and silver
| motto =
| clasps =
| post-nominals =
| established = 15 May 1807
| firstawarded =
| lastawarded =
| total_awarded = 123 (2 gold, 121 silver)
| total_awarded_posthumously =
| total_recipients =
| precedence_label =
| individual =
| higher =
| same =
| lower =
| related =
| image2 = x30px
| caption2 = Worn round the neck on a yellow cord
}}
__NOTOC__
{{main|Invasion of Ceylon (1795)}}
The Capture of Ceylon Medal is a campaign medal that was awarded by the Governor-General of India to soldiers in Bengal artillery units of the armies of the East India Company (EIC) who took part in the capture of Ceylon in 1795–96.
Criteria
The medal was instituted on 15 May 1807 by an Order in Council at Fort William, India. It was awarded to surviving members of the Bengal Army artillery who served under the command of the East India Company during the British invasion of Dutch Ceylon, over the period 21 July 1795 – 16 February 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars.{{cite book|last1=Steward|first1=William Augustus|title=War Medals and Their History|date=1915|publisher=Stanley Paul & Co.|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/warmedalstheirhi00stewrich/page/11 11]|url=https://archive.org/details/warmedalstheirhi00stewrich|accessdate=17 May 2019}} The medals were finally completed and distributed in 1811.{{cite book|last1=Mayo|first1=John Horsley|title= Medals and Decorations of the British Army and Navy, Volume 1|date=1897|publisher= A. Constable & Co|pages=[https://archive.org/details/medalsdecoration01mayouoft/page/121 121]-125|url=https://archive.org/details/medalsdecoration01mayouoft|accessdate=17 May 2019}}
Two medals were cast in gold for award to officers, probably Captains Barton and Clarke{{Cite book|author=John Mussell (ed).|title=Medal Yearbook 2015.|page=115. Token Publishing Ltd. Honiton, Devon}}{{ISBN|978-1-908-828-16-3}} but possibly to two native officers, with 121 being cast in silver for native Indian non-commissioned officers and men (known as Gun Lascars) of the Bengal Artillery.{{cite web|title=Lot 4: Capture of Ceylon 1796|url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21704/lot/4/|website=Bonhams|publisher=bonhams.com|accessdate=1 October 2017}}{{cite book|last1=Duckers|first1=Peter|title=British Military Medals: A Guide for the Collector and Family Historian|date=2013|publisher=Pen & Sword Books|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|isbn=978-1-47383-099-8|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTQRBQAAQBAJ&q=ceylon|accessdate=17 May 2019|chapter=2}}
Other participants of the invasion, including other East India Company troops and British Crown forces, did not receive a medal.
Description
The medal was struck at the Calcutta Mint in gold and in silver. Both types were {{convert|2|in|mm}} in diameter. They were of a plain design, with both sides of the medal having only an inscription:{{Cite book|author=Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin.|title=British Battles and Medals.|page=21. Published Spink, London. 1988}}{{ISBN|0907605257}}
The obverse has the English wording: For Services on the Island of Ceylon A.D. 1795/6.
The reverse has a Persian inscription that translates as: This medal was given by way of acknowledgment of services in Ceylon in the year of the Hijrah 1209-1210.
The medal was issued unnamed.
The original suspension was a flattened loop, riveted at the base, and was intended to be worn round the neck with a yellow cord;Collett, D.W, Medals Yearbook, (1981). Page 45. {{ISBN|0950694312}} the EIC would not award medals with ribbons proper until 1826 with the award of the Burma Medal.{{cite book|last1=Narbeth|first1=Colin|title=Collecting Military Medals: A Beginner's Guide|date=1971|publisher=The Lutterworth Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=0718890094|page=52|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6vlQEDyC9MC&q=GOVERNMENT+OF+CEYLON+WAR+MEDAL&pg=PA52|accessdate=30 April 2018}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.medals.org.uk/united-kingdom/united-kingdom234.htm British Army Medals: Capture of Ceylon Medal]
- [https://webapps.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explorer/index.php?qu=ceylon&oid=141258 Fitzwilliam Museum: Capture of Ceylon Medal]
{{Campaign medals of the Honourable East India Company}}
Category:Awards established in 1807
Category:British campaign medals
Category:Medals of the Honourable East India Company