South Africa Medal
The first campaign medal granted for service in South Africa was the South Africa Medal 1835-53, which was authorised by the British government in 1854 and given to all regular troops – mainly British – who participated in the Frontier Wars of 1834-35, 1846-47 and 1850-53. This medal bears the diademed head of the young Queen Victoria, and on the reverse a lion crouching beside a protea bush, with the date 1853. The same medal, but with the date replaced by a Zulu shield and four crossed assagais, was given with various dated bars to British and Colonial troops – regular and volunteer – who participated in the Gaika-Galeka War of 1877-78, the Zulu War of 1879, and other local operations in South Africa in 1878 and 1879.