hong kong plague

[jagdtiger]

i was doing some reading on the ColthurstVesey family, who lived in the local

manor house. and discovered that the the eldest son; Capt George Colthurst

Vesey (also related to patrick sarsfield who once owned the same estate) of

the Shropshire Light infantry, was posthumously awarded a hong kong plague

medal in gold in june 1894 having died in an outbreak of bubonic plague.

it states that the award was for "exceptional service rendered in stamping out

the recent terrible plague there, whereby the regiment lost one officer and six

men..." (him being the one officer).

i was wondering if anyone could tell me more about this medal and on its

rarity... how many were awarded?

best regards

jonathan

[Gary Cain]

Hi Johnny,

The medal was awarded by the city of Hong Kong and came in two grades, There were 150 struck for the officers and high ranking civilians in Gold and those medals have no ribbon. 381 were struck in Silver for the enlisted and lower ranking civilians. The Silver medal was suspended from a ribbon colored orange and red with a ring. The medals were not allowed to be worn on the uniform.


Cheers
Gary

[Dave Alexander]

Vesey was the only officer who died and the medal, a non-military award paid for by the civilian government, was sent home to his mother.

[jagdtiger]

thank you for the information.

does anyone out there have one in their collection?

best regards

jon