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Illustrated Identification Guide to Crimean War Medals	Paymaster, Secretary & Naval Accountant George William Muir RN wearing his Crimea medals - and what remains of them today. GWM photographed in Yokohama, 1881. (T. Muir collection)
This is a simple guide to most of the medals that a British soldier or sailor (officers and ORs) might have been awarded for his service during the war against Russia. Please refer to the FAQ and Overview pages for more details, and where to find the rolls. The images of the medals are not to scale. More medals will be added in due course.
◄ Crimea Medal   This image is a composition made from several original images to show all the five clasps that were issued. The Royal Collection at Windsor has a specimen of this medal with all five clasps.     Baltic Medal ►   The Baltic Medal was awarded to those who took part in the two naval campaigns of the summers of 1854 and 1855. ◄ Turkish Crimean Medal   Issued to allied military personnel, in British, French and Sardinian issues. The obverse shows the Ottoman Sultan's tughra with the Muslim calendar year of 1271. The reverse, a cannon and four flags. The flag to the fore, second from the left, depicts the country to which the medal was intended. The inscription reads 'La Crimee 1855' for French, 'La Crimea 1855' for Sardinian and 'Crimea 1855' for British. Due to loss by shipwreck of many medals intended for the British, awards were made with whatever issue came to hand, the most common being Sardinian.     Turkish Order of Medjidie ►   Turkish Order of Medjidie. This was awarded in five classes. The 5th Class is by far the most common. See CWRS Special Publication SP12 for a list of British Army officers who received this decoration. (Link goes straight to SP12 in our Lulu.com online shop.) ◄ French Médaille Militaire   French Médaille Militaire from the Crimean War period.     French Légion d'honneur ►   Second Empire Légion d'honneur. Like the Medjidie, this was awarded in five different classes: which you got depended very much on your rank. Thus, the 5th Class - Chevalier - is by far the most common. See CWRS Special Publication SP12 for a list of British Army officers who received this decoration. (Link goes straight to SP12 in our Lulu.com online shop.) ◄ Sardinian Al Valore Militare   See CWRS Special Publication SP12 for a list of British Army officers who received this decoration. (Link goes straight to SP12 in our Lulu.com online shop.)     British Distinguished Conduct Medal ►   The medal was instituted in 1854 to recognise gallantry within the 'other ranks'. The obverse read “FOR DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT IN THE FIELD”. See Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, 1855-1909, by Peter E. Abbott ISBN (0903754096).