The Police Coronation medal was struck in 1902 to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VII. This medal followed the precedent created by Queen Victoria in awarding medals to the police who were on duty during the Jubilee celebrations. It was therefore issued to all ranks of the Metropolitan and City of London Police, Fire and Ambulance Services and selected civilian staff in silver or bronze.

Description:

Materials: The majority of the British medals and clasps are made of solid silver, though some were issue in bronze versions, mainly to Indian non-combatants. The majority of the British campaign awards are circular, usually 36mm in diameter.

Ribbons: Medals are worn suspended from their own specific ribbons. These were first made of silk but cotton was increasingly used as the nineteenth century developed. Their own colours often have a symbolic significance: the equal stripes of the ‘1939 to 1945 Star,’ for example, are dark blue to represent the service of the Royal and Merchant Navies, red, to represent that of the Armies and light blue to represent that of Air Forces.

Ribbon width can vary slightly though it is generally 32mm wide.

Ribbon – Red with a narrow dark blue central stripe

Coronation (Police) Medal (1902) ribbon

Type – Jubilee Medal

Eligibility – Metropolitan and City of London Police and selected civilian staff

Awarded for – Participation in King Edward VII Coronation celebrations

Established – 1902

Designer – George William de Saulles

Description – Issued in silver or bronze and 36mm in diameter. The obverse shows the bust of King Edward VII facing to the left and the wording “EDWARDUS VII REX IMPERATOR’ (Edward VII King Emperor), signed ‘DES’ (for George William de Saulles, 1862-1903, Chief Engraver to the Royal Mint). The reverse of the medal shows a nosegay of heraldic flowers underneath a crown and the wording “CORONATION OF HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII” and dated “1902”

This guide will help you through all the parts and descriptions of military medals

Sources:

Major L L Gordon ‘British Battles and Medals’

Medal Year Book 2006

< gov.uk/medals-campaigns-descriptions-and-eligibility>

Some of the material on this page was also partially derived from

<en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Edward_VII_Coronation_Medal >

Which are released under the terms of

Creativecommons.org/licenses/by-s/3.0/.