Description
Royal Niger Company Medal, bar Nigeria, officially numbered “2049”, a very rare medal to locally recruited forces serving under the Royal Niger Company.
Produced and named by Spink Son circa 1899 on behalf of the Royal Niger Company.
Rim officially impressed with the number “2049”.
A rare surviving medal in good condition for age, most extant examples have seen a lot of service wear.
Only about 1,000 of these medals were issued numbered in Bronze at the time to the locally employed Soldiers and Police in the region.
The 1000 medals were numbered between the ranges of 1 and 2342, however it would only be issued to such a small number of recipients as they had to be still in the employment of the Royal Niger Company at the time of the medals issue to be given the medal.
Right as the medal was being issued, during 1899, the Royal Charter for the Royal Niger Company was revoked, the British Government purchasing all their territories owned by the company, forming the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria.
The medal it self was earned for service in a number of small punitive expeditions launched in the company’s territory between the years of 1886 and 1897, the criteria being that casualties must have occurred to qualify.
The men were locally recruited soldiers and those from the Royal Niger Constabulary, however no British Army Units took part in these campaigns, only a small number of Army Officers and experienced NCO’s being attached.
By the time of issue most men from the earlier expeditions would be either dead or discharged, around the time of issue of the medal those still ready for service would be absorbed into the newly formed WAFF.
Many of the awards were earned for the more recent Niger Sudan Campaign of 1897, which was fought by the Royal Niger Constabulary, reinforced by British Regimental Officers against the Fulani Emirates of Bida and Ilorin in what is now modern day Nigeria.
The successful campaign was very well received back home in England, the “Hausa” people of Niger who fought to earn this medal gained much praise and this led to the formation of the West African Frontier Force (WAFF) the next year in 1898, a detachment of the Royal Niger Constabulary was even invited afterwards to take part in the Diamond Jubilee march past in London as well as the Aldershot Review.
The campaign would also be the very first in West Africa undertaken without any White Troops present, it was typical until that point that a British Regiment would be present on overseas campaigns, assisted by various Indian Army units in mixed brigades.
