Bot at 14:42, 18 June 2022

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{{short description|East India Company medal for 1795 invasion of Ceylon}}
{{Infobox military award
| name = Capture of Ceylon Medal
| image = Capture of Ceylon Medal.png
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Obverse and reverse of a silver medal
| presenter = [[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg|28px]] [[East India Company]]
| country =
| type = [[Campaign medal]]
| eligibility = Members of the [[Bengal_Army|Bengal Artillery]]
| awarded_for =
| campaign = [[Invasion of Ceylon (1795)]]
| status =
| description = Circular medal, struck in gold and silver
| motto =
| clasps =
| post-nominals =
| established = 15 May 1807
| firstawarded =
| lastawarded =
| total_awarded = 123 (2 gold, 121 silver)<ref name=Mayo/>
| total_awarded_posthumously =
| total_recipients =
| precedence_label =
| individual =
| higher =
| same =
| lower =
| related =
| image2 = [[File:Yellow cord suspension for early medals of the HEIC.png|x30px]]
| caption2 = Worn round the neck on a yellow cord
}}
__NOTOC__
{{main|Invasion of Ceylon (1795)}}

The '''Capture of Ceylon Medal''' is a campaign medal that was awarded by the [[Governor-General of India]] to soldiers in Bengal artillery units of the armies of the [[East India Company]] (EIC) who took part in the [[Invasion of Ceylon (1795)|capture of Ceylon]] in 1795–96.

==Criteria==
The medal was instituted on 15 May 1807 by an [[Order in Council]] at [[Fort William, India]]. It was awarded to surviving members of the [[Bengal_Army#Artillery|Bengal Army]] artillery who served under the command of the [[East India Company]] during the [[Invasion of Ceylon (1795)|British invasion]] of [[Dutch Ceylon]], over the period 21 July 1795 – 16 February 1796, during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]].<ref name="Steward">{{cite book|last1=Steward|first1=William Augustus|title=War Medals and Their History|date=1915|publisher=Stanley Paul & Co.|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/warmedalstheirhi00stewrich/page/11 11]|url=https://archive.org/details/warmedalstheirhi00stewrich|accessdate=17 May 2019}}</ref> The medals were finally completed and distributed in 1811.<ref name=Mayo>{{cite book|last1=Mayo|first1=John Horsley|title= Medals and Decorations of the British Army and Navy, Volume 1|date=1897|publisher= A. Constable & Co|pages=[https://archive.org/details/medalsdecoration01mayouoft/page/121 121]-125|url=https://archive.org/details/medalsdecoration01mayouoft|accessdate=17 May 2019}}</ref>

Two medals were cast in gold for award to officers, probably [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captains]] Barton and Clarke<ref>{{Cite book|author=John Mussell (ed).|title=Medal Yearbook 2015.|page=115. Token Publishing Ltd. Honiton, Devon}}{{ISBN|978-1-908-828-16-3}}</ref> but possibly to two native officers,<ref name="Steward"/> with 121 being cast in silver for native Indian non-commissioned officers and men (known as ''Gun Lascars'') of the [[Bengal Army|Bengal Artillery]].<ref name="bonhams">{{cite web|title=Lot 4: Capture of Ceylon 1796|url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21704/lot/4/|website=Bonhams|publisher=bonhams.com|accessdate=1 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="Steward"/><ref name=Duckers>{{cite book|last1=Duckers|first1=Peter|title=British Military Medals: A Guide for the Collector and Family Historian|date=2013|publisher=Pen & Sword Books|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|isbn=978-1-47383-099-8|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTQRBQAAQBAJ&q=ceylon|accessdate=17 May 2019|chapter=2}}</ref>

Other participants of the invasion, including other [[Presidency armies|East India Company]] troops and British Crown forces, did not receive a medal.<ref name=Duckers/>

==Description==
The medal was struck at the [[India Government Mint, Kolkata|Calcutta Mint]] in gold and in silver. Both types were {{convert|2|in|mm}} in diameter. They were of a plain design, with both sides of the medal having only an inscription:<ref name=Joslin>{{Cite book|author=Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin.|title=British Battles and Medals.|page=21. Published Spink, London. 1988}}{{ISBN|0907605257}}</ref> <br>
The obverse has the English wording: ''For Services on the Island of Ceylon A.D. 1795/6.''<br>The reverse has a [[Persian language|Persian]] inscription that translates as: ''This medal was given by way of acknowledgment of services in Ceylon in the [[Hijri year|year of the Hijrah]] 1209-1210''.<br>The medal was issued unnamed.<ref name=Collett/><br>The original suspension was a flattened loop, riveted at the base, and was intended to be worn round the neck with a yellow cord;<ref name=Collett>Collett, D.W, ''Medals Yearbook'', (1981). Page 45. {{ISBN|0950694312}}</ref> the EIC would not award medals with ribbons proper until 1826 with the award of the [[Burma Medal]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Narbeth|first1=Colin|title=Collecting Military Medals: A Beginner's Guide|date=1971|publisher=The Lutterworth Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=0718890094|page=52|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6vlQEDyC9MC&q=GOVERNMENT+OF+CEYLON+WAR+MEDAL&pg=PA52|accessdate=30 April 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Invasion of Ceylon (1795)]]
*[[Ceylon Medal]]
*[[Military awards and decorations of Sri Lanka]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.medals.org.uk/united-kingdom/united-kingdom234.htm British Army Medals: Capture of Ceylon Medal]
*[https://webapps.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explorer/index.php?qu=ceylon&oid=141258 Fitzwilliam Museum: Capture of Ceylon Medal]
{{Campaign medals of the Honourable East India Company}}
[[Category:Awards established in 1807]]
[[Category:Military awards and decorations of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British campaign medals]]
[[Category:Medals of the Honourable East India Company]]
[[Category:British military medals of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:Dutch Ceylon]]

Capture of Ceylon Medal - Revision history

Bot at 14:42, 18 June 2022