Baltic Medal

The Baltic Medal was a campaign medal approved on 6 June 1856, for issue to officers and men of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Sappers and Miners who served between March 1854 and August 1855 in the Baltic Sea operations against Russia in the Baltic theatre of the Crimean War. The medal primarily covered naval actions but was also awarded to 106 men of the Royal Sappers and Miners who were landed to place demolition charges against Russian fortifications at Bomarsund and Sveaborg.[2]

Baltic Medal
Obverse and reverse of the medal.
Awarded by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
TypeCampaign medal
EligibilityRoyal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Sappers and Miners.
Awarded forCampaign service.
Campaign(s)Baltic Sea 1854-55.
DescriptionSilver disk, 36mm diameter.
ClaspsNone authorised.
Statistics
Established6 June 1856 [1]

Ribbon bar.
HMS Bulldog bombarding Bomarsund fortress,15 August 1854

Description
  • A circular silver medal, 36 millimetres (1.4 in) in diameter.[3]
  • Obverse: The diademed head of Queen Victoria with the legend VICTORIA REGINA, designed by William Wyon.[4]
  • Reverse: A seated figure of Britannia holding a trident with the fortresses at Bomarsund and Sveaborg behind. Above is the word BALTIC and below the dates 1854-1855. Designed by Leonard Charles Wyon.[3]
  • Clasps: None were authorised.[5]
  • Ribbon: The 31.7 millimetres (1.25 in) wide ribbon is yellow with light blue edges,[2] reversing the colours of the Crimea Medal ribbon.
  • Naming: Issued unnamed, except for the 106 medals awarded to Royal Sappers and Miners, which had the recipient's name and unit impressed on the rim of the medal in block Roman capitals. Some naval recipients had their medals privately engraved.[2]

References
  1. https://archive.org/stream/medalsdecoration02mayouoft/medalsdecoration02mayouoft_djvu.txt
  2. British Battles and Medals, pp126-127
  3. Medal Year Book, p.144
  4. Larimore, Fred "The Baltic Medal 1854-1855" (2003)
  5. Christodoulou, Glenn, Medals of the Crimean War - Crimean War Research Society (1985)

Bibliography
  • Mussel, J (ed) - Medal Yearbook - 2015, (2014), Token Publishing.
  • Joslin, Litherland, and Simpkin (eds), British Battles and Medals, (1988), Spink
  • Fred Larimore (2003). "The Baltic Medal 1854-1855". Archived from the original on 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2009-05-16.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
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