Historical information

The British Army Long Service and Good Conduct medal was instituted in 1830. The medal is made from silver and is 36 millimetres in diameter. Until 1901 the medal's obverse contained an image of a trophy of arms with the Royal Arms in an oval shield in the centre while the reverse side contained the inscription "For Long Service and Good Conduct". The King William IV issue had the Royal Coat of Arms with the badge of Hanover on the obverse and a small suspension ring with a plain crimson ribbon. The small ring was replaced by a larger version in 1831. When Queen Victoria succeeded to the throne in 1837 the Hanover emblem was removed from the medal's obverse. In 1855, during the Crimean War, a swivelling scroll suspension was introduced similar to that on the Crimea Medal, followed in 1874 by small lettering replacing the original large lettering on the reverse side.
On the succession of King Edward VII to the throne in 1901, the effigy of the reigning sovereign was placed on the medal's obverse. The reverse side remained unchanged, while in 1920 the swivelling scroll suspension was replaced by a fixed suspender.
In 1930 the title of the medal was changed to the Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) Medal. It was also decided to add a fixed suspension bar bearing the text "Regular Army" or the name of a dominion country: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India or South Africa.
The medal was originally awarded to soldiers of good conduct who had completed 21 years service in the infantry or 24 years in the cavalry. In 1870, this qualifying period was reduced to 18 years for both the infantry and cavalry. During World War II officers could also be awarded this medal if they had completed at least 12 of their 18 years service in the ranks.
Today, the Long Service & Good Conduct Medal (Army) is awarded to members of the British Army who have completed 15 years of reckonable service. A soldier who completes 15 years of reckonable service from the date of attestation or age 17½, whichever is later, shall be eligible to receive the medal. However, there are a number of offences which would normally preclude award of the LS&GCM. Awards are only made after a thorough check of a soldier's record of service.
A Clasp to the medal was introduced in 1940. This can be awarded for an additional fifteen years' service. The Clasp bears an image of the Army Crest. When the ribbon alone is worn on a uniform a silver rosette denotes the award of the Clasp. The medal's ribbon was plain crimson from 1830 until 1917 when white stripes were added to both edges.
An officer can be considered eligible for the award of the LS&GCM if 12 or more of the 15 years of his or her service have been in the ranks and provided that the other requirements for the award of the medal have been met. An Officer shall be eligible for the award of the Clasp if 22 or more of the 30 years of his or her service has been in the ranks and provided that the other requirements have again been met.
Before 1 December 1977 18 years of service was required for consideration for the LS&GCM (Army). The vast majority of LS&GC medals are issued named to the recipient, with the name on the rim around the medal.

Physical description

Full size medal with ribbon

Inscriptions & markings

REGULAR ARMY

Recipient details on rim - not decipherable