Circular silver medal with scroll and laterally-pierced ball suspension; the face with the crowned head of King George VI facing left, circumscribed ‘GEORGIVS VI DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX FID: DEF; + ’ (George VI by the Grace of God King of Great Britain Defender of the Faith), signed ‘PM’; the reverse with a labourer resting from his toils, seated on a stone bench, the radiant sun rising over a landscape beyond, inscribed ‘FOR FAITHFUL SERVICE’ below; attributed on the edge to ‘ALFRED JOHNS’; a slight defect to the lower right edge of the reverse from the time of manufacture; on original ribbon mounted for wear. The medal was instituted in August 1902 to recognise long and meritorious service by administrative and clerical Civil Service staff throughout the Empire and was awarded to staff who had completed at least 25 years’ service on retirement. This good example dates from the period after the independence of India and before the death of King George VI; approximately sixteen thousand such medals were awarded in all.
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