The Medal for Meritorious Service was a medal awarded by the Republic of Rhodesia to civilians and military personnel.[1][2][4]
| Medal for Meritorious Service | |
|---|---|
| Type | Medal |
| Awarded for | resource[clarification needed] and devotion to duty or exemplary voluntary service to the community.[1][2][3] |
| Country |  Republic of Rhodesia (1970–79) Zimbabwe Rhodesia |
| Presented by | President of Rhodesia |
| Eligibility | Military and civilians |
| Post-nominals | MSM |
| Status | Discontinued in 1980[a] |
| Established | November 1970[3] |
| First awarded | 1970 |
| Total | 608[2] |
 Ribbon bar of the Civilian Division .svg){kind=small} Ribbon bar of the Military Division | |
| Order of Wear | |
| Next (higher) | Prison Medal for Gallantry[1] |
| Equivalent | Police Medal for Meritorious Service Defence Forces' Medal for Meritorious Service Prison Medal for Meritorious Service[1] |
| Next (lower) | President's Medal for Chiefs[1] |
History
editThe Medal for Meritorious Service was awarded to civilians (who were usually government workers such as INTAF[2][4]) for "resource and devotion to duty or exemplary voluntary service to the community.", and awarded to military members (used only for territorial, volunteer and reserve forces[4]) for "resource and devotion to duty."
Description
editThe medal was a silver circular medal that was 36mm around, with the obverse of the medal had the national coat of arms, and the reverse had the pick from the coat of arms in the centre encircled by the words "For Meritorious Service". The recipient's name would be etched on the rim, and a silver bar would be awarded for a subsequent award.[5] The medal also had two different divisions, a civilian division that would have just a plain orange ribbon 
, and a military division that would have multi-coloured stripes in the centre
.[6]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ All Rhodesian medals were officially discontinued with the change in government. Some were continued under different names.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Vollaire, John. "The History of Rhodesian Honours and Awards 1890-1980". The Rhodesian Forces Web Site. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d Hall, Dudley. "Medals and Decorations". Rhodesia's Intaf. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ a b Robertson, Megan. "Rhodesia: Medal for Meritorious Service". Medals.org. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ a b c "RHODESIAN AWARDS AND DECORATIONS DESCRIPTIONS". selousscouts.tripod.com. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ Tonder, Gerry. "Rhodesian Medals". The Rhodesian Soldier. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ Gaszewski, Lukasz. "Decorations and Medals of Rhodesia until 1980". Retrieved 12 June 2022.