This is rather an unusual medal, and I have had this scan on disc for some time, since we had the Mounties as our theme of the week - for this is the North West Canada Medal, issued by the British Government to the soldiers, volunteers, and members of that North West Mounted Police force, to mark their participation in the North West Rebellion of 1885.
However, at first, the North West Mounted Police were left off the roll, and it was not until December 1886, after much discussion, that their medals were awarded. This was some exercise, as almost a thousand extra medals had to be struck - perhaps the reason why they were not included in the first place, though the officials insisted they were not awarded because they were not British, and part of an organised, non-military force. Another sticking point was that the medal was not just a medal, it came with either a cash payment of eighty dollars, or three hundred and twenty acres of land. And, for whatever reason, this part of the settlement was never granted to the men of the North West Mounted Police.
The bar, "Saskatchewan" was an additional award, and only given to men who took part in either the battles of Batoche, Cut Knife, Fish Creek, and Frenchman`s Butte. There was also grumbling about this, as the men felt that a separate clasp ought to have been issued for each action, though, as was found in the Crimea, adding a bar for every action made the medal almost too heavy to wear.
The sad thing about this medal is that the same one was issued to all, and none of them were ever engraved officially around the rim. So unless they had them engraved off their own bat and out of their own purse, as the men passed on, and their families too, all we have is a medal, but no idea of the personal story behind it and no way to research it either.
There are several versions of this set, and to read about the others, nip along to our Card of the Day for the 23rd of October 2023.
Today we get to chat about the Wills version, which is first described in our original reference book RB.11, "The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Part I (revised) and Part II", edited by Edward Wharton-Tigar and published in 1948. That entry reads :
- 25. 50. MEDALS (untitled).
Fronts : Medals on coloured background, with pinkish border (considerable variation in shade). Details of medal at foot. Backs in blue, with texts.
Cards can be collected on two types of board (a) white, surfaced (b) grey-white, matt. Cards of type (a) are thicker than type (b).
Card No.50 depicts the South African War Medal 1901-2; the backs of the cards do not include the limited liability indication or I.T.C. Clause. The series thus presumably belongs to the transition period, 1902-3, and was intended for export brands Similar, but not identical series issued by Churchman, Imperial Tobacco Co., and Smith.
This is updated in RB.19, "The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Parts I to IV (revised) and Part V", which was published in 1951. That entry adds no knowledge about the printing or subjects, it simply reads :
- 25. MEDALS - see page 68.
This series was issued abroad in September 1905.
When the five Wills booklets were reprinted under one hard cover, a list of dates of issue was included, which was supplied to us by Messrs, W.D. & H.O. Wills and had been printed in their "Works Magazine". This reveals that this set was printed in Great Britain and shipped abroad for circulation, rather than being printed locally. However it is only the second set on that list, and the first is "Russo-Japanese Series", issued not too much earlier in June 1905. Then there is a gap of exactly a year before the printing of "Wild Animals of the World" with the two large leaves, three flowers, and Star and Circle back, in green, was issued, in India, in September 1906
By the time of our original World Tobacco Issues Index, the set is rather hidden under section 5 of the Wills issues, devoted to "Other Export Issues". The header for section A, which includes this set, tells us that the sets in that group were issued through B.A.T. , chiefly in the Channel Islands, Malta, India, and Malaya. The entry reads :
- MEDALS (A), Sm. Nd. (50). See W/25 and H.71. ... W62-419
This text remains the same in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, but there is a new card code, of W675-594
The reference to H.71 is our accompanying handbook, and most of it pertains to the Smith`s issues, but I have extracted the relevant facts about the Wills version for here, which are that "The Wills set was prepared for issue in India, and a number of the original subjects were replaced with medals of Indian interest. At the same time the Edward Transvaal Medal was moved to No.50."
It lists the set as :
- Wills - Series of 50. Numbered. Subjects as Churchman
A. White card
B. Toned card