Bidspirit auction | A Natal Medal 1906, with

A Natal Medal 1906, with clasp ‘1906’, named to: Tpr C G Dick Natal Carbineers. This unusual medal was authorised in 1907 for issue by the Government of Natal to colonial military personnel who had taken part in the suppression of the Zulu rebellion of 1906. Some 10,000 medals were issued, of which 878 went to the Natal Carbineers. The clasp ‘1906’ was awarded for service of more than 50 days. No Imperial troops were involved in the campaign. The medal was designed and manufactured by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company (later Garrards) and bears a particularly striking design on the reverse. It was also the first British campaign medal to feature the monarch’s head facing right. The Natal Carbineers was raised on 15 January 1855 and, since its inception, has participated in every campaign in KwaZulu-Natal. Their baptism of fire came during the Langalibalele Rebellion in 1873 where they suffered their first casualties in action in the Drakensberg and, during the Anglo-Zulu War, the Carbineers suffered 23 killed at the infamous Battle of Isandhlwana on the 22nd January 1879. [1] The Carbineers saw extensive service in the Natal (or Bambatha) Uprising of 1906. From February to July 1906 the Regiment participated in the numerous sweeps and drives through the mountainous terrain of Zululand, as the Natal Colonial Forces sought to trap and destroy the elusive ‘rebel’ warriors. The Carbineers were present at the decisive battle at Mhome Gorge on 10 June, where the back of the uprising was broken. With original ‘corded’ ribbon; Extremely Fine (EF) condition.