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{{infobox military award
| name = Medal for the Defence of Kelat-I-Ghilzie
| image = Kelat-I-Ghilzie Medal.png
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Obverse and reverse of the medal
| presenter = [[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg|35px]] [[East India Company|British East India Company]]
| country = {{UK}}
| type = Campaign Medal
| eligibility =
| awarded_for =
| campaign = [[First Anglo-Afghan War]]
| status =
| description =
| motto =
| clasps = None
| post-nominals =
| established = 4 October 1842
| firstawarded =
| lastawarded =
| total_awarded =
| total_awarded_posthumously =
| total_recipients = 932
| precedence_label =
| individual =
| higher =
| same =
| lower =
| related =
| image2 =[[File: Kabul to Kandahar Star ribbon.png|100px]]
| caption2 = Ribbon bar.
}}

The '''Kelat-I-Ghilzie Medal''' is a campaign medal issued by the [[East India Company|British East India Company]], to the defenders of the fort at Kelat-I-Ghilzie during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]].

==History==
After the massacre of [[William George Keith Elphinstone|General Elphinstone's]] Army during the [[1842 retreat from Kabul]], the only forces left in Afghanistan were at [[Jalalabad]] and Kelat-I-Ghilzie,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webapps.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explorer/index.php?qu=Defence%20of%20Kelat-I-Ghilzie&oid=141386 |title=Defence of Khelat-i-Gilzie Medal, awarded to Havildar Maun Singh 1842 |work=Watson Medals Catalogue |publisher=The Fitzwilliam Museum |access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref> a fort between [[Kabul]] and [[Kandahar]]. The garrison numbering 932, (55 Europeans and 877 Natives),<ref name=Joslin/> consisted of [[Shah Shoja|Shah Shoja's]] 3rd Infantry Battalion, three companies of the [[43rd Bengal Native Infantry]], forty European gunners, sixty [[Bombay Sappers and Miners]], and eight British officers, all under the command of Captain John Halket Craigie. All were members of the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]], with no [[British Army]] units present. For most of the winter, the garrison was besieged under very difficult circumstances. Finally, on 19 May 1842, a force was sent to draw off the garrison and relieve them from their post.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QYLAAAAYAAJ&q=Kelat-I-Ghilzie&pg=PA254 |title=War medals of the British army, and how they were won |author=Thomas Carter |author-link=Thomas Carter (writer) |year=1893 |publisher=Norie and Wilson |pages=254–255|access-date=18 March 2011}}</ref> Before the relief force arrived, the garrison repulsed one final major attack by some six thousand Afghans on 21 May 1842.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctionarchive/viewspecialcollections/itemdetail.lasso?itemid=47780 |title=Lot 33, 23 Sep 05 |date=23 September 2005 |work=H.E.I.C. AND BRITISH INDIA MEDALS (Brian Ritchie Collection) |access-date=18 March 2011}}</ref> A few days after this attack the garrison was finally relieved by the forces under [[William Nott (British general)|Sir William Nott]], on 26 May 1842. For the courage displayed by the garrison at Kelat-i-Ghilzie, the East India Company, on 4 October 1842, authorised the medal to be awarded to all troops who participated in the protracted siege.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eAILAAAAYAAJ&q=Kelat-I-Ghilzie&pg=PA265 |title=Historical Record of Medals and Honorary Distinctions Conferred on the British Navy, Army & Auxiliary Forces, From the Earliest Period |author=George Tancred |year=1891 |publisher=Spink & Son|page=265 |access-date=18 March 2011}}</ref> A testament to the distinguished service of the native troops is evident in the fact that the troops of Shah Shoja's 3rd Infantry Battalion were taken into the [[Bengal Army]] as the [[12th Pioneers (The Kelat-i-Ghilzie Regiment)|Kelat-i-Ghilzie Regiment]].<ref name=Joslin/>

==Description==
The medal, designed by [[William Wyon]], was silver and {{convert|36|mm|in}} in diameter, with the following design:<ref name=Joslin>{{Cite book|author=Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin.|title=British Battles and Medals.|page=109. Published Spink, London. 1988}}</ref> The obverse contains a laurel wreath with [[mural crown]] at the top of a shield with the inscription KELAT-I-GHILZIE. The reverse has a [[trophy of arms]] on top of a plaque bearing the inscription 'INVICTA MDCCCXLII'. The suspension consists of a straight steel suspender, attached to the medal by way of a steel clip and pin. The ribbon is the watered rainbow coloured ribbon common to most East India Company medals. It is red on the left edge fading into white, which changed to yellow in the centre, fading back to white, until finally changing to blue at the right edge.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin.|title=British Battles and Medals.| page=272 ribbon chart. Published Spink, London. 1988}}</ref> The name of the recipient was engraved in script on the edge of the medals issued to British personnel. Medals issued to indigenous troops were often not named.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://acepilots.com/medals/brit-victorian1.html |title=British Victorian Campaign Medals, 1839 to 1880 |publisher=Acepilots.com |access-date=18 March 2011}}</ref>

==Medals of the Anglo-Afghan War==
Four separate campaign medals were awarded to British led forces who served in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War|Afghan War]] of 1839 to 1842:<ref>{{Cite book|author=Edward C. Joslin.|title=Observer's Book of British Awards and Medals.|page=90. Published Frederick Warne & Co, London. 1974}}</ref>
*[[Ghuznee Medal]]. [[Battle of Ghazni|Storming of Ghuznee fortress]], 21–23 July 1839.
*[[Jellalabad Medals|Jellalabad Medal]]. [[Battle of Jellalabad|Defence of Jalalabad]], 12 November 1841 – 7 April 1842.
*Medal for the Defence of Kelat-I-Ghilzie. Defence of Kelat-I-Ghilzie, February–26 May 1842.
*[[Candahar, Ghuznee, Cabul Medal]]. Major operations of 1842, the final year of the war.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{British campaign medals}}
{{Campaign medals of the Honourable East India Company}}

[[Category:British campaign medals]]
[[Category:Medals of the Honourable East India Company]]

Medal for the Defence of Kelat-I-Ghilzie - Revision history

Bot at 14:10, 17 December 2020