A MEDAL dating back more than a century is being sold by a Lichfield auctioneer.
The King Edward VII Imperial Yeomanry Long Service Medal was only issued for four years during the early 1900s to soldiers in voluntary cavalry units for long service and good conduct.
The example coming to auction in a Richard Winterton Auctioneers military sale on 21st May is dedicated to Staff Sergeant Major F Cramp of Prince Albert’s Own Leicestershire Yeomanry.
Struck in silver with its original light-yellow ribbon, the medal is estimated to fetch between £300 and £400.
The decoration became obsolete in 1908, by which time some 1,674 medals had been granted to soldiers in more than 50 different Yeomanry regiments.
Militaria specialist Jeff Clark said:
“Relatively few of these medals were awarded and they rarely come on the market.
“It was a somewhat short-lived award – in 1908, the medal was superseded by the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal when the Imperial Yeomanry and Volunteer Force were transferred to the newly created Territorial Force.
“This is a good example of a scarce medal from the reign of King Edward VII and will doubtless be of great interest to collectors.”
Other items in the sale include the archive of a soldier who served during the First Boer War and World War One, plus militaria such as uniforms, hats and swords.
The catalogue goes live online a week before the sale date at www.richardwinterton.co.uk/auctions/auction-calendar.
