MEDAL INFORMATION
Territorial Efficiency Medal 1922 to
1930
Face
The uniformed bust of George V partly surrounded
by the legend: “GEORGIVS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:”
Reverse
Plain, except for the inscription “TERRITORIAL
EFFICIENCY MEDAL” with a small embellishment beneath.
Size
The medal is oval in shape, approximately 32mm
wide and 38 mm long, excluding the suspender. The medal and bar
are of silver.
Ribbon
Approximately 32mm wide. Dark green with yellow
edges, each approximately 4mm wide. Those awarded the medal in the
Honourable Artillery Company wore it suspended by a ribbon half dark blue
and half cerise with yellow edges - the cerise being worn nearest to the
left shoulder.
Suspension
A fixed ring suspender approximately 15 mm in
diameter is attached to the medal disc by a riveted claw fitting
Naming
Impressed on the edge with the recipients
number, rank, initials, surname and unit in block capitals.
Bar
A fairly plain bar with a crown in the centre.
Men already in possession of a Territorial Efficiency Medal were awarded a
bar to their medal on completion of each further period of service for
which they would normally have qualified for the award of the T E M . The
bar has four holes near the corners to enable it to be sewn on to the
ribbon of the medal.
Awarded
This medal, instituted in 1922, superseded the
Territorial Force Efficiency Medal after the formation of the Territorial
Army on 1st October 1921. It was awarded to Warrant Officers,
Non-Commissioned Officers and men of the Territorial Army who completed
twelve years continuous service in the ranks with at least twelve
trainings, and recommendation from their Commanding Officer. Prior
service in the Territorial Force was allowed to count provided that the
conditions of continuity of service between disembodiment and
re-enlistment following the end of World War One were satisfied. There
were a number of other variations in the qualifications for the award,
some of which were very complicated. The following were, perhaps, the
most important of these:- 1. Men serving in the Territorial Force on 4th
August 1914, and being embodied under the Royal Proclamation of that date,
who agreed to serve overseas before 11th November 1918 were allowed to
count their embodied service double towards qualifying service for the
TEM. 2. Men who served in the ranks of the Territorial Force and were
commissioned during the period of their embodied service were allowed to
count their commissioned service as qualifying service for the award of
the TEM provided that they reenlisted in the ranks of the Territorial
Force before 1st January 1922. 3. Men whose continuity of service was
broken due to having been discharged from the Territorial Force after 4th
August 1914 due to wounds or sickness arising from their embodied service,
and who subsequently re-enlisted voluntarily during the period of
embodiment following recovery, were allowed to count their embodied
service as having been continuous. The Territorial Efficiency Medal was
superseded by the Efficiency Medal (Territorial) in 1930.
The
King’s Own
Two Battalions of the King’s Own Royal Regiment
(Lancaster) formed part of the Territorial Army: the 4th Battalion, which
had its Headquarters at Ulverston Drill Hall and served an area between
Barrow, Millom, Hawkshead and Grange-over-Sands; and the 5th Battalion
with it’s headquarters at Phoenix Street Drill Hall in Lancaster and
serving an area between Fleetwood and Carnforth. All were part-time
soldiers who attended local weekly training and annual camp away from
home, for Battalion training. Both battalions had expanded during World
War One; the 4th to two battalions, the 1/4th which went to France in May
1915, and the 2/4th which was a training unit; the 5th Battalion expanded
to three battalions, the 1/5th which went to France in February 1915, the
2/5th which went to France in February 1917 and the 3/5th which was a
training unit. A fair number of these men qualified for the T E M some
with clasps. The naming on their medals shows their unit as ‘KING’S OWN
R’.
