Louw Wepener Medal

The Louw Wepener Medal, post-nominal letters LWM, is a military decoration for bravery that was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 20 October 1967. It was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for courageous or heroic deeds in saving lives. The Louw Wepener Medal was discontinued on 1 July 1975 when a new set of decorations and medals was instituted.

The South African military
The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994 it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Orders, decorations and medals
In April 1952 a series of military decorations and medals was instituted, consisting of substitutes for many of the British and Commonwealth awards which had earlier been used. More decorations and medals, as well as an emblem for being mentioned in dispatches, were added between 1953 and 1970. In July 1975 the military decorations and medals of the Republic were revised. Some decorations and medals were carried over from the earlier series of 1952-1975 and new awards were instituted, followed by more between 1987 and 1991. Finally, all but one of these earlier awards were discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003, when a new set of nine decorations and medals was instituted to replace them.

Fount of Honour
Until 1958 the top three awards were reserved for conferment by the Queen while the rest were awarded by the Governor-General, but in 1958 the Governor-General was authorised to also award the top three. In 1961 the State President became the Fount of Honour, and in 1994 the President.

Award criteria for the Louw Wepener Medal
The Louw Wepener Medal, post-nominal letters LWM, was awarded to all ranks of the South African Defence Force, or serving with or rendering service to the Defence Force, for courageous or heroic deeds of self-sacrifice in saving lives in the presence of personal danger, or deeds performed in the execution of or beyond the call of military duty and for which other purely military awards were not normally made. This medal was instituted on 20 October 1967 in honour of Louw Wepener who, in 1865, lost his life whilst leading his burghers in an attack on a Basotho stronghold on Thaba Bosigo during the Basuto Wars of 1858-1865. Only eight awards were made, the first in 1969 and the last in 1975.

Order of precedence
The position of the Louw Wepener Medal in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1975 to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first with the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994 and again with the institution of a new set of awards in 2003.


 * South African Defence Force until 26 April 1994:
 * Official SADF order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Van Riebeeck Medal (VRM).
 * Succeeded by the Pro Virtute Medal (PVM).


 * Official national order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Van Riebeeck Medal (VRM).
 * Succeeded by the Pro Virtute Medal (PVM).


 * South African National Defence Force from 27 April 1994:
 * Official SANDF order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Van Riebeeck Medal (VRM) of the Republic of South Africa.
 * Succeeded by the Distinguished Gallantry Medal of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.


 * Official national order of precedence:
 * Preceded by the Van Riebeeck Medal (VRM) of the Republic of South Africa.
 * Succeeded by the Distinguished Gallantry Medal of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.

The position of the Louw Wepener Medal in the order of precedence remained unchanged, as it was on 27 April 1994, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again when a new series of military orders, decorations and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003.

Description
The Louw Wepener Medal is a silver medallion, 38 millimetres in diameter, that depicts the mountain peak of Thaba Bosigo with two men on horseback at its foot. Below the horsemen are the words "THABA BOSIGO, 1865" and around the circumference are the words "LOUW WEPENER" at the top and "MEDAL • MEDALJE" at the bottom.
 * Obverse

The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms, with the decoration number stamped at the bottom on the rim.
 * Reverse

The ribbon is 1+3/8 in wide and orange, with four white bands, all 1/16 in wide and spaced 7/32 in apart.
 * Ribbon

Discontinuation
The conferment of the decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 1 July 1975, when a new set of decorations and medals was instituted.