Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (South Africa)

The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (South Africa) is a distinctive South African version of the British Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct. It was awarded to members of the Permanent Force of the Union of South Africa who had completed eighteen years of reckonable service.

Institution
The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (South Africa) was instituted by King George V on 23 September 1930, when the warrant of the existing Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal of the United Kingdom, instituted by King William IV on 30 July 1830, was amended. The name of the award was changed to the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct and a subsidiary title was included to denote in which force the recipient was serving upon qualifying for the award of the medal. These forces were the Regular Army of the United Kingdom, the respective Permanent Forces of the Dominions, Colonies and Protectorates of the British Empire and the Indian Army.

The subsidiary title was to be displayed on a bar attached to the suspender of the medal. On the South African medal the inscriptions on the bar as well as on the reverse of the medal were bilingual, in Afrikaans and English on the bar and in English and Afrikaans on the medal reverse. It did not, however, display the name of the country.

Award criteria
The medal was initially only awarded to non-commissioned officers and other ranks who had completed eighteen years of qualifying service in the Permanent Force, but during and after World War II officers could also be awarded this medal if they had completed at least 12 of their 18 years of service in the ranks. War service, subject to certain conditions, was counted as double time.

A Clasp to the medal was introduced in 1940 and could be awarded for thirty years of service. An officer became eligible for the award of the clasp if twenty-two or more of the thirty years of service had been in the ranks and provided that the other criteria had been met.

South African order of precedence
Until 5 April 1952 the position of the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (South Africa) in the official order of precedence was prescribed by the British Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood. With effect from 6 April 1952 these awards continued to be worn in the same order of precedence but, with the exception of the Victoria Cross, took precedence after all South African orders, decorations and medals awarded to South Africans on or after that date.


 * Preceded by the Africa Service Medal.
 * Succeeded by the Efficiency Decoration (South Africa).

Description
The medal was struck in silver and is a disk, 36 millimetres in diameter. Two versions of the medal were awarded, bearing the effigies of King George V and King George VI respectively. It has a raised rim and the George VI version is inscribed "GEORGIVS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX ET INDIAE IMP :" around the perimeter, with the inscription beginning and ending at the eight o'clock position.
 * Obverse

The fixed suspender has a bar attached to its top that bears, on the obverse only, the Afrikaans and English inscriptions "STAANDE MAG" and "PERMANENT FORCE" in two lines. The suspender is affixed to the medal by means of claws and a pin through the upper edge of the medal.
 * Suspender

The reverse is plain with a raised rim and bears the English and Afrikaans inscriptions "FOR LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT" and "VIR LANGDURIGE DIENS EN GOEIE GEDRAG", each language in four lines and the languages separated by a 12 millimetres long line. The name of the recipient was impressed on the rim of the medal.
 * Reverse

The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and dark red-violet, edged with white bands, each 3 millimetres wide.
 * Ribbon

Discontinuation
Award of the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (South Africa) was discontinued on 6 April 1952, when it was replaced by the Union Medal which could be awarded to both officers and other ranks of the Permanent Force.