History

The Army Meritorious Service Medal was instituted by Queen Victoria on December 19, 1845, to reward Non Commissioned Officers of the rank of sergeant or above of the army for distinguished or meritorious service. Initially, 27 years of service was required to be eligible for the award. However, this qualification was reduced to 20 years of service in 2002. In 1916, the Silver Medal was extended to immediately award exceptionally valuable and meritorious service. A clasp was also introduced to reward subsequent acts of gallantry or life-saving. The Medal was once again extended in 1917 to also recognize individual acts of gallantry not in the face of enemies. The Army Meritorious Service Medal ceased to reward acts of gallantry in 1928 following the introduction of the Gallantry British Empire Medal.

Until 1951, a total of £2000 ($2653) was annually distributed to the recipients of the Medal, with annuities not exceeding £20 ($27). As such, the number of awards issued was limited by the number of available funds, with Medals and annuities only being granted upon the death of previous recipients. Since 1951, the Medal has been awarded without the annuity. The Army Meritorious Service Medal has an annual contingent of 89 members.

There are multiple versions of the Medal which differ by the obverse effigy of the ruling monarch, ribbon pattern, and suspension type. There may be additional versions of the Medal not featured here.