The Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal is a long service and good conduct medal, instituted for award to other ranks of the Permanent Forces of the Dominions and Colonies of the British Empire. The medal, also known as the Permanent Overseas Forces Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, was established in 1910 as a single common award to supersede the several local versions of the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal which were being awarded by the various territories.
Along with the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, the Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal was, in turn, superseded in 1930 by the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military), which once again had various territorial versions.
Origin
The United Kingdom's Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was instituted by King William IV in 1830. The original medal had the Royal Coat of Arms with the badge of Hanover on the obverse, while on the Queen Victoria version, introduced upon her succession to the throne in 1837, the Hanover emblem was replaced by a Trophy of Arms which incorporated a central shield bearing the Royal Coat of Arms. Upon the succession of King Edward VII to the throne in 1901, his effigy was placed on the medal's obverse. The medal's ribbon was plain crimson from 1830 until 1917, when white bands were added to the edges.
On 31 May 1895, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt, amongst others, the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and to award it to other ranks of their local permanent military forces. Territories which took advantage of the authorisation include Canada, Cape of Good Hope, India, Natal, New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. Their respective versions of the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal were identical to the Queen Victoria version of the United Kingdom's medal, but with the names of the respective territories inscribed in a curved line above the inscription "FOR LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT" on the reverse. All these territorial medals had ribbons in the same crimson colour as that of the British medal, but with a 4 millimetres wide band in the centre in a colour to represent each territory.
Second versions of most of these medals, with the effigy of King Edward VII on the obverse, were awarded from 1902. The reverse of these medals remained the same for all but the five Australian territories. Since the Commonwealth of Australia had been formed on 1 January 1901, the five Queen Victoria versions of the medal for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria were replaced by a single King Edward VII version with the inscription "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA" in a curved line on the reverse.
Institution
The Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal was established by King Edward VII in 1910 and superseded the several territorial versions of the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal which were being awarded by the various territories of the British Empire.
Like the United Kingdom's Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, the Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal was instituted as an Army award, since members of the Royal Navy were eligible for the award of the Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal instead. From 1 February 1920, when the South African Air Force was established as the first independent Air Force outside the United Kingdom, eligibility for award was extended to members of the Air Forces of the Empire as they were being established as independent Air Forces, separate from the respective Armies.
Award criteria
The Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal could be awarded to warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men who had completed eighteen years of irreproachable service in the ranks of a Permanent Force of any of the Dominions and Colonies of the British Empire. The medal was unique to the Empire "beyond the seas" and could not be awarded for long service in the Permanent Force in the United Kingdom, where the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal continued to be awarded.
While the medal was created by Royal Warrant, issued by the British Government, and was struck and named by the Royal Mint in London, the actual administration of each award of the medal was delegated to the respective territorial governments of the Empire.