French Dardanelles Commemorative Medal

Place Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Dardanelles
Accession Number RELAWM14785
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Medal
Physical description Bronze
Place made France
Date made c 1926
Conflict Period 1920-1929
First World War, 1914-1918
Description

Dardanelles Commemorative Medal. Unnamed as issued. Obverse: The helmeted figure of la Repubique and the inscription 'REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE' on the circumference with the engravers name at the lower left. Reverse: The view of a landscape framed by trees, with flags, a field gun and an anchor in the foreground and the inscription 'DARDANELLES' above. The nearest flag in the scene bears the inscription 'HONNEUR ET PATRIE 1915 1918'. The ring suspension is formed from two palm fronds and a crescent moon. A piece of 37 mm white ribbon with five green vertical stripes is attached to the suspender.

History / Summary

Instituted on 15 June 1926. The Dardanelles Medal was awarded to French participants if the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915 during the First World War. The French Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli numbered 42,000 men at its peak of whom approximately 15,000 were killed. This medal is part of a collection assembled by the late Hon. Sir Thomas Hughes, Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales. It was presented to the Memorial in memory of his son, Captain Roger Forrest Hughes, Australian Army Medical Corps, who died of wounds in France on 11 December 1916 and his grandson, Flying Officer Peter Roger Forrest Hughes, 12 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, who was killed on active service while flying in the Northern Territory on 3 October 1942.