Liberation of Rome in 1849 Commemorative Medal

Liberation of Rome in 1849 Commemorative Medal. Unnamed as issued. Obverse: Crossed bundles of sticks, containing axe heads, behind a shield having a diagonal bar Dexter with 'S.P.Q.R.' Above a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, and two oak leaf branches at the base. Reverse: The inscription 'ROMA RIVENDICATA AI SUOI LIBERATORI' on four lines, a five pointed star above and an oak leaf wreath around the circumference. The medal is fitted with a loose ring suspender and a piece of 37 mm ribbon that has six magenta and five yellow stripes of equal widths.

Awarded in 1870 to the Italian army veterans that liberated Rome in 1849. 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.