Royal Army Temperance Association Medal

[Brian Wolfe]

Hello Gents,

I have just received a Royal Army Temperance Medal and would like to know more about it. Of course when I say I "received it" I mean I purchased it for my collection and was not awarded it for any act of temperance on my part. After reading Chris' post on "Whiskey....why Whiskey" I am not sure many of our members would have qualified for this medal even if they were serving "back in the day".

Would any of the members know the time period when this medal would have been awarded. I believe it is Victorian. The back has a Hallmark which I believe indicates it is made of sterling silver. It would have been nice if there were other Hallmarks which would have given me more information. Is the ribbon correct? I can see it is not the original but is it even correct?

Thanks for any assistance you can give me.

Cheers Watch and Be Sober!

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

Here is the reverse showing the Hallmark.

Cheers

Brian

[Steiner]

Odd stuff. Maybe it is Monty's I know he was a tea toadeler. I doubt there was one for the Navy with the rum ration and all.

I also would have expected the inscription to be in latin, but who knows.

Thanks for posting it.

Steiner

[Chris Boonzaier]

I used to have an OMRS publication about these... may still be around, I will have a look and see.

Bloody hell... 5 years without a beer !!!

[leigh kitchen]

Thw Army Temperance Association was very active during Victorian / Edwardian times, you often find photos of British troops, particularly in Indi, wearing the medals.

They ran "dry"canteens selling tea & buns etc - Char & wad.

A book about them was published some years ago, I can't remember the details though..

[peter monahan]

Thw Army Temperance Association was very active during Victorian / Edwardian times, you often find photos of British troops, particularly in Indi, wearing the medals.

They ran "dry"canteens selling tea & buns etc - Char & wad.

A book about them was published some years ago, I can't remember the details though..

Yes, the army (and society in general) were very big on "improving" the lower classes. A Victorian notion, as Leigh says, the temperance leagues often went along with regimental "reading rooms" (newspapers, some improving books and religious tracts) as an alternative to grog and knocking shops. There are several medals, or issues of the medal, I believe. The one I've seen previously was diamond shaped and had a reference to "Total Abstinence" and a plain light blue ribbon. I believe it might even have been named. Sorry, can't remember any more.

BTW, it looks as if we are almost neigbours!

Peter (Alliston, ON) Monahan

[AJHaslett]

There are a plethora of these Temperance Medals.

David Harris published a book on them some years back. I am not sure if it is still in print or how widely available but you can probably track down a copy if this is an area of interest.

They are rather interesting, and even named and researchable in some instances.

[Ed_Haynes]

David Harris' fine "A Guide to Military Temperance Medals" (the OMRS publication alluded to above) shows this as RATA.6 (p. 53), the Royal Army Temperance Association medal for 6 years of temperance (oooooffff), awarded for British troops in India. The hallmark is the lion, indicating manufacture in India. The correct ribbon is 38 mm, white edges with a 18-mm red center stripe.

[Brian Wolfe]

David Harris' fine "A Guide to Military Temperance Medals" (the OMRS publication alluded to above) shows this as RATA.6 (p. 53), the Royal Army Temperance Association medal for 6 years of temperance (oooooffff), awarded for British troops in India. The hallmark is the lion, indicating manufacture in India. The correct ribbon is 38 mm, white edges with a 18-mm red center stripe.

Thanks Ed,

It is interesting that the lion hallmark was used to indicate manufacture in India. I have purchased other silver items in the past (non-military) and the lion hallmark was used in conjunction with other marks. The lion in those cases indicated the item was made of sterling silver and the marks, following the lion, indicated date and place of manufacture as well as the company that manufactured the piece.

Once again the ribbon is not a match! This is what happens when you venture into unfamiliar territory without doing your homework.

Thanks again for your guidance.

Cheers

Brian

[leigh kitchen]

My only Army Temperance Association medals:

[leigh kitchen]

The reverses:

[Brian Wolfe]

The reverses:

Hi Leigh,

Very nice collection. Mine was going to be sold but after some thought I removed the incorrect ribbon and now it is part of my India collection.

Thanks to all for their input.

Cheers

Brian

[Tiger-pie]

Very interesting items, and nice pieces of workmanship to boot. Alas, as a mariner the possibility of myself or my shipmates getting one would be slim at most, if they were still issued.

The longest I have ever been without alchohol since I started (legally) drinking was 55 days 15 hours, can't recall how many minutes.

Cheers;

Johnsy

Edited May 1, 2007 by Tiger-pie

[rodknee]

my first post i got one shaped like a pointed cross awarded for 6 months abstinance dated 1893

heavily patined probly copper thin blue ribbon 12mm or half an inch wide

im bidding on another dated 1896 same medal they range from a cupla pounds to 45 pounds

have seen a gold gilded one with an elephant in the medal 20 years abstinence or something like that

really ornate and was quite valuable

Edited March 31, 2013 by rodknee

[Mervyn Mitton]

rodknee - welcome to GMIC. There have been a number of posts on Temperance Medals over the years. Worth checking

back on them - also, please show some pictures of yours. Mervyn

[rodknee]

thank you my one is top left in this photogroup it is called the cruikshank cross

the ribbon on mine is thinner and doesnt have the bar at the top

i got mine off ebay 11 dollars australian about 8 pounds

they are trading for about 68 dollars australian about 45 pounds

so i got mine ultracheap

[Mervyn Mitton]

Rod - a very nice example - and probably solid silver. These have become a collectible field in their own right - so I hope you will

continue looking for them. Drunkenness was such a problem in those days. Mervyn

[paul wood]

There are certainly collectors of them, I remember a wife of a paticularly dipsomaniac medal collector who had a fine collection of them. Pricewise, unprovenaced they are relatively inexpensive but are very nice when they are with a group of awards. Intemperance was a real problem especially in India where overindulgence and extreme heat could literaly be a fatal combination and much of the local hooch was nigh on pure alcohol and any one who has read through court martial reports can see that the vast majority were alcohol related. It seems a bit like brewerey workers there were two main groups in the forces at the turn of the centuries, tee-totallers and p***heads.

All the best,

Paul

[brucericketts]

This photo is of the Royal Artillery recipients of Temperance medals in Afganistan around 1897.  My grandfather is third from the right in the third row up.