Khedive's star to Egyptian troops

[David]

I am trying to establish the circumstances in which Egyptian troops qualified for the Khedive's star. I know that those troops who fought at actions for which a British medal was awarded would have qualified and specifically the action at Tokar for which no British medal was awarded, but what about other actions where no British troops were involved ? I am thinking here, for example, of Hicks' defeat in 1883 and the first battle of El-Teb in early February 1884 - would Egyptian troops have been given a star and, if so, which one as I think the undated version was not introduced until later ?

David

[MREID]

Hi David:

A very good question and one for which I have never seen a comprehensive reply. I've been collecting Egypt medals and Khedive's Stars to the Egyptian Army for a number of years and although I have no statutory reference I will suggest a possible answer, as follows. The Khedive's Star was THE Egyptian campaign medal during the period 1882 until 1892. Its award was completely separate from that of the Egypt medal and one sometimes sees official portraits of Egyptian officers wearing a Star but without the British Egypt Medal. As there were essentially no survivors from the Hicks debacle, their entitlement to a Star is probably academic, although those who emerged from the Sudan in the 1890's may have been allowed to make a claim at the Cairo War Office.

Certainly Egyptian troops who fought in and around Suakin in 1884 would have received the Star. Remember, even though the British expedition under General Graham only stayed a few weeks at Suakin, the Egyptian garrison consisted of the 1st and 5th Infantry Bns. 100 cavalrymen and a detachment of artillery and they stayed, in some cases, for the next two years. These men earned the 1884 Star and I have a pair of medals to an officer that includes the 1884 dated Star. Egyptian troops who fought at El-Teb and Tamaai also earned the Egypt Medal with appropriate clasps but wore this foreign award after the Khedive's Star. I have another group of four medals to a soldier of the Xth Sudanese Bn. and as he didn't see action until the Battle of Gemaizah in 1888, his Star is of the undated variety.

Anyway, as I said, I can't provide documentary evidence of this but certainly the photos and medals that I have seen certainly support the premise that the Stars wre awarded by the Khedive with the appropriate date. The Stars were made in the UK but their distribution was left in the hands of the Egyptian War Office. Please feel free to send me a private message at tapir@rogers.com if you would like to discuss further. My apologies to everyone for inadvertently sending this message before it was complete.

Cheers,

Mark