Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
British Army
The Royal Berkshire Regiment
Long Jump Athletics Silver Medal
英軍皇家伯克郡步兵團
跳遠田徑銀牌
Item number: M236
Year: AD 1913-1914
Material: Silver
Size: 30.9 x 25.6 x 1.6 mm
Weight: 8.6 g
Provenance: Private Collector, UK, 2024
This is a silver medal prepared by the 1st Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment for a long jump athletics competition in AD 1914.
The medal is circular in shape, with the obverse side displaying the regiment’s insignia, a crown symbolising the royal family at the top, flanked by a laurel wreath on both sides, and a Chinese dragon with its head held high facing left. Below the dragon, the inscription “CHINA” is engraved.
The outer ring on the reverse side of the medal bears the regiment’s designation, “1ST ROYAL BERKSHIRE REGT.” In the centre, it displays the competition event “LONG JUMP” and the year “1914.” At the bottom edge, the “BN” along with the “anchor, lion, and O” hallmarks are the quality assurance marks of the Birmingham Assay Office. Since the 18th century, Birmingham, located in the west of England, became an important hub for silverware. In AD 1773, the government established an assay office there to ensure quality, and all silver items had to be inspected before being sold on the market. By examining the combination of hallmark symbols, the year in which the silver item passed inspection can be determined. The “anchor, lion, and O” hallmarks on the medal correspond to the year AD 1913.
The Royal Berkshire Regiment adopted the Chinese dragon as its insignia, a tradition inherited from its predecessor, the 49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot, which participated in the First Opium War. In AD 1881, the 49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot and the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot were merged to form the Royal Berkshire Regiment, with the former becoming the 1st Battalion and the latter the 2nd Battalion. The Royal Berkshire Regiment subsequently took part in the Second Boer War, the First World War, and the Second World War, and was reorganised in AD 1959 into the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment.