Meritorious Service Medal (New Zealand)

The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal is a meritorious and long service award for members of the New Zealand Defence Force. Initially established on 28 April 1898 as the Meritorious Service Medal (New Zealand), only members of the New Zealand Army were eligible for award. In 1985, a Royal Warrant established the current criteria for the medal making all members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force eligible for the award. Members of the defence forces above the rank of sergeant, who have at least 21 years of service, and hold their service's Long Service and Good Conduct Medal are eligible for the medal. The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal is to be replaced by the New Zealand Defence Meritorious Service Medal, though holders of the superseded medal are still entitled to continue wearing it.^[2]

Meritorious Service Medal (New Zealand)
Queen Victoria version
Type	Medal for long service and meritorious service
Awarded for	Twenty one years of long and meritorious service[1]
Country	New Zealand
Presented by	the Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India
Eligibility	Warrant Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers of the New Zealand Defence Force
Status	To be superseded by the New Zealand Defence Meritorious Service Medal[2]
Established	28 April 1898
Ribbon bar
Precedence
Next (higher)	New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal[3]
Equivalent	Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom) Meritorious Service Medal (Cape of Good Hope)
Next (lower)	New Zealand Armed Forces Award

Appearance

King Edward VII version

The medal is silver and circular in shape. The obverse bears the effigy of the Sovereign of New Zealand, surrounded by the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID. DEF. The reverse bears the inscription For Meritorious Service surrounded by a laurel wreath, surmounted by a royal crown. Above the crown is the inscription New Zealand.^[4]

The medal is suspended by a ribbon, 32 mm in width, of crimson with a narrow centre stripe of green.^[1]

References

1. "New Zealand Long Service and Good Conduct Medals - the New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal". Medals Awarded to New Zealand Military Personnel. New Zealand Defence Force. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
2. "Defence Meritorious Service Medal Introduced". medals.nzdf.mil.nz. New Zealand Defence Force. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
3. "THE WEARING OF MEDALS IN NEW ZEALAND TABLE – A GUIDE TO THE CORRECT ORDER OF WEAR". New Zealand Defence Force. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
4. "The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal Royal Warrant". New Zealand Defence Force. Retrieved 22 January 2013.