Jack Hindon Medal

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Jack Hindon Medal
TypeMilitary decoration for merit
Awarded forExceptionally diligent and outstanding service
Country South Africa
Presented bythe State President
EligibilityOther ranks in the Commandos
Post-nominalsJHM
StatusDiscontinued in 1975
Established1970
First awarded1971
Last awarded1975
Total18
Ribbon bar
SADF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear
Next (higher)
SADF precedence:
SANDF precedence:
Next (lower)
SADF succession:
SANDF succession:
RelatedDanie Theron Medal

The Jack Hindon Medal, post-nominal letters JHM, is a South African military decoration which was instituted in the Republic of South Africa in 1970 and which was only in use until 1975. It was awarded to other ranks for diligent service in the Commandos, the rural defence component of the South African Defence Force.[1][2][3]

The South African military[edit]

The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[2][4][5]

Institution[edit]

The Jack Hindon Medal, post-nominal letters JHM, was instituted by the State President in 1970.[4]

Award criteria[edit]

The medal could be awarded to other ranks of the Commandos, the rural defence component of the South African Defence Force, for exceptionally diligent and outstanding service. The medal was named after Jack Hindon, a Scottish-born Afrikaner hero of the Second Boer War. The use of post-nominal letters was allowed from 1993, eighteen years after the medal had been discontinued.[1][2][6][7][8]

Order of wear[edit]

Main article: South African military decorations order of wear § Order of wear

The position of the Jack Hindon Medal in the official order of precedence was revised three times after 1975, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, again in April 1996, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and finally upon the institution of a new set of awards on 27 April 2003. It remained unchanged on all three occasions.[6][9]

Danie Theron Medal (DTM) Jack Hindon Medal (JHM) Military Merit Medal (MMM)

Official SANDF order of precedence
Official national order of precedence

Description[edit]

Obverse

The Jack Hindon Medal is an oval bronze medal, to fit in a circle 38 millimetres in diameter, and depicts three Burghers raising the Vierkleur flag on top of Spioenkop after the Boer victory over British forces in 1900, during the Second Boer War. It is inscribed "JACK • HINDON" at the top and "MEDALJE • MEDAL" at the bottom.[4]

Reverse

The reverse shows the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms.

Ribbon

The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and yellow, with 4½ millimetres wide green bands on the edges and a 1 millimetre wide green band in the centre. The green and yellow colours have their origin in the ribbon colours of the three awards which were belatedly instituted in 1920, as retrospective awards for Boer veteran officers and men of the Second Boer War of 1899–1902, the Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst, the Medalje voor de Anglo-Boere Oorlog and the Lint voor Verwonding. For these three awards, these two colours had been gazetted as green and orange, but the orange appeared as yellow on the actual ribbons.

Discontinuation[edit]

Conferment of the Jack Hindon Medal was discontinued in 1975 and the Danie Theron Medal (DTM), hitherto reserved for officers, became available for all ranks in the Commandos.[1][4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters (Accessed 28 April 2015)
  2. ^ a b c South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1975-2003 (Accessed 30 April 2015)
  3. ^ Fforde, J.P.I.; Monick, S. A guide to South African Orders, Decorations and Medals and their ribbons 1896–1985. p. 18.
  4. ^ a b c d South African Medal Website - SA Defence Force : 1952-1975 (Accessed 30 April 2015)
  5. ^ "Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 457, no. 25213, Pretoria, 25 July 2003" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993
  7. ^ Alexander, E.G.M., Barron, G.K.B. and Bateman, A.J. (1986). South African Orders, Decorations and Medals. Human and Rousseau.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ The South African Military History Society - Military History Journal, Vol 12 No 1, June 2001, "Oliver 'Jack' Hindon, Boer Hero and Train Wrecker" by Dudley Aitken
  9. ^ a b c Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, OCLC 72827981
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