Instituted in 1921 the Territorial Efficiency Medal of the United Kingdom was awarded for long service in the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal when the Territorial Force became the Territorial Army in 1921. It was superseded by the Efficiency Medal in 1930.

The criteria were for a minimum of 12 years’ service in the Territorial Army with war service counting double. Bars for further periods of 12 years were not awarded because they were not possible, given that this medal was superseded after 9 years in 1930 by the Efficiency Medal. The medal is referred to as the TEM, Territorial Efficiency Medal.

Description:

Materials: The majority of the British medals and clasps are made of solid silver, though some were issue in bronze versions, mainly to Indian non-combatants. The majority of the British campaign awards are circular, usually 36mm in diameter.

Ribbons: Medals are worn suspended from their own specific ribbons. These were first made of silk but cotton was increasingly used as the nineteenth century developed. Their own colours often have a symbolic significance: the equal stripes of the ‘1939 to 1945 Star,’ for example, are dark blue to represent the service of the Royal and Merchant Navies, red, to represent that of the Armies and light blue to represent that of Air Forces.

Ribbon width can vary slightly though it is generally 32mm wide.

Ribbon – Two ribbons are used with the medal. In the United Kingdom, an alternative ribbon is used when the medal is awarded to members of the Honourable Artillery Company.

The regular ribbon is plain dark green with a central yellow stripe. Members of the Honourable Artillery Company wore a half blue, half scarlet ribbon, with yellow edges

Regular Territorial Efficiency Medal ribbon

Members of the HAC Territorial Efficiency Medal ribbon

Suspender - Ring

Type – Military long service medal

Eligibility – Territorial Force – Ranks

Awarded for – Granted for a minimum of 12 years’ service in the Territorial Army with war service counting double.

Established – 1921

Naming – The name of the recipient was impressed on the rim of the medal.

Bars / Clasps – Bars for further periods of 12 years were not awarded because they were not possible, given that this medal was superseded after 9 years by the Efficiency Medal.

Description – Silver oval medal, height 38mm; max. width 31mm and swivelling ring suspension with claw. The medal obverse shows the monarch’s effigy (George V). The reverse bears the inscription ‘TERRITORIAL EFFICIENCY MEDAL’ on three lines and has a raised rim.

This guide will help you through all the parts and descriptions of military medals

Sources:

Bigbury Mint

< gov.uk/medals-campaigns-descriptions-and-eligibility>

Some of the material on this page was also partially derived from

<en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Territorial_Efficiency_Medal>

Which are released under the terms of

Creativecommons.org/licenses/by-s/3.0/.