Hardcover, maroon leather cover with a pebbled texture, the text on the front cover and spine in silver-coloured ink, entitled "The Annuity Meritorious Service Medal 1847-1953" by Ian McInnes, one of a Limited Edition of 400 copies, copyrighted by author Ian McInnes in 1995, published by Jade Publishing Ltd. of Oldham, Lancashire, printed in Great Britain by K. Taylor Printing of Oldham, Lancashire, ISBN 0 9518098 4 9. It begins with an Acknowledgements, followed by a Foreword by Henry Powell, a Table of Contents, a Preface and a List of Subscribers. The Roll makes up the body of the book and consists of the names of nearly 6,000 men, all of whom were awarded the Annuity Meritorious Service Medal between 1847 and 1953. Before the Crimean War, there was no official gallantry medal available to other ranks in the Army. So it was that in its early years, although the word 'gallant' did not appear in the Royal Warrant, the MSM was in fact awarded on a number of occasions for acts of gallantry. In the period covered by this book, those selected for the award and the annuity had given very fine service in most parts of the world over many years. The book is divided into nine branches of the armed forces: the Cavalry, the Royal Artillery, the Royal Engineers, the Foot Guards, the Infantry of the Line, the Corps, Colonial and other units, the Royal Marines, and the Royal Air Force. The format for each branch consists of headings for each regiment, which then contain lists of recipients indexed by surname for ease of reference. For each individual, the Army Orders, date of award, amount of annuity, last recorded date where known to be alive or the date of death, rank, service number, service in other regiments, along with other awards may be included in this listing. Where medals have appeared in the marketplace, full details are stated. Inserted between pages 200 and 201 are twelve pages of quality colour plates, the first plate illustrating a parchment certificate, the following eleven plates illustrating twenty-two groups, each of which features an MSM covering various eras (one pair, five groups of three, five groups of four, two groups of five, one group of six, two groups of eight, four groups of nine, one group of eleven, one group of twelve). The book contains 476 pages of text, with a few photographs placed throughout, printed in black ink, on a white paper stock, with twelve colour plates printed on a white coated paper stock inserted between pages 200 and 201, measuring 195 mm (w) x 250 mm (h) x 37 mm (d), encased in its 202 mm (w) x 259 mm (h) x 42 (d) slipcase, weighing 1.3 kilograms. An invaluable resource to historians, collectors and students alike, along with being an easily accessible record for the descendants of the recipients. Near extremely fine.
Footnote: Ian McInnes was born in 1937 and served in the Royal Air Force from 1956 to 1958. Until his retirement, he was marketing manager of a large retail chain. He was prominent in local affairs, was a Justice of the Peace and joined the Orders and Medals Research Society in the early 1970s. For many years, he specialized in researching significant Meritorious Service Medals groups, and at one time wrote regular columns for Medal News, Fighting Forces and Military Chest. He is the author of many books, including: Meritorious Service Medals to Naval Forces (1983), Meritorious Service Medals to Aerial Forces (1984), Ashanti 1895-96 (1987), A Contemptible Little Flying Corps (1991) The Meritorious Service Medal - The Immediate Awards 1916-1928 (1992), Cotton Town Comrades (1993) and The Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1830-1848 (1995).
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