The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal

Overview

The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal was awarded to Warrant Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers for meritorious service of twenty-one years or more. Recipients must have already held a long service and good conduct medal.

Originally instituted by British Royal Warrant on 28 April 1898 for award to Warrant Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers of the Army, a New Zealand Royal Warrant was authorised in 1985 to include Warrant Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers of the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.  Although some awards were made to lower ranks, the Royal Warrant of 1985 specified that only those with the substantive rank of Sergeant or Petty Officer and above could be considered for the medal.

The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal ceased to be awarded in 2013 when the New Zealand Defence Meritorious Service Medal was instituted.

There are no post-nominal letters for this medal.

Description

The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal is silver and circular in shape, bearing on the obverse the Uncrowned Effigy of the Sovereign, and on the reverse the inscription “For Meritorious Service” within a wreath of laurel surmounted by a Royal Crown and above which is the inscription “New Zealand”. The medal is suspended on a ribbon of crimson with a narrow central stripe of green. 

There are no clasps or bars for this medal.

Eligibility

Between 1985 and October 2013, recipients were awarded the medal for good, faithful, and meritorious full-time service of 21 years and an irreproachable record for the qualifying period. Recipients were awarded the medal on the recommendation of their commanding officer and were required to have been previously awarded a Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct.  

The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal ceased to be awarded on 15 October 2013, when the New Zealand Defence Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) was instituted.  The medal continues to be officially recognised and can still be worn by recipients.

For full details:

The Royal Warrant for the New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal(external link)

Recipients

For further information and lists of recipients:

Service Lives Remembered:  The Meritorious Service Medal in New Zealand and Its Recipients, by H.E. Chamberlain (published in Wellington in 1995) provides a descriptive list of recipients between 1895 and 1994.

The New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal Royal New Zealand Navy 1895 to 2013, by LTCDR R.J. McNabb, RNZN (published in 2017) provides a detailed list of Royal New Zealand Navy recipients between 1985 and 2013.