Volunteer Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

Unfortunately we don't know this man's first name or anything about his life and family.

He was a member of the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Manchester Regiment. This was a unit of the Volunteer Force based in Wigan, Lancashire. Volunteers lived as civilians and trained as soldiers during the evenings and weekends. They would also have an annual training camp, usually around 2 weeks long.

His medal tells us that he served in this unit for at least 20 years. He reached this milestone before 1901. In this year Queen Victoria died and King Edward VII came to the throne. The 1st Volunteer Battalion received this name in 1888. Before this it was called the 4th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps.

When the medal was awarded he held the rank of Private. His service number was 546.