The meritorious service medal.

Sergeant Richard Elley, of the 1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment, who served in the Zulu War of 1879,was awarded this year a medal for meritorious services.
What is the The meritorious service medal.. ?

Dave

The Army MSM was introduced on 19 December 1845. silver, 36 millimetre diameter medal has the profile of the sovereign on the obverse and the reverse side has a crown and wreath around the words "For Meritorious Service". The recipient's details are shown on the medal's rim.

The ribbon has undergone 3 designs since the medal introduction.
Time Period Colours
1845 - 1916 Crimson only
1916 - 1917 Crimson with white edges
1917 onwards Crimson with white edges and centre stripe

The medal was introduced, with an annual annuity, to recognise meritorious service by Segeants and other senior NCOs. From 1956, recipients must have completed a minimum of 27 years service. The number of awards that could be made in a particular year was therefore limited by the amount of annuity. However, from 1951 the MSM could be awarded as required with the annuity paid when funds became available.

Hi Dave

Also found this about the medal

This medal was instituted in 1845, and is still on current issue. It is a most unusual and complicated award, with differing types and reasons for award. It is necessary first to explain the setting up of the award. By a Royal Warrant of 19th December 1845, a sum of £2000 was provided each year to be given to NCOs of the rank of Sergeant and above in the form of annuities, to be paid for life. Recipients of these annuities were either serving or retired NCOs. In addition, the annuitants were to receive the Meritorious Service Medal, which was instituted at the same time as the annuity fund. The annuity and medal were to be rewards for 'distinguished or meritorious services'. Because the annuities were paid for life, and the sum of money available was limited, it follows that the number of MSMs has always been very limited, especially in the earlier part of its issue. Awards were evenly distributed amongst all regiments and corps, and so early MSMs to any particular regiment are very rare on the market. The sum of money available for annuities has been increased on several occasions since the institution of the award, but the yearly figure for issued MSMs has remained low. As the overriding aspect of this award was financial, awards were listed in Army Estimates from 1847 to 1926, and from 1885 to 1972 lists of recipients were published in Army Orders. The MSM has always been issued as a form of reward for long service to senior NCOs, although there are two exceptions to this statement, one minor and one major. The minor exception is a few early awards which were stated to be for gallantry, whilst the major exception is during the period 1916-28. During this period, MSMs were awarded for services in the field which fell short of the award of the MM or DCM. A very small number were awarded for gallantry not in the face of the enemy. This usage of the MSM ended in 1928 with the introduction of the BEM for Meritorious Service. Thus between 1916 and 1928, two types of MSM were awarded; firstly, the limited regular issue to annuitants for long service, and secondly, the large number of awards for services during the war. These two types can be told apart by the fact that the 'long service' issues have no mention of the recipient's number on the rim, whilst immediate awards for services in the war have the recipient's number. The vast majority of MSMs have been awarded to British Army personnel, but there are some rare Colonial issues known such as Canada, Cape of Good Hope, Natal, and the various Australian states. These are similar to the British MSM, except for the name of the Colony or Dominion on the reverse above the normal inscription.