The South Africa Medal (1880), often referred to as the Zulu War Medal, is a campaign medal instituted in 1880 and awarded by the British Government to members of the British Army, Royal Naval Brigade and Colonial Volunteers who were involved in a series of South African tribal wars in the Cape of Good Hope, Colony of Natal and Transvaal between 1877 and 1879, most notably for the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Institution In 1854, Queen Victoria had given approval for the award of the South Africa Medal (1853) to members of the British Army who had served in any one of the three South African Xhosa Wars of 1834–36, 1846–47 and 1850–53 on the Eastern Frontier of the Cape of Good Hope. Between 1877 and 1879 a number of particularly difficult punitive expeditions were mounted by the British against Xhosa, Zulu and Basuto tribes in the eastern area of the Cape of Good Hope and northern Natal, as well as against the Bapedi of Chief Sekhukhune in the northern Transvaal. In 1880 a medal was sanctioned for these campaigns, which was a new version of the South Africa Medal (1853) with minor alterations to the reverse design. While Army Order no. 103 of August 1880, which instituted the new South Africa Medal (1880), made no mention of any change in design of the 1854 medal, the year "1853" in the older medal's reverse exergue was replaced by a military trophy consisting of a Zulu ox-hide shield and four crossed assegais. The obverse of the new medal remained identical to that of the earlier medal. Recipients A total of approximately 36,600 medals were awarded. Award criteria The new version of the medal was instituted in 1880 to recognise service in a number of campaigns over the preceding three years to bring the eastern area of the Cape of Good Hope and northern Natal under British control, which effectively meant the pacification by force of the unruly local tribes. The medal could be awarded to all personnel, including British regular forces, Colonial Volunteers and native levies, who had served in any of the campaigns in South Africa between September 1877 and December 1879. The military operations during this period were a series of separate campaigns against specific tribes and the unrest would eventually culminate in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. Hence, the medal is often referred to as the Zulu War