The Medal
The Merchant Navy Medal is made of rhodium-plated cupro-nickel and was designed by Sir Robert Balchin, Principal Knight of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor; an expert on the subject of decorations. It recognises meritorious service and acts of courage afloat, and was inaugurated during the Trafalgar Bicentennial year of 2005. The medal features a profile head of Admiral Lord Nelson on the obverse with the inscription "The Merchant Navy Medal" at the top and "1805 Trafalgar 2005" at the bottom. Lord Nelson appears as a reminder of the time he spent as a young man on a West Indies merchantman and the formative part the Merchant Navy played in the development of his outstanding seamanship skills. On the reverse of the medal is the Merchant Navy logo, with the inscription "for meritorious service". The ribbon is primarily green and red, with a narrow vertical white stripe dividing the two colours, depicting the oncoming navigation lights of a seagoing vessel underway
