Hong Kong plague medal, England, 1894

Hong Kong Plague Medal 1894, silver medal with silk ribbon, awarded to Private S. Abbey of Shropshire Light Infantry, by the Hong Kong Community for his services during the plague epidemic, by Boucher and Wyon, English, 1894

In 1894 an outbreak of bubonic plague began in what was then the British colony of Hong Kong. It had spread from a neighbouring province of China – facilitated by the free movement of Chinese workers and trading ships in and out of Hong Kong. After a first case of the disease was identified in early May, 1894, strict quarantine and hygiene measures were brought into practice.

Central to such measures was the local garrison, manned by the Shropshire Light Infantry. Numbering some 300 men, they were charged with house-to-house inspections, disinfections and, if necessary, the incineration of household belongings. They became known as the ‘Whitewash Gang’. However, the introduction of such measures was unpopular and they were met with some resistance from the local Chinese community.

The outbreak was hugely disruptive to both the workings of the colony and its relationship to China. The fatality rate was also very high, with more than 2,000 people – including two men from the Shropshire regiment – dying during the course of the year. This medal, awarded to Private S. Abbey of the regiment, was one of around 400 presented by the Hong Kong community to the likes of nurses, civil servants, police, and British army and naval personnel for services their services during the outbreak. It depicts a man lying on a bed being tended to by a female nurse while a man holds off the winged figure of Death.