From:New Zealand Cricket Museum
Name/TitleMedal: British War Medal, WWI medal awarded to LP Cave
About this objectBritish War Medal awarded to Gunner, Leonard Philip Cave, of the New Zealand Field Artillery 7th Reinforcements. It is engraved with 2/2091; Gnr L P Cave; NZEF along the edge.
About the medal:
The British Medal was created in 1919 to mark the successful conclusion of WWI. The medal depicts the head of George V with a mounted horseman crushing the defeated on the reverse side. It originally had a ribbon with an orange centre with stripes of white and black at each side and borders of blue.
About LP Cave:
In the years before WWI, cricket in Wanganui was dominated by the Cave family; five brothers who all shared a passion for cricket and farming. When Taranaki and Wanganui combined to take on the Melbourne Cricket Club in 1900, Leonard, Ken and Henry took to the field while Wilfred and Arthur stood as umpires. Ken would go on to umpire New Zealand’s first Test in 1930, while Henry would see his son, Harry, represent New Zealand.
In 1915, Leonard left the farm he was working with Harry and joined the 7th Reinforcements of the New Zealand Field Artillery. Embarking from Wellington in October 1915, Leonard’s service saw him stationed at the Somme in 1916 where he was wounded, forcing a stay in a London Hospital for several months. In 1917 he returned to action where, by October, he was stationed in Belgium. On October 18 1917, Leonard Philip Cave was killed during a German air raid.
Read more about Leonard & his nephew Harry here.
Date Made1919
Medium and MaterialsSilver
Inscription and MarksEngraved along the edge with 2/2091; Gnr L P Cave; NZEF
Measurements36mm (W) x 50mm (H)
CollectionNew Zealand Cricket Museum Collection
Credit LineNew Zealand Cricket Museum, nzcricketmuseum.co.nz
Object TypeMedal
Object number2016.8.8
