In 1896, Queen Victoria sanctioned the issue by the British South Africa Company of a medal to troops who had been engaged in the First Matabele War.

[1] In 1927, the government of Southern Rhodesia re-issued the medal and instituted a new clasp, to commemorate the Pioneer Column that operated within Mashonaland in 1890.

[3] The reverse, designed by Richard Caton Woodville Jr, depicts a charging lion, wounded in the chest with an assegai.

In the foreground are native weapons and a shield, in the background is a mimosa bush, and below the scene the inscription: BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY.

The medal hangs from a 35 millimetres (1.4 in) wide ribbon of watered silk in golden yellow with three dark blue stripes.