Coronation 1902, Hong Kong issue
Coronation 1902, Hong Kong issue, bronze, unnamed as issued. EF
The Coronation of King Edward VII was celebrated in Hong Kong as elsewhere by dinners, speeches, civic festivities and of course a parade. The Hong Kong telegraph of June 12, 1902, in carrying the Official Programme for the celebrations, included the following paragraph: "A souvenir of the Coronation in the form of a specially designed bronze medal will be presented to the British sailors, and police in the Colony. As however these medals have had to be struck in England they will not be ready for distribution until a later date." It was not until December 1902, apparently, that the medals arrived in Hong Kong. In the Hong Kong Telegraph of Thursday, December 4, it was reported that, through the courtesy of Mr E A Hewett, the Secretary of the Coronation Celebration Committee and fortuitously the General Superintendent of the Peninsular and Oriental (P & O) Steamship Company, the paper had been given a sneak preview of the medals which had apparently arrived some days earlier via the P & O's s.s. Bombay. The reporter described the medals and continued "... the medal is nicely finished, has better appearance than the Volunteer Coronation Medal (not fully understood but perhaps a reference to those members of the local volunteer forces who attended the celebrations in London) and reflects the greatest praise on Messrs Edmonds and Son of 67 Baker Street, London. The medals, in the number of six thousand, are each encased in a handsome square box, covered with red morocco, and bearing on its surface the inscription 'Hong Kong 1902'. The medals were awarded to members of the Garrison, the Police, and those members of HM Ships who were present at the Coronation ceremonies. The medal has no official ribbon.