The front of the medal is seen to bear the likeness of the Queen (presumeably Victoria ) crowning a kneeling soldier with a wreath; in addition it bears the inscription 'To The British Army 1793-1814'. The bar on the ribbon is inscribed 'Martinique'. The medal's rim bears the inscription: 'D. McPherson, Lieut. 8th Foot'. Written in ink on the wooden back of the mounting is an inscription that is clearly from an earlier time. It states that the medal belonged to Duncan of the Kiln and this is the primary source of a quandary.

      Our research shows that this medal is known officially as the 'Military General Service Medal, 1793-1814'. It was awarded for service in the many campaigns fought during the Napoleonic War era with bars across the ribbon to distinguish which campaign the award was made for. However, we also have learned that the medal for Martinique was not awarded until 1909 -- 116 years after the campaign on that French-held island in 1793. The 8th Regiment of Foot did participate in the Martinique campaign but there is no other evidence that Lt. Col. Macpherson was in that regiment or that had been reduced in grade to a Lieutenant. The record does show that he was definitely not a battalion commander of the 8th Foot in 1793.

      The last year that we have evidence for Duncan's active duty service was 1784 when he was a Lieutenant Colonel with the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards (later designated the Scots Guards). We believe that he continued on active duty until his retirement in 1798 but we have no knowledge of his regiment other than the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards. We know that the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards was not among the British army units that participated in the campaign against the French island of Martinique in 1794 -- they were fighting in Flanders at that time. Can anyone provide any information to explain these inconsistencies?