Bronze Medal for Merit
The Bronze Medal for Merit, post-nominal letters BMM, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa in April 1996. It was awarded to veteran cadres of the Azanian People's Liberation Army, the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, for service of a high order during the "struggle".
Bronze Medal for Merit
- Name
- Bronze Medal for Merit
- Period
- 1996.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
The Bronze Medal for Merit, post-nominal letters BMM, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa in April 1996. It was awarded to veteran cadres of the Azanian People's Liberation Army, the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, for service of a high order during the "struggle".
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Bronze Medal for Merit. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q17332340 · wikipedia · Bronze Medal for Merit
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Bronze Medal for Merit • Presenter — the President • Country — South Africa • Type — Military decoration for merit • Eligibility — Azanian People's Liberation Army cadres • Awarded For — Service of a high order • Campaign — The "struggle" • Status — Discontinued in 2003 • Post Nominals — BMM • Established — 1996 • Precedence Label — APLA 1996 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear • Higher — * APLA precedence: • Silver Medal for Merit • SANDF precedence: • Transkei Defence Force Medal • Lower — * APLA succession: • Operational Medal for Southern Africa • SANDF succession: • Merit Medal in Bronze • Image2 — * Illustration — x29px • Caption2 — Ribbon bar
Azanian People's Liberation Army
Azanian People's Liberation Army
The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) was the para-military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). It was established in 1961 to wage an armed "struggle" against the Nationalist government inside South Africa. On 27 April 1994, the Azanian People's Liberation Army was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
Institution
Institution
The Bronze Medal for Merit, post-nominal letters BMM, was instituted by the President of South Africa in April 1996. It is the junior award of a set of three decorations for merit, along with the Gold Decoration for Merit and the Silver Medal for Merit. The Azanian People's Liberation Army's military decorations and medals were modelled on those of the South African Defence Force. These three decorations are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the Southern Cross Decoration and Pro Merito Decoration, the Southern Cross Medal (1975) and Pro Merito Medal (1975), and the Military Merit Medal.
Order of wear
Order of wear
The position of the Bronze Medal for Merit in the official military and national orders of precedence was revised upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged. • Azanian People's Liberation Army: • Illustration — Silver Medal for Merit (SMM) • Illustration — Bronze Medal for Merit (BMM) • Illustration — Operational Medal for Southern Africa • Official APLA order of precedence: • Preceded by the Silver Medal for Merit (SMM). • Succeeded by the Operational Medal for Southern Africa. • South African National Defence Force until 26 April 2003: • Illustration — Defence Force Medal • Illustration — Bronze Medal for Merit (BMM) • Illustration — Merit Medal in Bronze (MMB) • Official SANDF order of precedence: • Preceded by the Transkei Defence Force Medal of the Republic of Transkei. • Succeeded by the Merit Medal in Bronze (MMB) of Umkhonto we Sizwe. • Official national order of precedence: • Preceded by the Transkei Defence Force Medal of the Republic of Transkei. • Succeeded by the Merit Medal in Bronze (MMB) of Umkhonto we Sizwe.
Discontinuation
Discontinuation
Conferment of the Bronze Medal for Merit was discontinued upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003.
Identity
Identity
Certificate of Merit of the 2nd Class with Bronze Medal to Messrs. Archibald Kenrick & Sons, W. Calcutta International Exhibition, Certificate of Merit of the 2nd Class with Bronze Medal.
Chronology
Dated record
Chronology
The full dated record · 1 entries
1996
Bronze Medal for Merit first recorded.
Description
• Obverse The Bronze Medal for Merit was struck in bronze and has an engrailed edge which has nine points, to fit in a circle 38 millimetres in diameter. It depicts the Azanian People's Liberation Army emblem and a protea flower in each of the nine points. • Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and dark blue, with two 6 millimetres wide dark yellow bands in the centre, spaced 4 millimetres apart.
Award criteria
The decoration could be awarded to veteran cadres of the Azanian People's Liberation Army who had rendered service of a high order during the "struggle".
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.South African Medal Website - Liberation armies (Accessed 30 April 2015)
- 2.South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters (Accessed 28 April 2015)
- 3.African National Congress. Manifesto of Umkhonto we Sizwe. 16 December 1961.
- 4.Warrant of the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of the "UNITAS MEDAL-UNITAS-MEDALJE", Gazette no. 16087 dated 25 November 1994.
- 5.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005,
- 6.Presidential Warrant by the President of the Republic of South Africa for the Institution of Honours for Bravery in the South African National Defence Force, Gazette no. 25213 dated 25 July 2003.
- 7.Uniform: SA Army: Former Forces Medals - Azanian Peoples Liberation Army (APLA).
- 8.Apla Merit Medal with miniature
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Medals
1,069 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Bronze Cross MedalTerminology
- Bronze Cross of RhodesiaTerminology
- Bronze LionTerminology
- bronze medalTerminology
- Bronze Medal of Military ValourTerminology
- Bronze Service MedalTerminology
- Bronze Star MedalTerminology
- Bundeswehr Cross of Honour for ValourTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Bronze Medal for Merit?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.