The portrait of Mary Seacole on the cover of your February issue does not, in fact, show her wearing the British Crimea medal; the medals illustrated are the Turkish Crimea medal, the French Legion of Honour and the Turkish Medjidie.
Despite the efforts of her supporters to have 'Mother' Seacole awarded with the Crimea medal by the British government, having been in the Crimea in an unofficial capacity she was not entitled to receive it. Florence Nightingale did not receive it either; instead, she was presented with a jewel by the Queen which had been designed by Prince Albert.
Several officer veterans of the Crimea record meeting MrsSeacole on the streets of London and state that she was wearing the British medal among others, but it was thought that she had purchased it (and possibly  the others) from a pawn shop or military tailor.
Glenn A. Christodoulou
Baldock, Herts
Helen Rappaport replies:
None of the medals can be conclusively identified. The left and right-hand round medal ribbons both appear to carry bars, which neither the Turkish Crimea medal nor the (seven-pointed) Medjidie possessed. The curved bar on the right-hand medal is, however, not unlike that on the British Crimea medal. The centre medal can be thought of as a rough representation of the French Legion of Honour, but this (five-pointed) cross was mostly white, not yellow. Identification is further confounded by the fact that all three medals are unquestionably hanging from incorrect ribbons.The artist has concentrated his attention on his sitter's face and has not attempted an accurate rendition of the medals. All that can be asserted from this portrait is that Mary Seacole was shown wearing three medals in 1869. Whether they were acquired 'officially' is another matter. My own research on this continues.
MR CHRISTODOULOU WRITES TO 'HISTORY TODAY' MAGAZINE ABOUT 
MARY SEACOLE, 'THE GREATEST BLACK BRITON.'
[Left] The March edition of 'History Today.'
[Right] The February edition of 'History Today' showing the recently rediscovered portrait of Mrs Mary Seacole, voted 'The Greatest Black Briton' by BBC viewers in February 2004'
The article was written by Helen Rappaport, who also owns the portrait.