MECCA (see 17-95), the great Holy City of Islam and capital of the Hejaz, had a resident pop. in 1916 estimated at about 70,000, including some 12,000 Indians. The annual pilgrimage brings normally at least 200,000 visitors to the city, of whom pilgrims from British India and the Malay States number as many as 25,000. Pilgrims from Egypt, by way of the quarantine station of Tor, numbered 14,500 in 1913, decreasing to 84 in 1914. During the early stages of the Arab revolt in 1916 the pilgrimages practically ceased from all parts; on their partial resumption in 1916-7 about 58,000 pilgrims arrived, mostly by way of Jidda, the Hejaz railway at that time being held by the Turks and the caravan roads across the peninsula by way of Jebel Shammar being unsafe. Communication between Mecca and Medina was interrupted from June 1916 until Jan. 1919 (when the Turks surrendered Medina), so that the visit to the Haram of the latter city not strictly forming part of the pilgrimage could not be performed during that period. On the capture of Mecca at the outbreak of the Arab revolt in 1916, the Turks opened fire with their artillery on the Great Mosque, and Sherif Husein indicted them, in his proclamation dated 25 Sha'ban 1334 A.H., with having done material damage to the kiswa and Ka'ba.
The geographical position of Mecca was observed during war operations but was not fixed precisely, some further adjustments being necessary. The general aspect of the city had changed but little, though some modern buildings had sprung up; there were a number of stately residences, including the new king's palace of six storeys, and there is a considerable display of wealth. The sanitation of the city had made progress under the insistence of the King, and the water-supply, previously in a deplorable condition, hacf been improved. Much more strict hygienic precautions were reported to have been taken during pilgrimages. Some improvement had been effected in the Meccan postal and telegraphic arrangements, the Hejaz having become a member of the International Postal Union with its own issue of stamps, printed (1920) in Cairo. There was telegraphic communication between Mecca and Jidda, and between Mecca and Taif, the summer residence of the King 75 m. S.E. Before the war a weekly paper, El Hejaz, was published in Turkish and Arabic; a new weekly, El Kibla, was founded as the organ of the Government after the declaration of independence (1916), and a Hejaz agency was established at Cairo.
MECHNIKOV, ILYA [ELIAS] (1845-1916), Russian biologist, was born in the province of Kharkov May 15 1845. His father was an officer of the Imperial Guard and his mother was a Jewess. At the age of 1 7 he entered the Kharkov University and two years later went to Germany for further biological training. In 1867 he returned to Russia and took his degree in zoology both at Odessa and Petrograd, becoming professor ordinarius of zoology and comparative anatomy at Odessa. In 1882 he went to Mes- sina and there began his studies into the nature and habits of microbes. Henceforth he devoted himself to pathological study and in 1888 went to Pasteur in Paris, who encouraged him and gave him a laboratory in the Ecole Normale. By 1892 his views on the essential importance of phagocytosis were firmly es- tablished. In that year he published The Comparative Pathology of Inflammation, followed in 1901 by his chief work, Immunity in Infectious Diseases, and a more popular treatise, The Nature of Man (1903). In later years he made a special study of the bacteria infesting the alimentary canal of man, and recommended a diet of sour milk. He was an hon. D.Sc. of Cambridge and Copley medallist of the Royal Society, a member of the Institute of France and of the Academy of Sciences of Petrograd, and in 1908 was awarded the Nobel prize for the benefits his researches had conferred upon humanity. He died in Paris July 161916.
See Life by his wife, Olga Mechnikov (1920), trans, by Mrs. R. L. Devonshire (1921).
MEDALS AND DECORATIONS (see 18.2; 15.860). In the present article an account is given of British, American and other war medals and decorations created between 1910 and 1921, of new orders of knighthood considered as service decora- tions, and of changes in the insignia and the eligibility conditions of orders, decorations and medals existing in 1910.
I. BRITISH WAR MEDALS OF THE PERIOD 1910-4
Before the war several new medals, as well as new issues of, and new clasps to, existing medals were authorized.
A new issue of the African general service medal was authorized in 1916 under Army Order ,89 of 1916, bearing the effigy and titular legend of King George V. on the obverse. The conditions of award were similar to the old medal. Clasps: " East Africa 1913," " East Africa 1913-14," " East Africa 1914," " Shimber Berris 1914-15," " Nyasaland 1915," " Jubaland 1917-18," " East Africa 1918," 1 Somaliland 1920." Those already in possession of King Edward VI I. 's medal received the bars only.
A new issue of the India general service medal of 1908 with the effigy of King George V. on the obverse, was made for later Indian frontier services. The clasp " Abor 1911-12 " was authorized for the troops who took part in the Abor expedition of 1911-2 and the clasp " Afghanistan N.W. Frontier 1919 " for service in the Afghan War of 1919.
The Natal 1906 silver medal was granted by the Natal Govern- ment in 1908 to all those who took part in suppressing the native revolt of 1906. Obverse: bust of King Edward VII. Reverse: an erect female figure representing Natal' with the sword of justice in her right hand and a palm branch in the left, standing on a heap of native arms and supported by Britannia who holds the orb of empire in her left hand. In the background a group of natives with the sun bursting forth from behind the clouds. A clasp inscribed " 1906 " was issued with the medal. Ribbon: red with black edges. clasp " Antarctic 1910-
(3) the Mawson expedition 1912 with clasp "Antarctic 1912 "; (4) Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial trans-Antarctic expedi- tion of 1914-6 with clasp " Antarctic 1914-1916." The medal in bronze was granted to the crews of various relief ships at different dates, and is a separate decoration, which can be held in addition to the silver medal.
In 1915 a naval general service medal was awarded by King George V. for service in minor naval operations, whether in the nature of belligerency or police, of sufficient importance to justify the award of a medal where no other medal would be appropriate. Obverse: the head of King George V. in naval uniform. Reverse: a representa- tion of Britannia and two sea-horses travelling through the sea. A clasp, " Persian Gulf 1909-1914," was authorized when this medal was established, for issue to officers and men of His Majesty's ships engaged in the suppression of arms traffic in the Persian Gulf. Ribbon : white with crimson borders and two crimson stripes.
A new Khedive's Sudan medal, having effect from 1910, was awarded by the Khedive in 1911. Obverse: the cypher of the Khe- dive and the date in Arabic. Reverse: a lion with forepaws resting upon a panel bearing the word " Sudan." Below, an oval native shield and spears. In the background the river Nile with palm trees and the rising sun. Clasps: " Atwot," " S. Kordofan 1910," " Sudan 1912," " Zeraf 1913-14," " Mongalla 1915-16," " Darfur 1916," " Fasher," " Lau-Nuer," " Atwot 1918." The medal without bar was given to troops engaged in operations in the Matong Mts., Mongalla, in 1916; and at various times the medal in bronze without the bar was awarded to certain classes of civilianjbllowers.
II. BRITISH WORLD WAR MEDALS
The issue of medals commemorating service in the World War is naturally the widest ever recorded. The long duration of the war, the fact that almost every part of the civilized world was involved in it, the great numbers of men and women taken into war service in different capacities, and to some extent popular feeling at different periods during and after the war, resulted in somewhat different principles from those of the past being observed in rewarding war service, all the more so as the con- ventional idea of " campaign " and " battle " ceased in a great measure to afford a guide in laying down regulations. Thus, in addition to the British general services war medal common to all who served in a theatre of war, the Allied and Associated Powers agreed upon a common medal to commemorate the united effort, and, within the British forces, the characteristic services of the original Expeditionary Force, of the men of the Territorial Force who had undertaken obligations and training in peace, of the war volunteers who formed the new armies of 1914-5 and of the mercantile marine were each recognized by the grant, under certain conditions, of a particular star or medal. The stars and medals awarded and the general conditions qualifying for award are as follows:
(l) 1914 Star. Awarded by King George V. under Army Order 350 of 1917. This decoration is a four-pointed star in bright bronze on which are superimposed two crossed swords and a laurel wreath. In the centre a scroll with the inscription " Aug. 1914 Nov." Ribbon: red, white and blue, shaded and watered. Granted to all officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the British and Indian forces, including civilian medical practitioners, nursing sisters, nurses and others employed with military hospitals,
