The "obverse" side of the medal shows a bust of King George V (V is a Roman numeral. Here it means 'the fifth'). The picture shows him facing left. There is also lettering around the picture of the King, which reads 'GEORGIVS V BRITT : OMN : REX ET IND : IMP :'. The 'V' in 'GEORGIVS' is actually read as a 'U'. The whole message is abbreviated, or shortened, and is supposed to read 'Georgius V Britanniarum Omnium; Rex Et Indiae; Imperator'. The message is written in Latin, but in English it says 'George 5th of all the Britons (British people); King of India; Emperor'.