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created 30 January 2002. Corrected and updated
05.05.2006
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Orders and Decorations: History and Links |
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This page briefly explains the history of
individual orders and decorations used throughout the British Empire and
Commonwealth, along with links to remote sites. Note: This is not
a comprehensive list, but rather reflects the most important awards, and
those most likely to occur as initialisms appended to the names of military
officers. The post-World War 2 era saw the gradual nationalisation of
honours and awards systems. Flag icons below serve as a visual clue of
nationality. The United Kingdom flag should be understood to also cover
the Empire and Commonwealth. The arrangement of this page is roughly alphabetical,
but filing elements are not necessarily the first word. In some cases
a filing elements has been chosen to group related orders and decorations,
or for its best known abbreviated form. (If in doubt, use the "find"
function in your browser.)
Ranking ahead of the Knights of the Orders
listed below are several ranks of the peerage: 1. Duke, 2. Marquess (Marquis),
3. Earl, 4. Viscount, 5. Baron.
Cataloging individual recipients of awards is beyond
the scope of this site, but links to such remote sites are provided here
when they are known to exist. Citations of most awards are published
in the London Gazette,
although in many cases these are just listings and not the actual citations.
See also Orders
and Decorations: Index of Initialisms ("post-nominal
letters").
See also the "Uniforms, Badges, Medals"
heading on the national pages for general
links to orders and decorations sites.
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Air Force Cross (A.F.C.) |
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Air Force Medal (A.F.M.) |
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The Albert Medal (A.M.) |
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Order of Australia |
| Founded 9 June 1975 to replace imperial honours. Provision for further awards at the level of Knight/Dame were removed on 3 March 1986 . | |
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The Most Honourable Order of the Bath |
| Originally created by Henry IV in 1399 as the senior order of knighthood, and revived by George I in 1725 with one division (military) and class, as the most important order of chivalry conferred on commoners. Enlarged 1815 to include military and civil divisions with three classes (GCB only in civil). Further enlarged 1847 to allow all classes in civil division. Motto: Tria iuncta in uno (since the reign of James I). The badge includes three crowns, originally reflecting Henry IV's title as Rex Angliae et Franciae et Dominus Hiberniae. Britain did not drop its claim to the French crown until 1801, but with the union of Great Britain (England and Scotland) with Ireland that year, the motto was still relevant. Since 1830 a modified Star of the Bath with the motto and three crowns has served as the star ("pip") rank badge in most of the British Army. (See also Orders of the Thistle and St. Patrick for other rank stars.) | |
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The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire |
| Founded 1917. Motto: For God and the Empire. | |
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British Empire Medal (B.E.M.) |
| Instituted 1917. | |
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Burma Gallantry Medal |
| Instituted 1940. Obsolete 1948. | |
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Canadian Decoration (C.D.) |
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Order of the Companions of Honour |
| Founded 1917. | |
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The Imperial Order of the Crown of India |
| Founded 1878. Obsolete 1947. | |
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Distinguished Conduct Medal (D.C.M.) |
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Canada Distinguished Conduct Medal |
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Natal Distinguished Conduct Medal |
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New Zealand Distinguished Conduct Medal |
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Royal West African Frontier Force Distinguished Conduct Medal |
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King's African Rifles Distinguished Conduct Medal |
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Distinguished Flying Cross (D.F.C.) |
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Distinguished Flying Medal (D.F.M.) |
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The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) |
| Instituted 1901 as Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) and changed to DSC in 1914. | |
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The Distinguished Service Medal (D.S.M.) |
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Indian Distinguished Service Medal |
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The Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) |
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Order of the Dooranie Empire |
| Founded 1839 by Shah Sujah of Afghanistan and presented to British officers of field rank and above. | |
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Edward Medal (E.M.) |
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Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (G.C.M.) (Royal Navy) |
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Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (G.C.M.) (Royal Air Force) |
| Instituted 1943. | |
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The Most Noble Order of the Garter |
| Founded 1348 by Edward III, originally for the Sovereign, his eldest son and 24 nobles, the order is the oldest and most prestigious in Britain. Generally now confined to Royalty and peers. Motto: Honi soit qui mal y pense. The Garter King of Arms is the head of the College of Arms. The garter badge and motto are said to have been suggested by an incident at a ball in Calais when Joan of Kent (later Princess of Wales) dropped her garter, the King picked it up and and tied it below his knee, saying "Shame on him who thinks evil of it". The Star of the Order constitutes the rank star (pip) for officers of the Household Cavalry (Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards, Blues and Royals), the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, and Welsh Guards. | |
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The George Cross (G.C.) |
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The George Medal (G.M.) |
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Honoris Crux |
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Imperial Service Order (I.S.O.) |
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The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire |
| Founded 1878. Obsolete 1947. Motto: Imperatricis auspiciis. | |
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The Kaiser-i-Hind Medal (K.-i-H.G.M.) |
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Military Cross (M.C.) |
| Instituted 31 Dec. 1914 for Army officers not above the substantive rank of major and Warrant Officers, for gallant and distinguished services in action. | |
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Military Medal (M.M.) |
| Instituted 25 Mar. 1916 and made retroactive to Aug. 1914, awarded to NCOs and men of the British Army, including the Royal Flying Corps, for individual or associated acts of bravery not of sufficient heroism to merit the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). As such it was the third ranking soldier's decoration for gallantry after the Victoria Cross and the DCM, and equivalent to the Military Cross awarded to commissioned officers. The medal was extended to women in Jun 1916. Most records of First World War MM citations (some 116,000 between 1916-20) do not appear to have been retained. | |
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The New Zealand Cross |
| Instituted 10 Mar. 1869 by a New Zealand Government Order in Council for award to members of the Militia, Volunteers and Armed Constabulary who particulary distinguished themselves by bravery in action or devotion of duty. | |
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The Order of New Zealand |
| Founded 1987. | |
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New Zealand Order of Merit |
| Founded 1996. | |
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Order of British India (O.B.I.) |
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The Order of Burma (O.B.) |
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The Order of Merit |
| Founded 1902. Limited to 24 members (military and civil). | |
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Indian Order of Merit (I.O.M.) |
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Queen's Gallantry Medal |
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The Queen's Service Medal |
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The Queen's Service Order (Q.S.O.) |
| Founded 1975. | |
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The Royal Family Order |
| Worn by the Queen and female relatives of the Sovereign. Special badges are given to ladies-in-waiting. | |
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The Royal Guelphic Order |
| Founded 1815 by George III. Conferred only by Hanoverian kings after 1837, and therefore no longer a British Order. | |
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Royal Red Cross (R.R.C. and A.R.R.C.) |
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Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order
the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem
of Rhodes and of Malta also known as Order of Malta |
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The Most Venerable Order the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem |
| Founded 1888. | |
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The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George |
| Founded 1818 by George III, the order has evolved into an honour for British subjects serving overseas. Motto: Auspicium melioris aevi. | |
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The Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick |
| Founded in 1783 by George III. Consisted of the Sovereign, Grand Master, twenty-two knights, and some honorary knights. Obsolete in1922 with the independence of Ireland, has not been conferred since 1934, and now consists only of The Queen. Badge: three crowns on the leaves of a trefoil, superimposed on the red saltire cross of St. Patrick. Motto: Quis separabit? (signifying the inseparable union of England, Scotland, and Ireland). Much use is made of the badge and motto by Irish regiments of the Commonwealth. The Star of the Order constitutes the rank star (pip) for officers of the Irish Guards. | |
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Order of the Southern Cross |
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The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India |
| Founded 1861. Obsolete 1947. Motto: Heaven's light our guide. | |
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Order of the Star of South Africa |
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The Most Ancient and Noble Order of the Thistle |
| Allegedly founded ca. 800 by King Achaius, and "revived" in 1687 by James VII of Scotland (James II of England) for himself and twelve knights ("in allusion to the Saviour and His Twelve Apostles"). Only eight were appointed by 1688 when James II fled the country, and the order was revived by Queen Anne in 1703. Confined to Royalty and Scottish nobles (which technically includes some commoners), the order now consists of sixteen knights in addition to the Sovereign and foreign royalty. Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit. The badge consists of the figure of St. Andrew and his saltire cross. The Lord Lyon is its King of Arms. Scottish regiments throughout the Commonwealth make much use of the badge and motto, and the Star of the Order constitutes the rank star (pip) for officers of the Scots Guards. | |
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The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert |
| Founded 1862 | |
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The Victoria Cross (V.C.) |
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The Royal Victorian Chain |
| Founded 1902. Conferred as a very special favour of the Sovereign. Not connected tot eh Victorian Order, although of the same design. | |
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The Royal Victorian Medal (R.V.M.) |
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The Royal Victorian Order |
| Founded 1896 by Queen Victoria. Awarded for service to the Royal Family. Motto: Victoria. | |
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