Английская Википедия:George Medal
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Use British English Шаблон:Infobox military award The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,[1] is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circumstances where military honours are not appropriate.
History
In 1940, at the height of the Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward many acts of civilian courage. Existing awards open to civilians were not considered suitable to meet the new situation, so the George Cross and the George Medal were instituted to recognise civilian gallantry in the face of enemy bombing, and brave deeds more generally.[2]
Announcing the new awards, the King said
The warrant for the GM (along with that of the GC), dated 24 January 1941, was published in The London Gazette on 31 January 1941.[3]
Criteria
The medal is granted in recognition of "acts of great bravery".[4] The original warrant for the George Medal did not explicitly permit it to be awarded posthumously. The position was clarified in December 1977 expressly to allow posthumous awards, several of which have subsequently been made.[5]
The medal is primarily a civilian award, but it may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct that is not in the face of the enemy.[6] As the warrant states:
Recipients are entitled to the post-nominal letters GM.[7]
Bars to the GM may be awarded in recognition of further acts of bravery meriting the award. In undress uniform or on occasions when the medal ribbon alone is worn, a silver rosette is worn on the ribbon to indicate each bar.[8]
Details of all awards to British and Commonwealth recipients are published in The London Gazette. Approximately 2,122 medals have been awarded since inception in 1940, with 27 second-award bars.[2]
Description
The GM is a circular silver medal Шаблон:Convert in diameter, with the ribbon suspended from a ring. It has the following design.[9]
The obverse depicts the crowned effigy of the reigning monarch. To date, there have been four types:
-
George VI, 1940 to 1948. Inscribed GEORGIVS VI D: G: BR: OMN: REX ET INDIAE IMP:
-
George VI, 1948 to 1952. Inscribed GEORGIVS VI DEI: GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX FID: DEF:
-
Elizabeth II, 1952 to late 1950s. Inscribed ELIZABETH II D: G: BR: OMN: REGINA F.D.
-
Elizabeth II, late 1950s to date. Inscribed ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F.D.
The reverse shows Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon on the coast of England, with the legend THE GEORGE MEDAL around the top edge of the medal.
The ribbon is Шаблон:Convert wide, crimson with five narrow blue stripes. The blue colour is taken from the George Cross ribbon.[10] The medal is worn on the left chest by men; women not in uniform wear the medal on the left shoulder, with the ribbon fashioned into a bow.[8][11]
The name of the recipient is engraved on the rim of the medal, although some Army awards have impressed naming.[9]
Recipients
The first recipients, listed in The London Gazette of 30 September 1940, were Chief Officer Ernest Herbert Harmer and Second Officer Cyril William Arthur Brown of the Dover Fire Brigade, and Section Officer Alexander Edmund Campbell of the Dover Auxiliary Fire Service, who on 29 July had volunteered to return to a ship loaded with explosives in Dover Harbour to fight fires aboard while an air raid was in progress.[12][13] Seven other people were also awarded the medal, including the first women; Ambulance Driver Dorothy Clarke and Ambulance Attendant Bessie Jane Hepburn of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, for rescuing a man badly injured in an explosion.[12]
The first recipient chronologically was Coxswain Robert Cross, commander of the RNLI lifeboat City of Bradford, based at Spurn Point, whose award was gazetted on 7 February 1941. It was awarded for an incident on 2 February 1940 when Cross took the lifeboat out in gale force winds, snow squalls, and very rough seas to rescue the crew of a steam trawler.[14][10]
The youngest recipient was Charity Anne Bick, who lied about her age to join the ARP service at 14 years old, and who delivered several messages by bicycle during a heavy air raid in West Bromwich in late 1940.[15]
The first person to receive a second award was George Samuel Sewell, an engineer working for Shell-Mex and BP Ltd., based at the oil terminal at Salt End, near Hull, for his actions during an air raid. Having been one of the first recipients (in September 1940)[12] his bar to the George Medal was gazetted on 4 July 1941.[10][16]
The year 2015 included the 75th anniversary of the creation of the award, and was marked by a ceremony in London.[17]
See also
Notes
Bibliography
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Dorling, H. Taprell, (1956), Ribbons and Medals, A. H. Baldwin & Son
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
External links
- New Zealand Defence Force – Medal information page
- Search recommendations for the George Medal on The UK National Archives website
- British Military & Criminal History in the period 1900 to 1999 – George Medal
Шаблон:Decorations of the United Kingdom Шаблон:Former Australian Honours Шаблон:George VI
- ↑ British Gallantry Medals (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138
- ↑ 2,0 2,1 Medal Yearbook 2015, page 93
- ↑ Шаблон:London Gazette
- ↑ The London Gazette, 31 January 1941 – Warrant, Fifth clause
- ↑ Шаблон:London Gazette
- ↑ Which could not therefore be recognised by a military decoration; such awards typically require gallantry in the face of the enemy.
- ↑ The London Gazette, 31 January 1941 – Warrant, Ninth clause
- ↑ 8,0 8,1 The London Gazette, 31 January 1941 – Warrant, Seventh clause
- ↑ 9,0 9,1 British Gallantry Medals (Abbott and Tamplin), p.146
- ↑ 10,0 10,1 10,2 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 12,0 12,1 12,2 Шаблон:London Gazette
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:London Gazette
- ↑ Шаблон:London Gazette
- ↑ Шаблон:London Gazette
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- Страницы с неработающими файловыми ссылками
- Английская Википедия
- Awards established in 1940
- 1940 establishments in the United Kingdom
- Civil awards and decorations of the United Kingdom
- Decorations of the Merchant Navy
- Courage awards
- George VI
- Страницы, где используется шаблон "Навигационная таблица/Телепорт"
- Страницы с телепортом
- Википедия
- Статья из Википедии
- Статья из Английской Википедии