The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, with the most senior two classes making the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of the order.
Advancement and recognition in the Boy Scouts of America is a tradition dating from the inception of the Scouting movement. A fundamental purpose of advancement is the self-confidence a young man or woman acquires from his participation in Scouting. Advancement is one of the methods used in the "Aims of Scouting"– character development, citizenship training and personal fitness.
The Australian honours and awards system refers to all orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister at the time, that have been progressively introduced since 14 February 1975. The Australian honours and awards system excludes all state and local government, and private, issued awards and medals.
The Order of Leopold is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Leopold I. It consists of a military, a maritime and a civil division. The maritime division is only awarded to personnel of the merchant navy, and the military division to military personnel. The decoration was established on 11 July 1832 and is awarded by Royal order.
The Order of the Crown is a national order of the Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors.
The Order of the White Lion is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners. It was inspired by the Czech Nobility Cross created in 1814 by the Emperor and King Francis I and awarded to 37 Bohemian noblemen.
The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing.
The Queen's Police Medal (QPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own honours systems. The medal was established on 7 July 1909 as the King's Police Medal (KPM), initially inspired by the need to recognise the gallantry of the police officers involved in the Tottenham Outrage. Renamed the King's Police and Fire Services Medal (KPFSM) in 1940, it was replaced on 19 May 1954 by the Queen's Police Medal (QPM), when a separate Queen's Fire Service Medal was also instituted.
The Indian honours system is the system of awards given to individuals for a variety of services to the Republic of India. The categories of awards are as follows:
This article considers the religious, military and civil orders, decorations and medals of Union of Myanmar.
Portugal has a system of orders, decorations, and medals as a means of honouring individuals for personal bravery, achievement, or service to Portugal.
The Honour Roll Clasp was a decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. There were different versions for the Army (Heer), Air Force (Luftwaffe) and Navy (Kriegsmarine).
The Honour medal for firefighters is a state decoration of France bestowed by the Ministry of the Interior to members of the French Fire Service.
The Order of Saint Lucia is an order of chivalry established in 1986 by Elizabeth II. The Order comprises seven classes. In decreasing order of seniority, these are:
The Orders, decorations, and medals of Guyana were established after Guyana gained independence from the United Kingdom. In 1970 Guyana became a Republic and established its first two national awards under the Constitution of the Orders of Guyana. In 1976, the Constitution of the Orders of Guyana was amended to add a third national award.
The Badge of Honour, accompanied by the Queen's Certificate and Badge of Honour, is a civil award previously presented by the governments of British colonies and protectorates, and now by British Overseas Territories, to recognise loyal and valuable service by native chiefs and other non-European dignitaries. The Badge of Honour and Certificate continue to be awarded for meritorious services to the local community of an exceptional or outstanding nature in Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and St Helena.
The Honours and Awards System of Samoa has its basis in the Merit Act 1992/1993 and the Honours and Awards Act 1999. From 1914 to 1962, Samoa was governed as the Western Samoa Trust Territory by the United Kingdom and New Zealand. During this time, awards of the British honours system were made to select individuals. For example, the first Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Le Mamea Matatumua Ata, a framer of the constitution of Samoa, was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on the New Zealand list in the 1960 Birthday Honours.
The Order of Police Merit is a Spanish distinction created, initially only as a medal, in 1943 to offer a special reward to members of the police. Currently it is awarded in four categories: Gold Medal, Silver Medal, Cross with red badge and Cross with white badge. All of them, except the Cross with white badge, have pensions attached to the salary of the police.
The Portuguese Red Cross Decorations is a special set of decorations recognized under Portuguese Law, through the Ministry of Defense, and is intended to distinguish those who have rendered services to the Portuguese Red Cross of to Humanity.
A number of Royal National Lifeboat Institution awards have been established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) since its creation in 1824. None are approved by the Crown, and are therefore unofficial awards. As such, they do not appear in the official British order of wear, although the principal lifesaving award, the Medal of the RNLI, can be worn on the right breast in uniform by members of the British armed forces.
