"...acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger."
Description
Height 48 mm, max. width 45 mm; (Obverse) plain silver cross with circular medallion in the centre depicting the effigy of St George and the Dragon, surrounded by the words "FOR GALLANTRY". In the angle of each limb is the Royal Cypher GVI; (Reverse) plain, centre engraved with name of recipient and date of award. Cross attached by ring to bar ornamented with laurel leaves, through which the ribbon passes.
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been equal in stature to the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for valour.[2] It is awarded "for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage in circumstance of extreme danger",[3] not in the presence of the enemy, to members of the British armed forces and to British civilians.[4] Posthumous awards have been allowed since it was instituted. It was previously awarded to residents of Commonwealth countries (and in one case to Malta, a colony that subsequently became a Commonwealth country), most of which have since established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians including police, emergency services and merchant seamen. Many of the awards have been personally presented by the British monarch to recipients or, in the case of posthumous awards, to next of kin. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.[5]
The George Cross was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI.[6] At this time, shortly after the climax of the Battle of Britain and during the third week of the Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage. The existing awards open to civilians were not judged suitable to meet the new situation, therefore it was decided to institute the George Cross and the George Medal to recognise civilian gallantry in the face of enemy action, and brave deeds more generally.
Announcing the new award, the King said:
In order that they should be worthily and promptly recognised, I have decided to create, at once, a new mark of honour for men and women in all walks of civilian life. I propose to give my name to this new distinction, which will consist of the George Cross, which will rank next to the Victoria Cross, and the George Medal for wider distribution.[7]
The medal was designed by Percy Metcalfe. The Warrant for the GC (along with that of the George Medal), dated 24 September 1940, was published in The London Gazette on 31 January 1941.[8]
The King in his speech announcing the new award, stated that it would rank next to the Victoria Cross. This was second on the Order of Wear, much higher than the then existing awards for bravery not in the presence of the enemy, the highest being the two-class Albert Medal (AM); and the lowest being the single class Empire Gallantry Medal (EGM). In a substitution of awards unprecedented in the history of British decorations, holders of the EGM were required to exchange their insignia for the GC,[9][10] most receiving their replacement GC at a formal investiture. The four honorary EGM awards to foreigners were not exchanged and could therefore continue to be worn.[11] In 1971, surviving recipients of the Albert Medal and the Edward Medal (EM) became George Cross recipients, but unlike the EGM exchange of insignia, they had the option of retaining their original insignia. [12][13] Of the 69 holders of the Albert Medal and 70 holders of the Edward Medal eligible to exchange, 49 and 59 respectively took up the option.[citation needed]
Award
The GC, which may be awarded posthumously, is granted in recognition of:
acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger.[14]
The award is for civilians but also for military personnel whose actions would not normally be eligible to receive military awards, such as gallantry not in the face of the enemy. The Warrant states:
The Cross is intended primarily for civilians and award in Our military services is to be confined to actions for which purely military Honours are not normally granted.[15]
The Cross shall be worn by recipients on the left breast suspended from a ribbon one and a quarter inches in width, of dark blue, that it shall be worn immediately after the Victoria Cross and in front of the Insignia of all British Orders of Chivalry.[16]
When the Cross is worn by a woman, it may be worn on the left shoulder, suspended from a ribbon fashioned into a bow.[16]
In June 1941 the specification of the ribbon width was amended to one and a half inches.[17]
Bars can be awarded for further acts of bravery meriting the GC, although none have yet been awarded. In common with the Victoria Cross, in undress uniform or on occasions when the medal ribbon alone is worn, a miniature replica of the cross is affixed to the centre of the ribbon, a distinction peculiar to these two premier awards for bravery. In the event of a second award, a second replica would be worn on the ribbon.[18]
Recipients are entitled to the postnominal letters GC.[19]
All original individual GC awards and the latest collective award to the National Health Service have been published in The London Gazette.[20]
George Cross Committee
The George Cross Committee of the Cabinet Office considers cases of military and civilian gallantry.[21] The committee has no formal terms of reference.[21]
Since its inception in 1940, the GC has been awarded 416 times: 401 to men, 12 to women, and three times collectively, to the Island of Malta, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the National Health Service (NHS). There have been 165 original awards including those to Malta, the RUC and the NHS, including 106 made before 1947.[22] About 30% of the 162 original awards to individuals have been to civilians. There have been 251 exchange awards, 112 to Empire Gallantry Medal recipients, 69 to Albert Medal recipients and 70 to Edward Medal recipients.[23] Of the 162 individuals who received original awards, 86 have been posthumous. In addition, there were five posthumous recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal whose awards in four cases were gazetted after the start of the Second World War and whose awards were also exchanged for the GC. All the other exchange recipients were living as of the date of the decisions for the exchanges.[24][25][26][27]Dominic Troulan represented recipients at the 2023 Coronation.[28]
The George Cross awarded to Malta (National War Museum, Malta)
The GC was awarded to the island of Malta in a letter dated 15 April 1942 from King George VI to the island's Governor Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie:
To honour her brave people, I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history.
The Governor answered:
By God's help Malta will not weaken but will endure until victory is won.
The cross and the messages are today in the War Museum in Fort Saint Elmo, Valletta. The fortitude of the population under sustained enemy air raids, and a naval blockade which almost saw them starved into submission, won widespread admiration in Britain and other Allied nations. Eric Grove argued on the BBC in 2017 that the George Cross was awarded as a propaganda gesture and consequently 'the island of Malta could not be allowed to fall as Singapore had done. Indeed, the North African campaign was being fought in 1942 as much to sustain Malta as vice versa.'[29]
The George Cross was incorporated into the Flag of Malta in 1943 and, since independence in 1964, remains on the flag.
For the past 30 years, the Royal Ulster Constabulary has been the bulwark against, and the main target of, a sustained and brutal terrorism campaign. The Force has suffered heavily in protecting both sides of the community from danger—302 officers have been killed in the line of duty and thousands more injured, many seriously. Many officers have been ostracised by their own community and others have been forced to leave their homes in the face of threats to them and their families. As Northern Ireland reaches a turning point in its political development this award is made to recognise the collective courage and dedication to duty of all of those who have served in the Royal Ulster Constabulary and who have accepted the danger and stress this has brought to them and to their families.[30]
The Queen presented the George Cross on 12 April 2000 in a ceremony at Hillsborough Castle, County Down, attended by the senior RUC officers; the cross was accepted by Constable Paul Slaine, who had lost both legs in a 1992 IRA attack.[31]
The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 gave effect to much of the Patten Report, with "the Police Service of Northern Ireland (incorporating the Royal Ulster Constabulary)" established on 4 November 2001.[32] The RUC is often referred to as "RUC GC"; the 2000 act established a registered charity "to be known as 'The Royal Ulster Constabulary GC Foundation' for the purpose of marking the sacrifices and honouring the achievements of the Royal Ulster Constabulary";[33] other instances include the names of the RUC GC Widows' Association,[34] RUC GC Historical Society,[35] and RUCGC–PSNI Benevolent Fund.[36]
National Health Service
On 5 July 2021, on the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the NHS of the UK, Queen Elizabeth II announced in a personal handwritten message that the four NHS organisations of the United Kingdom would be awarded the George Cross.[37] It was reported that the award was recommended by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.[38] The conferral of the award followed an 18-month period in which the health service had been at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in the UK.
The message read:
It is with great pleasure, on behalf of a grateful nation, that I award the George Cross to the National Health Services of the United Kingdom. This award recognises all NHS staff, past and present, across all disciplines and all four nations. Over more than seven decades, and especially in recent times, you have supported the people of our country with courage, compassion and dedication, demonstrating the highest standards of public service. You have our enduring thanks and heartfelt appreciation. Elizabeth R.[39]
Awards to the Commonwealth
Canada
There have been 10 GCs awarded to Canadians including those by substitution for awards superseded by the GC. The recipients comprised nine men and one woman. The GC is no longer awarded to Canadians by the King of Canada, who awards the Canadian Cross of Valour instead.
Memorial to Australian recipients, George Cross Park, Canberra
The George Cross was awarded to 23 Australians, 11 to the Australian forces and 12 to civilians. It is the highest decoration of the Australian honours system after the British Victoria Cross and the Victoria Cross for Australia. Although Australia established the Cross of Valour within the Australian honours system in 1975 'for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril' it was not until 1992 that Australia officially ceased recommending British honours. During the period 1975 to 1992, the last George Cross to an Australian was awarded in 1978.
Of the 23 awards, 14 were direct awards and nine were Empire Gallantry Medal (two), Albert Medal (six) and Edward Medal (one) exchange awards. Four awards were to officers of the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve who served in the extremely dangerous role of mine disposal during the Second World War. Privates Benjamin Gower Hardy and Ralph Jones were posthumously awarded the George Cross for manning a Vickers machine gun during the Cowra breakout, a mass escape by Japanese prisoners of war in central New South Wales on 5 August 1944. Hardy and Jones disabled the weapon and denied its use to the escaping prisoners before they were overwhelmed and killed by the escapees.[40][41][42] Courage of a different sort was displayed by two prisoners of war who endured terrible suffering. Captain Lionel Colin Matthews was eventually executed by his captors for building a resistance network in British North Borneo in the Second World War,[43] while Private Horace William Madden, captured in Korea in 1951, died of privations while assisting fellow prisoners and openly resisting enemy efforts to force him to collaborate.[44] The last Australian to be awarded the GC (in 1978) was Constable Michael Kenneth Pratt of the Victoria Police, Melbourne, for arresting two armed bank robbers in June 1976. For 39 years until the award to Dominic Troulon in 2017, Pratt was the most recent living civilian George Cross recipient.
Holders of the Victoria Cross or the George Cross are entitled to an annuity, the amount of which is determined by the awarding government.[45]As of 2015[update], the annuity paid by the British government was £10,000.[46] In Canada under the Gallantry Awards Order, members of the Canadian Forces, or people who joined the British forces before 31 March 1949 while domiciled in Canada or Newfoundland, receive $3,000 per year.[7] Australia has been responsible for the payment of both the Victoria Cross Allowance and the George Cross annuity since the 1940s. The Victoria Cross Allowance which includes both the Victoria Cross for Australia and the British Victoria Cross is included in s.103 of the Veterans' Entitlement Act and is presently $A4,447 per year. Although there is not a statutory instrument for the payment of the George Cross annuity, both annuities for the Australian Cross of Valour and George Cross match the Victoria Cross Allowance payment.
Restriction of use
Since 1943, in accordance with the George Cross (Restriction of Use) Ordinance, it is unlawful in Malta to use the George Cross, an imitation of it or the words George Cross for the purposes of trade or business without the Prime Minister's authorisation.[47]
↑ The phrase "in the presence of the enemy" was inserted into the Victoria Cross Warrant in 1881 and continues in the present warrant but is often quoted as "in the face of the enemy".
↑ British Gallantry Awards by P E Abbott and J M A Tamplin list two AM in Gold awards between 1920 and 1939, p. 22. There were 130 EGM awards between 1922 and 1940, p. 242. Five deceased EGM recipients, pre-war recipient Herbert John Mahoney, killed in action at Dunkirk, and the four posthumous recipients after the outbreak of war became George Cross holders. See https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2483935/HERBERT%20JOHN%20MAHONEY/
↑ British Gallantry Medals (Abbott and Tamplin), p.242
↑ London Gazette, No. 35060 – Warrant, Eighth clause
↑ The awards to Malta and the RUC were not gazetted. The Exchange awards are not gazetted although the original EGM, AM and EM announcements were gazetted.
↑ Hebblethwaite, Marion (2021). George Cross Encyclopedia: Illustrated biographies of all George Cross recipients. Vol.1. Cirencester: Marion Hebblethwaite. pp.9–17. ISBN978-1-9997057-3-2.
↑ "George Cross". Victoria Cross Online: The Men and Women and their Gallantry Awards on one site. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
↑ David Matthews. (2008). The Duke: A Hero's Hero at Sandakan. Captain Lionel Matthews GC, MC. Seaview Press, West Lakes, South Australia. ISBN978-1-74008-486-4.
↑ Michael Ashcroft. (2010). George Cross Heroes. Headline Publishing, London. pp.249–251. ISBN978-0755360840.
Hebblethwaite, Marion (2021). George Cross Encyclopedia: Illustrated biographies of all George Cross recipients. Cirencester. ISBN978-1-9997057-3-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Hissey, Terry (2008). Come if Ye Dare: The Civil Defence George Crosses. Matlock: Civil Defence Association. ISBN978-0-9550153-2-8.
Mussell, John (2017). Medal yearbook 2018. Devon: Token Publishing. ISBN978-1908828385.
Wright, Christopher J.; Anderson, Glenda M., eds. (2013). The Victoria Cross and the George Cross: the complete history (3 vols). York: Methuen & Co. ISBN978-0-413-77752-2.
The Register of the George Cross (2nded.). Cheltenham: This England Books. 1990. ISBN9780906324172.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Cross.
The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI, is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circumstances where military honours are not appropriate.
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The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) was a military decoration awarded until 1993 to personnel of the Royal Navy and members of the other services, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, up to and including the rank of Chief Petty Officer, for bravery and resourcefulness on active service at sea.
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
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The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) is a second level military decoration of the British Armed Forces. Created in 1993 and first awarded in 1995, it was instituted after a review of the British honours system to remove distinctions of rank in the awarding of gallantry decorations. The Victoria Cross is the only higher combat gallantry award presented by the United Kingdom.
The Air Force Medal (AFM) was a military decoration, awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy". The award was discontinued in 1993 when all ranks became eligible for the Air Force Cross (AFC) as part of the reform of the British honours system.
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The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was, until 1993, a British military decoration for gallantry in action for petty officers and seamen of the Royal Navy, including Warrant Officers and other ranks of the Royal Marines. It was formerly awarded to personnel of other Commonwealth countries. In 1943 a Royal Air Force version was created for conspicuous gallantry in action against the enemy in the air.
The British Empire Medal is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to replace the original medal, which had been established in 1917 as part of the Order of the British Empire.
The King's Police Medal (KPM) 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, 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 current award was renamed the King's Police Medal following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the accession of King Charles III to the throne of the United Kingdom.
The King's Gallantry Medal (KGM), formerly the Queen's Gallantry Medal (QGM), is a United Kingdom decoration awarded for exemplary acts of bravery where the services were not so outstanding as to merit the George Medal, but above the level required for the King's Commendation for Bravery.
The Medal of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, known as the Empire Gallantry Medal (EGM), was a British medal awarded for acts of gallantry. Unlike the then existing Sea Gallantry Medal (SGM) (1854), the Albert Medal (AM) (1866) and the Edward Medal (EM) (1907) which each had two classes with restricted eligibility criteria, the EGM was a single class award with wide eligibility. It was instituted by King George V on 29 December 1922. In July 1937, recipients were granted the right to use the post-nominal letters "EGM". The EGM was superseded in 1940 by the George Cross which was also a single class award with wide eligibility but unlike the low placed EGM on the Order of Wear, the George Cross was listed immediately after the Victoria Cross.
The George Cross was awarded to the island of Malta by King George VI during the Siege of Malta undertaken by Italy and Germany in the early part of World War II. In a letter to the island's Governor, Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie, King George wrote, "so as to bear witness to the heroism and devotion of its people". The island was a British colony from 1813 to 1964. The George Cross was incorporated into the flag of Malta beginning in 1943 and remains on the current design of the flag.
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William John Button was a British soldier and one of the last recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal before this award was superseded by the George Cross.
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