Order of the Legion of Merit | |
---|---|
Legion Of Merit (civil division) | |
Type | order |
Awarded for | outstanding service to Rhodesia |
Presented by | Rhodesia Zimbabwe-Rhodesia |
Eligibility | civilians and military personnel |
Post-nominals | Dependent on grade |
Status | defunct |
Established | 4 November 1970 |
First awarded | 1970 |
Last awarded | April 1981 |
Ribbon bar of the civil order Ribbon bar of the military order | |
Precedence | |
Next (higher) | Conspicuous Gallantry Decoration |
Next (lower) | Independence Decoration |
The Legion of Merit was a Rhodesian order of merit awarded to both civilian and military recipients for service to Rhodesia.
The award was instituted in 1970 by Presidential Warrant, the first awards being made the same year. The last awards were made in June 1980. The civil class was suspended from a green and gold ribbon. The military class differed by featuring a red stripe on the green and gold ribbon.
There were five classes of the order:
The incumbent President of Rhodesia served as Grand Master of the Legion of Merit. Recipients of the order were entitled to the post-nominal letters indicated above. It was retained by the government of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia as well, the President of that state also serving as Grand Master.
The Legion of Merit was superseded in April 1981 [1] by the Zimbabwe Order of Merit, which is awarded to civilians as well as military personnel for eminent achievement and services to Zimbabwe.
While the higher grades of the order were used almost exclusively by Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front government to reward political service, recipients of the lower and middle grades included a number of notable military leaders, community leaders and civil servants.
There were only 5 GCLMs:
Recipient | Office | Note(s) |
---|---|---|
Ian Smith | Prime Minister of Rhodesia | |
Clifford Dupont | President of Rhodesia | Automatically awarded GCLM on retirement from office. |
John Wrathall | President of Rhodesia | Automatically awarded GCLM on retirement from office. |
Gerald Clarke | Principal Secretary to the Cabinet of Rhodesia | |
Josiah Gumede | President of Zimbabwe Rhodesia | Automatically awarded GCLM on retirement from office. |
No GCLMs were ever awarded in the Military Division.
There were 28 GLMs (Civil Division):
Recipient | Office |
---|---|
Civil Division | |
S. E. Morris | Chief Native Commissioner, Senator |
W. H. H. Nicolle | Secretary for Internal Affairs |
Rubidge Stumbles | Speaker of the House |
N. H. B. Bruce | Governor of the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia |
Jack Howman | Minister of Defence, Minister of Information, Minister of Tourism |
Leo Cardwell Ross | Secretary for Information, Immigration and Tourism |
Lance Smith | Minister |
D. W. Young | Secretary to the Treasury; |
Desmond Lardner-Burke | Minister of Justice, Minister of Law and Order; |
Douglas Lilford | Founder and Vice President, Rhodesian Front |
E. A. T. Smith | Secretary for Justice |
T. A. T. Bosman | Attorney General of Rhodesia |
Harold Hawkins | Commander of the Rhodesian Air Force, Ambassador to South Africa |
Roger Hawkins | Minister |
B. H. Mussett | Minister of Transport |
C. N. Wetmore | Secretary |
J. F. Gaylard | Secretary |
A. P. Smith | Minister |
David Smith | Minister of Finance |
P. K. van der Byl | Minister of Defence |
P. D. W. R. Sherren | Commissioner of Police |
N. H. B. Cambitzis | Rhodesia Front |
George Holland Hartley | Speaker of the House |
Mark Partridge | Minister for Natural Resources |
Jack William Pithey | Acting President of Rhodesia, President of the Senate, Secretary of Justice |
Henry Everard | Acting President of Rhodesia |
W. M. Irvine | Minister of Transport and Power |
Ken Flower | Head of the Central Intelligence Organisation |
Military Division | |
Lt. Gen. Peter Walls | Head of the Rhodesian Security Forces |
There were 32 CLMs (Civil Division) and 4 CLMs (Military Division).
Recipient | Office | Note(s) |
---|---|---|
Civil Division | ||
Janet Smith | - | Wife of Prime Minister Ian Smith |
Military Division | ||
Col. Ronald Reid-Daly | Commanding officer of the Selous Scouts |
There were 126 OLMs (Civil Division).
There were 35 OLMs (Military Division) and 10 OLMs (Military Division) (Combatant).
There were 300 MLMs (Civil Division), 55 MLMs (Military Division) and 10 MLMs (Military Division) (Combatant).
John James Wrathall, was a British-born Rhodesian politician. He was the last white President of Rhodesia. He formerly worked as a chartered accountant.
Josiah Zion Gumede was the first and only president of the self-proclaimed, and internationally unrecognised, state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia during 1979, before Rhodesia briefly reverted to British rule until the country's independence as Zimbabwe in 1980.
Gerald Bryan Sheil O'Cleary Clarke was a Rhodesian civil servant.
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Breedon Everard was a railway engineer and executive who briefly became the Acting President of Rhodesia on three occasions between 1975 and 1979.
The Silver Cross of Rhodesia was Rhodesia's second-highest military decoration for conspicuous gallantry.
The Bronze Cross of Rhodesia was a Rhodesian military decoration for gallantry.
The Grand Cross of Valour was Rhodesia's highest military decoration, awarded for conspicuous valour by members of the Security Forces in combat.
The Conspicuous Gallantry Decoration was Rhodesia's highest civil decoration and the second-highest award available to members of the armed forces. It was awarded for acts of the highest gallantry and brave conduct of an outstanding order in a non-combatant capacity.
Air Marshal Norman Walsh was a senior officer in the Rhodesian Air Force and the first commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe.
Ronald Francis Reid-Daly was a Rhodesian military officer who founded and commanded the Selous Scouts special forces unit that fought during the Rhodesian Bush War.
Lieutenant General George Peter Walls was a Rhodesian soldier. He served as the Head of the Armed Forces of Rhodesia during the Rhodesian Bush War from 1977 until his exile from the country in 1980.
Kenneth Flower, ID was a Rhodesian police officer and intelligence chief.
Jack William Pithey was a Rhodesian politician who served as the unrecognised state's Acting President between 1 November 1978 and 5 March 1979. He was also the President of the Senate of Rhodesia from 1970 to 1978 having previously been Member of Parliament for the Avondale constituency in north-west Salisbury between 1964 and 1970.
Mark Henry Heathcote Partridge was a Rhodesian politician who served as the minister of Lands and Natural Resources and Defence.
Leo Cardwell Ross served as Secretary for Information, Immigration and Tourism in the Rhodesian Government from 1965 through to 1972 when he retired due to ill health.
Air Marshal Frank Walter Mussell is a retired commander of the Rhodesian Air Force and of the Air Force of Zimbabwe.
The Meritorious Conduct Medal was a Rhodesian military decoration for brave and gallant conduct.
Lancelot Bales Smith, was an English-born Rhodesian farmer and politician. Elected to Parliament in the 1950s, he was a founding member of the Rhodesian Front in 1962. He was minister without portfolio in the cabinet of Prime Minister Ian Smith at the time of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. In 1968, after serving as Deputy Minister of Agriculture, he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs, a position he held until 1974, when he exited politics.
Albert Rubidge Washington Stumbles, was a Southern Rhodesian lawyer and politician. After serving as a minister under Garfield Todd and Edgar Whitehead, Stumbles became the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia in 1964, a post he held until 1972. As Speaker, Stumbles is best remembered for his acceptance of Southern Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965.
Lieutenant Colonel John Charles Wyatt Aust, commonly known as Charlie Aust was a Rhodesian military commander. He was born in Enkeldoorn, Southern Rhodesia and was the last commanding officer of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI).