The Republic of Botswana has an honours system comprising orders, decorations, and medals. They are awarded to civilians, members of the defence force, the police, the prisons service, and teachers.
Botswana has the following orders: [1]
The Botswana Defence Force has the following decorations and medals: [1]
The Botswana Police has the following decorations and medals: [1]
The Botswana Prisons Service has the following decorations and medals: [1]
Botswana awards the following decorations and medals to teachers: [1]
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 Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranking below the Victoria Cross, until it was discontinued in 1993 when it was replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. The medal was also awarded to non-commissioned military personnel of other Commonwealth Dominions and Colonies.
To be mentioned in dispatches describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy is described.
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 orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the structure originated in the 1930s, but began to come to full fruition at the time of Canada's centennial in 1967, with the establishment of the Order of Canada, and has since grown in both size and scope to include dynastic and national orders, state, civil, and military decorations; and various campaign medals. The monarch in right of each Canadian province also issues distinct orders and medals to honour residents for work performed in just their province. The provincial honours, as with some of their national counterparts, grant the use of post-nominal letters and or supporters and other devices to be used on personal coats of arms.
The following is the Canadian order of precedence for decorations and medals in the Canadian Honours System. Where applicable, post-nominal letters are indicated.
South African orders, decorations and medals are those military and civilian orders, decorations and medals issued by the Government of South Africa. The following is a (non-exhaustive) list of these:
The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV) is Sri Lanka's highest military decoration, awarded for acts of exceptional valour in wartime. Parama Weera Vibhushanaya translates as the "Order of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "individual acts of gallantry and conspicuous bravery of the most exceptional order in the face of the enemy". Corporal Gamini Kularatne, was the first recipient. As of January 2021, the medal has been awarded 31 times, of which all were posthumous and arose from actions in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Of the 31 awardees, 28 have been from the Sri Lanka Army, two have been from the Sri Lanka Navy and one has been from the Sri Lanka Air Force.
The Governor-General of Australia has, at irregular intervals, notified for general information notifies the positioning of wearing of Australian orders, decorations and medals in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. The Order of Wearing Australian Honours and Awards was last published in 2007.
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 Order of Wearing of Australian honours includes Imperial honours if they were awarded prior to 6 October 1992. Imperial honours awarded after 5 October 1992 are considered foreign.
The following is the orders, decorations, and medals given by Sultan of Kedah. When applicable, post-nominal letters and non-hereditary titles are indicated.
The following is the orders, decorations, and medals given by Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan. When applicable, post-nominal letters and non-hereditary titles are indicated.
The following is the orders, decorations, and medals given by the sultan of Terengganu. When applicable, post-nominal letters and non-hereditary titles are indicated.
The following is the orders, decorations, and medals given by Sultan of Selangor. When applicable, post-nominal letters and non-hereditary titles are indicated.
In 1895, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various British military decorations and medals and to award them to their local military forces. The Colony of Natal introduced this system in August 1895 and, in 1897, instituted the Distinguished Conduct Medal (Natal), post-nominal letters DCM.
In May 1895, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various British military medals and to award them to their local permanent military forces. The Cape of Good Hope and Colony of Natal instituted their own territorial versions of the Meritorious Service Medal in terms of this authority. These two medals remained in use in the respective territories until after the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910.
In 1993 two separate reviews reported on the British honours system. The first, under prime minister John Major, reported in March and focused on civilian awards. The second was started in March, at Major's suggestion, and carried out by the Ministry of Defence. Major's review abolished the minimum rank requirements for certain civilian awards when made to military personnel and ended the practice of making awards purely on the basis of the recipient holding a certain appointment in the public or private sector. Major's review also ended the award of the British Empire Medal (BEM) and Imperial Service Order (ISO), compensated for by increasing the number of awards made to the Order of the British Empire. As a means of increasing the proportion of awards made to community figures and the voluntary sector he introduced direct nominations from the general public.
The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood has, at irregular intervals, notified for general information the positioning of the wearing of Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom in the London Gazette. The Order of Wear was last published in 2019.
