Voluntary Medical Service Medal

Last updated

Voluntary Medical Service Medal
Voluntary Medical Service Medal.jpg
TypeLong service medal
Awarded for15 years of service
Country Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Presented by the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Dominions
EligibilityVolunteers of the British Red Cross or St Andrew's First Aid
Post-nominalsNone
Clasps For each subsequent 5 years of service
Established1932
Voluntary Medical Services Medal.png
Ribbon bar of the medal
Precedence
Next (higher) Service Medal of the Order of St John
Next (lower) Women's Royal Voluntary Service Medal [1]

The Voluntary Medical Service Medal is a medal awarded by St Andrew's First Aid and formerly by the British Red Cross. It was instituted in 1932 at the direction of George V. [2]

Contents

Criteria

To qualify for the medal, a member must accrue fifteen years' continuous efficient service as a first aid volunteer in either the Red Cross or St Andrew's providing a minimum of ten hours field service per year. [3] Service for the medal was retrospective to the creation of Voluntary Aid Detachments in 1909. [4]

Appearance

The medal is 36 millimetres (1.4 inches) in diameter and was designed by Percy Metcalfe. [5] The obverse bears a symbolic representation of Florence Nightingale carrying a lamp. The reverse features a design of both the Geneva and St Andrew's crosses to denote the two qualifying organisations. Between the upper arms of the St Andrew's Cross is the text LONG AND EFFICIENT SERVICE. The medal was originally made of silver, later of silver plated copper, and since the 1960s of copper-nickel. It is suspended from a straight swivel bar and hangs from a ribbon of red with yellow stripes at the edges and a thin white stripe in the centre. [6] [2]

Second award clasp for service with the Red Cross Voluntary Medical Service Medal, ribbon bar.png
Second award clasp for service with the Red Cross

On the suspension ribbon of the medal, clasps embellished with the Geneva cross for Red Cross service or the St Andrew's cross for St Andrews First Aid service are worn to denote five additional years of qualifying service. In undress uniform, on the ribbon of the medal, one silver Geneva or St Andrew's cross emblem is added to the medal ribbon for five additional years of service. [2] At twenty years of additional service the silver emblems are replaced by a silver-gilt emblem. Up to four silver-gilt emblems can replace the silver type to denote 25, 30, and 35 years of additional service in the applicable voluntary organisation. [4]

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Empire Medal</span> British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service

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 British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more than 17,200 volunteers and 3,400 staff. At the heart of their work is providing help to people in crisis, both in the UK and overseas. The Red Cross is committed to helping people without discrimination, regardless of their ethnic origin, nationality, political beliefs or religion. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of the society until her death on 8 September 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of the Crown (Prussia)</span> Award

The Royal Order of the Crown was a Prussian order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an honour equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, membership could only be conferred upon commissioned officers, but there was a medal associated with the order which could be earned by non-commissioned officers and enlisted men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medalje vir Troue Diens</span> Award

The Medalje vir Troue Diens - Medal for Loyal Service was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 16 April 2003 and came into effect on 27 April 2003. It can be awarded to all ranks whose character and conduct have been irreproachable and who have completed ten years of qualifying service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal</span> Award

The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was awarded in Canada to nominees who contributed to public life. The Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was awarded to active personnel in the British Armed Forces and Emergency Personnel who had completed 5 years of qualifying service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement</span>

The emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, under the Geneva Conventions, are to be placed on humanitarian and medical vehicles and buildings, and to be worn by medical personnel and others carrying out humanitarian work, to protect them from military attack on the battlefield. There are four such emblems, three of which are in use: the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and the Red Crystal. The Red Lion and Sun is also a recognized emblem, but is no longer in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military decorations of Mexico</span>

This is a list of military decorations awarded by the United Mexican States as part of the Mexican Honours System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reserve Force Decoration</span> Award

The Reserve Force Decoration is an Australian Military award given for long service by officers of the Reserve Forces. It is part of the suite of defence force service awards introduced in 1982, which also included the Defence Force Service Medal and the Reserve Force Medal. However, the RFD is the only one of the three to carry a postnominal entitlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defence Force Service Medal</span> Australian military service medal

The Defence Force Service Medal (DFSM) is an Australian Military award given for long service by permanent members of the Australian Defence Force. It is part of the suite of defence force service awards introduced in 1982, which also included the Reserve Force Decoration and the Reserve Force Medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defence Long Service Medal</span> Award

The Defence Long Service Medal is an Australian military award given for long service by permanent and reserve members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), irrespective of rank. It was introduced in 1998, and replaced the suite of ADF service awards introduced in 1982, which comprised the Defence Force Service Medal, the Reserve Force Medal and the Reserve Force Decoration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve</span> Award

The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, post-nominal letters VD until c. 1947 and VRD thereafter, was instituted in 1908. It could be awarded to part-time commissioned officers in the United Kingdom's Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve after twenty years of service as efficient and thoroughly capable officers. The decoration was a Naval version of the Volunteer Officers' Decoration and its successor, the Territorial Decoration.

Colombian military decorations date back as far as the founding of the country. An early decoration was the Cruz de Boyacá that was awarded to the generals who led their forces to victory in the Battle of Boyacá in 1819. This early decoration lives on today as an incarnation of the highest order presented by the Colombian state. There is one decoration higher, but it is only awarded for military conflicts in defence of Colombia. Other than military decorations, Colombia presents decorations on behalf of the National Government, decorations for the National Police, and decorations from the Congress of Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Service Medal of the Order of St John</span> Long service medal of the Order of St John

The Service Medal of the Order of St John is awarded to recognise both conspicuous and long service with the Venerable Order of St John, particularly in St John Ambulance, both in the United Kingdom and in a number of other Commonwealth countries and Hong Kong. The award was announced in the St John Ambulance Brigade General Regulations for 1895 and minted in 1899, though the first honourees had been selected the previous year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honour medal for firefighters</span> Award

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medal for Voluntary Military Service</span> Award

The Medal for Voluntary Military Service is a French military decoration established on 13 March 1975 by decree 75-150. It was established in three grades to recognize voluntary military service in the reserves.

The Republic of Senegal awards the following orders, decorations and medals.

The New Zealand Defence Meritorious Service Medal is a military award of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). Established by Royal Warrant 15 October 2013, the medal may be awarded to recognize meritorious exceptional performance, commitment, or innovation. Military and civilian personnel of the NZDF are eligible for this award regardless of rank or time in service. It will supersede the New Zealand Meritorious Service Medal.

The Joint War Organisation (JWO) was a combined operation of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St John of Jerusalem during the World Wars. It was first created in 1914 and ceased operations when World War I ended in 1919; the organisation was re-formed upon the British entry into World War II in 1939 and was active until its permanent disbanding in 1947. The Joint War Committee (JWC), a non-government administrative body, controlled the JWO and the Joint War Finance Committee managed its finances and concentrated on raising donations and funding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Decoration for gallantry or exceptional devotion</span> Award

The Military Decoration for Exceptional Service or Acts of Courage or Devotion is awarded to personnel of the Belgian Armed Forces for either displayed herorism or for display of extraordinary devotion to duty. In history, sometimes it is referred to as an 'Article 4' award, as originally, the medal was created as a variation of the military decoration for long service. However, nowadays, both medals are distinct awards, albeit still having the same guilt cross.

References

  1. "No. 62529". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 2019. p. 327.
  2. 1 2 3 John Mussell (ed). Medal Yearbook 2015. p. 253. Published by Token Publishing Ltd. Honiton, Devon.
  3. Captain H. Taprell Dorling. Ribbons and Medals. p. 129. Published A.H.Baldwin & Sons, London. 1956.
  4. 1 2 "British Red Cross Museum. Museum and archives > Historical collections > Medals and badges". British Red Cross. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  5. Order and Medals Society of America Journal, page 4, Volume 2, 1955.
  6. "Voluntary Medical Service Medal". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 9 November 2013.