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George Cross
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| George Cross | |
|---|---|
  Obverse of the medal. Ribbon: 38mm, dark blue. |
|
| Awarded by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | |
| Type | Civil decoration. |
| Eligibility | British and Commonwealth subjects. |
| Awarded for | "... acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger." |
| Status | Currently awarded. |
| Description | Height 48mm, max. width 45mm; (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. |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 24 September 1940 |
| Total awarded | 158 (including 2 collective awards) |
| Precedence | |
| Next (lower) | George Medal |
The George Cross (GC) is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.[1] The GC is the civilian counterpart of the Victoria Cross and the highest honour that can be awarded for civilian or to military personnel for gallant conduct which is not in the face of the enemy.
Contents |
The GC was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI.[2] At this time, during the height 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 that the George Cross and the George Medal would be instituted to recognise both 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."[citation needed]
The Warrant for the GC (along with that of the GM), dated 24 January 1940, was published in the London Gazette on 31 January 1941.
The GC was intended to replace the Empire Gallantry Medal; all holders of the EGM were instructed to exchange their medals for a GC, a substitution of awards unprecedented in the history of British decorations. This substitution policy ignored holders of the Albert Medal and the Edward Medal, awards which both took precedence over the EGM.[3] The anomaly was only rectified in 1971, when the surviving recipients of the AM and the EM were invited to exchange their award for the George Cross. Of the 65 holders of the Albert Medal and 68 holders of the Edward Medal eligible to exchange, 49 and 59 respectively took up the option.[citation needed]
The medal, 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."[4]
The medal is primarily a civilian award; however the George Cross may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct which is not in the face of the enemy.[5] As 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.[6]
Bars are awarded to the GC in recognition of the performance of further acts of bravery meriting the award, although none have yet been awarded. Recipients are entitled to the postnominal letters GC.[7] In common with the Victoria Cross, in a distinction peculiar to these two premier awards for bravery, 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.[8]
The details of all awards are published in the London Gazette with the exception of the two collective bestowals.
See also: List of George Cross recipients
Since its inception in 1940, the GC has been awarded posthumously to 85 recipients and 71 living people (excluding the two collective awards to Malta and the Royal Ulster Constabulary).
The most recent recipient of the George Cross is Corporal Mark Wright, of the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, who died in Helmand Province on 6 September 2006, after entering a minefield in an attempt to save the lives of other injured soldiers. He entered the minefield with a small team after another soldier stepped on a landmine. While the first casualty was being tending, further landmines detonated as a landing space was cleared for a helicopter evacuation attempt, causing severe injuries to several others. Cpl Wright remained in the minefield, and ordered others out, but he was himself injured by another mine while making his way to the helicopter. He maintained the morale of the other wounded soldiers, despite his serious injuries, but died of his wounds during the flight to the field dressing station.[9]
Prior to that, the two most recent military recipients of the George Cross were Captain Peter Norton, an Ammunition Technical Officer of the Royal Logistic Corps, for gallantry when, on 24 July 2005, he led a bomb disposal team at the site of an IED attack on a US military patrol in Iraq. During the incident he sustained serious injuries; and Trooper Christopher Finney of the Blues and Royals, for gallantry during a friendly fire incident in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Finney is also the youngest military recipient of the decoration.
The most recent civilian recipient was Sergeant Stewart Guthrie of the New Zealand Police, who received his award posthumously for apprehending a gunman in the Aramoana massacre in New Zealand.[10]
In its history, the GC has been awarded directly to only four women, Odette Sansom, Violette Szabo, and Noor Inayat Khan (all members of FANY, who were awarded the George Cross for actions carried out while serving as agents in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II), and Barbara Harrison, an Air Stewardess, on a BOAC flight at Heathrow Airport, who died on 8 April 1968 after helping many passengers escape from an onboard fire.
The George Cross has, on the express recommendation of the Sovereign, been awarded twice on a collective basis,[11] to the island of Malta and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).
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 found 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. The George Cross is woven into the Flag of Malta and can be seen wherever the flag is flown.
The GC was awarded to the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II following the advice of her Government. Buckingham Palace announced,
- "The Queen has awarded the George Cross to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, to honour the courage and dedication of the officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and their families who have shared their hardships."
The Queen paid her own personal tribute to the RUC by presenting the George Cross to the organisation in person at Hillsborough Castle, County Down.
The citation published in a statement from Buckingham Palace on 23 November 1999 states:
- "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."
Within two years (on 4 November 2001), the RUC was replaced with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
There have been 10 crosses awarded to Canadians: eight military, one Merchant Navy, and one woman. The GC is no longer awarded to Canadians by the Queen of Canada, who awards the Cross of Valour (Canadian) instead.
The last Australian to be awarded the George Cross, and the most recent surviving civilian recipient, was Constable Michael Pratt of the Victoria Police, Melbourne, for arresting two armed bank robbers (London Gazette, July 5, 1978). The Queen of Australia established the Cross of Valour (Australian) in 1975 to be awarded by the Australian Crown "only for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril". This is now used instead of the George Cross.
Holders of the George Cross or Victoria Cross are entitled to an annuity, the amount of which is determined by the awarding government.[12] Since 2002, the annuity paid by the British government is £1,495 per year.[citation needed] As at January 2005, under the Canadian 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.[citation needed] For Australian holders, the amount is determined by clause 11A1.2 of the Australian Defence Forces Pay and Conditions, and as of January 2005 is $250 per year.
As from 1943 in accordance with the George Cross (Restriction of Use) Ordinance, in Malta it is not lawful to use the George Cross or an imitation of it or the words George Cross, for the purposes of trade or business without the authority of the Prime Minister.
- ^ Although certain Commonwealth Realms have now instituted their own indigenous honours systems, replacing the GC and other Commonweath awards so far as their citizens are concerned.
- ^ British Gallantry Medals, p. 138
- ^ British Gallantry Awards, p. 138
- ^ London Gazette, 31 January 1941 - Warrant, Fifth clause
- ^ Which could not therefore be recognised by a military decoration, given that they typically require gallantry in the face of the enemy.
- ^ London Gazette, 31 January 1941 - Warrant, Second clause
- ^ London Gazette, 31 January 1941 - Warrant, Eighth clause
- ^ One miniature replica signifying a single award. In the event of a second award of the GC (the award of a bar), a second replica would be worn on the ribbon, and so on for further awards. London Gazette, 31 January 1941 - Warrant, Seventh clause
- ^ Operational Honours: VC and GC for acts of exceptional valour, MOD press release, 14 December 2006.
- ^ London Gazette, 15 February 1992.
- ^ Such collective awards have only been bestowed on three occasions—two separate awards of the George Cross to Malta and the RUC and one award of the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross to the Royal Irish Regiment.
- ^ London Gazette, 15 June 1965 - Warrant, Fourteenth clause
- Abbott, PE and Tamplin, JMA - British Gallantry Awards, (1981), Nimrod Dix and Co.
- Duckers, P - British Gallantry Awards 1855-2000, (2001), Shire Publications
- Mackay, J and Mussell, J (eds) - Medal Yearbook - 2005, (2004), Token Publishing.
- The Register of the George Cross, This England, 2nd Edition (1990) ISBN 0-906324-17-3
- The George Cross, Ian Bisset, MacGibbon & Kee (1961)
- The Story of the George Cross, Sir John Smyth, Arthur Baker Ltd. (1968) ISBN 0213763079
- 'Gainst All Disaster, Allan Stanistreet, Picton Publishing Ltd. (1986) ISBN 0-948251-16-6
- George Cross (Restriction of Use) Ordinance, Government of Malta, (1943)
- One Step Further, Those who gallantry was rewarded with the George Cross. Series of 10 books. Marion Hebblethwaite, Chameleon HH Publishing Ltd from 2005 (ISBN 0954691717 onwards)
- British and Commonwealth orders and decorations
- Category:George Cross recipients
- Category:British George Cross recipients
- George Medal
- Cross of St. George, a Russian award
- St. George's cross, the flag of England
- Flag of Malta, a flag bearing the cross
- New Zealand Defence Force - Medal information page
- George Cross Database
- Canadian World War II recipients
- Ceremonial Secretariat - Types of Bravery Award
- Royal Engineers Museum: George Crosses awarded to Royal Engineers (Bomb Disposal)
- BBC On This Day 1942: Malta gets George Cross for bravery
- George Cross at Sea in World War 2, including Naval bomb Disposal