Medal of the Order of the British Empire, obverse

The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. 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 Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

Award

The British Empire Medal is granted in recognition of meritorious civil or military service. Recipients are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "BEM". Since December 1918, the honour has been divided into civil and military divisions in a similar way to the

itself. While recipients are not members of the Order, the medal is affiliated to it. Between 1993 and 2012, the British Empire Medal was not awarded to subjects of the United Kingdom, although it continued to be awarded in some

Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonweal ...

during that time. The practice of awarding the Medal to British subjects was resumed in June 2012, to coincide with the

Queen's Diamond Jubilee The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...

, but only in the civil division. Since March 1941 a clasp attached to the ribbon can be bestowed to denote a further award. A holder of the BEM subsequently appointed to membership of the Order of the British Empire is permitted to wear the insignia for both.

History

1917–1922

The Medal of the Order of the British Empire was established in June 1917, along with the

of which it was a part, and could be awarded for either meritorious service or for gallantry. It was awarded to 2,014 people, 800 of whom were from foreign countries.

1922–1940

In 1922, the original medal was discontinued, and was replaced by two separate honours, both of which still formed part of the Order of the British Empire. These two honours were known as the ''Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service'' (usually referred to as British Empire Medal, BEM) and the ''Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry'' (usually referred to as

Empire Gallantry Medal 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 Meda ...

, EGM). Of these medals, the EGM was awarded for acts of bravery, until it was replaced by the

George Cross 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 ...

in 1940. The BEM was awarded in similar circumstances as the lower classes of the Order of the British Empire, but usually to people below management or professional level. In the uniformed services, it was awarded to non-commissioned officers of the armed forces, officers below

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

rank in the police, and personnel below divisional officer level in the fire services.

1940–1992

Order of the British Empire for gallantry, oak leaves ribbon emblem

On 24 September 1940, the

was established, and the EGM was revoked by Royal Warrant the same day. All living recipients, other than honorary recipients, and the next-of-kin of those posthumously awarded the EGM after 3 September 1939, the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, were to exchange their insignia for the George Cross. Recipients of the BEM were not affected by these changes. From 1940, the war led to an increasing number of BEMs awarded to service personnel and civilians, including the merchant marine, police and civil defence, for acts of gallantry that did not reach the standard of the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in cir ...

(GM). Such awards often had citations, while awards for meritorious service usually did not. From 14 January 1958, awards of the BEM for acts of gallantry were formally designated the British Empire Medal for Gallantry and consisted of the BEM with a silver oak leaf emblem worn on the ribbon. The first recipients of this newly designated award were two Board of Customs officers, George Elrick Thomson and John Rees Thomas, who ventured into a burning steamship hold in an attempt to rescue a colleague. Like the GM, the BEM for Gallantry could not be awarded posthumously and was eventually replaced in 1974 with the

Queen's Gallantry Medal 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 Queen's Commendation for Braver ...

(QGM). Again, recipients of the BEM for services other than acts of bravery were not affected by these changes.

1992–2012

The BEM continued to be awarded to subjects of the United Kingdom until 1992. After a 1993 review of the

British honours system In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award: *Honours are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement a ...

, the government decided that the distinction between the BEM and MBE had "become increasingly tenuous" and the Prime Minister, John Major, ended the award of the BEM to British subjects, although the medal continued to be awarded in some Commonwealth countries, such as

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

and the

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.See 2008

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() and Queen's Birthday Honours ()

From 2012

Following the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the BEM would once again be awarded in the United Kingdom, although only in the civil division; this would start beginning in 2012, to coincide with the

. In the 2012 Birthday Honours, released on 16 June 2012, the BEM was awarded to 293 people. Although those awarded the honour do not receive it from the monarch in person, but from the Lord Lieutenant of their county, recipients are invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party to celebrate their achievement.

Appearance

The Medal of the Order of the British Empire awarded from 1917 to 1922 was a circular silver medal, in diameter, showing a seated Britannia and the inscription FOR GOD AND THE EMPIRE on the obverse and the Royal cypher on the reverse. The medal had a ring suspender for the wide ribbon of plain purple, the military division having a red central stripe. The medal was awarded unnamed. The medals introduced in 1922 broadly follow the same design but, with a diameter of , are larger than the previous medal, and have either FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE or FOR GALLANTRY in the obverse

exergue A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...

. The medal has a straight bar suspender for the wide ribbon. This was plain purple, with a red central stripe for the military division, until 1937 when, like the Order, the ribbon changed to the current design of rose-pink with pearl-grey edges, with an additional pearl-grey central stripe for the military division. The medal was presented with the recipient's name on the rim.

References

External links

Search recommendations for the British Empire Medal on The UK National Archives' website.

British Empire Medal on the Veterans Affairs Canada site
{{South African military decorations and medals Civil awards and decorations of the United Kingdom Decorations of the Merchant Navy Military awards and decorations of the United Kingdom