The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) was a military decoration awarded until 1993 to personnel of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and members of the other

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

, and formerly to personnel of other

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

countries, up to and including the rank of

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi� ...

, for bravery and resourcefulness on active service at sea.

History

The medal was established on 14 October 1914 as the third level decoration for gallantry in action for ratings of the Royal Navy, not at the standard required to receive the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

or the

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal 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 awa ...

. The equivalent decoration for

Officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

s was the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

(DSC). The DSM ranked below the DSC in order of precedence, between 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 circ ...

and the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

after those medals were established in 1940 and 1916 respectively. Awards of the DSM were announced in the

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Recipients are entitled to use the

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

"DSM". The DSM was intended to reward bravery at sea. For example, members of the

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who wer ...

, who served alongside the Army in France in the First World War, were eligible for Army decorations, including the

Distinguished Conduct Medal 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, ranki ...

and the

. From 1916, ribbon bars could be authorised for subsequent awards of the DSM.. In 1940 the award was extended to

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

personnel serving with the Fleet and, in 1942, to members of the Merchant Navy, and

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

personnel serving afloat, for example manning a merchant ship's anti-aircraft guns. In 1979 eligibility for a number of awards, including the DSM, was extended to permit posthumous awards. Until that time, only the

and a

mention in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) 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 ...

could be awarded posthumously. The Distinguished Service Medal was discontinued in 1993, as part of the review of the British honours system which recommended removing distinctions of rank in respect of awards for bravery. Since then the Distinguished Service Cross, previously only open to Commissioned and

Warrant Officers Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the most ...

, has been awarded to all ranks. The DSM had also been awarded by Commonwealth countries but by the 1990s most, including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, were establishing their own honours systems and no longer recommended British honours.

Description

* The DSM is a circular silver medal, in diameter, with the following design: * The obverse bears the effigy and titles of the reigning monarch. * The reverse has the inscription 'FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE' on three lines, within a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...

surmounted by an

Imperial crown An Imperial Crown is a crown used for the coronation of emperors. Design Crowns in Europe during the Middle Ages varied in design: During the Middle Ages the crowns worn by English kings had been described as both closed (or arched) and op ...

. * The suspender is plain and straight. * The name, rank, service number and ship of the recipient are engraved or impressed on the rim of the medal. * The ribbon is 32 millimetres (1.25 inches) wide and consists of three equal stripes: dark blue, white, and dark blue, with a thin dark blue stripe down the centre of the white. * Ribbon bars, indicating a further award, are silver and ornamented with laurel leaves. Bars issued during the First World War were dated on the reverse, while those awarded during the Second World War were undated. When the ribbon alone is worn, a silver rosette denotes the award of each bar.

Obverse variations

The medal was awarded with one of five obverse designs: File:NGSM 1915 GV obv.jpg, George V (1914–36) File:Distinguished Service Medal (UK) George VI obverse.jpg, George VI (1st type) 'INDIAE IMP' (1938–49) File:NGSM 1915 GVI obv 1949-52.jpg, George VI (2nd type) without 'INDIAE IMP' (1949–52) File:Naval General Service Medal 1915 (Obverse) First Elizabeth version.jpg, Elizabeth II (1st type) 'BR OMN' (1952–57) File:NGSM 1915 EBII obv.jpg, Elizabeth II (2nd type) 'DEI GRATIA' (1957–93)

Numbers of awards

Between 1914 and 1993, approximately 11,311 medals and 227 bars were awarded. These figures include honorary awards made to servicemen from allied countries during both World Wars.

Notes and citations

Notes Citations

Bibliography