The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
,
[''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138] is a decoration of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circumstances where military honours are not appropriate.
History
In 1940, at the height of
the Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
, there was a strong desire to reward many acts of civilian courage. Existing awards open to civilians were not considered suitable to meet the new situation, so 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 ...
and the George Medal were instituted to recognise civilian gallantry in the face of enemy bombing, and brave deeds more generally.
[
Announcing the new awards, the King said
The warrant for the GM (along with that of the GC), dated 24 January 1941, was published in '']The London Gazette
''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...
'' on 31 January 1941.
Criteria
The medal is granted in recognition of "acts of great bravery". The original warrant for the George Medal did not explicitly permit it to be awarded posthumously. The position was clarified in December 1977 expressly to allow posthumous awards, several of which have subsequently been made.
The medal is primarily a civilian award, but it may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct that is not in the face of the enemy. As the warrant states:
Recipients are entitled to the post-nominal letters ''GM''.
Bars to the GM may be awarded in recognition of further acts of bravery meriting the award. In undress uniform or on occasions when the medal ribbon alone is worn, a silver rosette is worn on the ribbon to indicate each bar.[''The London Gazette'', 31 January 1941 – Warrant, Seventh clause]
Details of all awards to British and Commonwealth recipients are published in ''The London Gazette''. Approximately 2,122 medals have been awarded since inception in 1940, with 27 second-award bars.[''Medal Yearbook'' 2015, page 93]
Description
The GM is a circular silver medal in diameter, with the ribbon suspended from a ring. It has the following design.[''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p.146]
The obverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...
depicts the crowned effigy of the reigning monarch. To date, there have been four types:
File:George Medal, King George VI, first obverse.png, George VI, 1940 to 1948. Inscribed GEORGIVS VI D: G: BR: OMN: REX ET INDIAE IMP:
File:George Medal, King George VI, second obverse.jpg, George VI, 1948 to 1952. Inscribed GEORGIVS VI DEI: GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX FID: DEF:
File:George Medal, Queen Elizabeth, first obverse.png, Elizabeth II, 1952 to late 1950s. Inscribed ELIZABETH II D: G: BR: OMN: REGINA F.D.
File:George Medal, Queen Elizabeth, second obverse.png, Elizabeth II, late 1950s to date. Inscribed ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F.D.
The reverse shows Saint George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
on horseback slaying the dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
on the coast of England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, with the legend THE GEORGE MEDAL around the top edge of the medal.
The ribbon is wide, crimson with five narrow blue stripes. The blue colour is taken from 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 ...
ribbon. The medal is worn on the left chest by men; women not in uniform wear the medal on the left shoulder, with the ribbon fashioned into a bow.[
The name of the recipient is engraved on the rim of the medal, although some Army awards have impressed naming.][
]
Recipients
The first recipients, listed in ''The London Gazette'' of 30 September 1940, were Chief Officer Ernest Herbert Harmer and Second Officer Cyril William Arthur Brown of the Dover Fire Brigade, and Section Officer Alexander Edmund Campbell of the Dover Auxiliary Fire Service
The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of the Civil Defence Service. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local level. The Auxiliary Fire Service and the local brigades were superseded ...
, who on 29 July had volunteered to return to a ship loaded with explosives in Dover Harbour
The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pa ...
to fight fires aboard while an air raid was in progress. Seven other people were also awarded the medal, including the first women; Ambulance Driver Dorothy Clarke and Ambulance Attendant Bessie Jane Hepburn of Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Alde ...
, Suffolk, for rescuing a man badly injured in an explosion.
The first recipient chronologically was Coxswain Robert Cross, commander of the RNLI lifeboat ''City of Bradford'', based at Spurn Point
Spurn is a narrow sand tidal island located off the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber Estuary. It was a spit with a semi-permanent con ...
, whose award was gazetted on 7 February 1941. It was awarded for an incident on 2 February 1940 when Cross took the lifeboat out in gale force
The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale.
History
The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufo ...
winds, snow squall
A snowsquall, or snow squall, is a sudden moderately heavy snowfall with blowing snow and strong, gusty surface winds. It is often referred to as a whiteout and is similar to a blizzard but is localized in time or in location and snow accumul ...
s, and very rough seas to rescue the crew of a steam trawler.[
The youngest recipient was ]Charity Anne Bick
Charity Anne Bick (19 December 1924 – 22 April 2002) was a British civilian dispatch rider during the Second World War, and the youngest ever recipient of the George Medal, the United Kingdom's second-highest award for civilian bravery. She l ...
, who lied about her age to join the ARP service
Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s an ...
at 14 years old, and who delivered several messages by bicycle during a heavy air raid in West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...
in late 1940.
The first person to receive a second award was George Samuel Sewell, an engineer working for Shell-Mex and BP Ltd., based at the oil terminal at Salt End
Salt End or Saltend is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated on the north bank of the Humber Estuary just outside the Hull eastern boundary on the A1033 road. It forms part of the civi ...
, near Hull, for his actions during an air raid. Having been one of the first recipients (in September 1940) his bar to the George Medal was gazetted on 4 July 1941.[
The year 2015 included the 75th anniversary of the creation of the award, and was marked by a ceremony in London.]
See also
* Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms
This article concerns the orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms awarded by the sovereign in right of each nation.
Awards are listed by order of wear.
Antigua and Barbuda
* Order of the National Hero
* Order of the Nation
* Order of M ...
Notes
Bibliography
*
* Dorling, H. Taprell, (1956), ''Ribbons and Medals'', A. H. Baldwin & Son
*
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*
External links
New Zealand Defence Force
– Medal information page
Search recommendations for the George Medal on The UK National Archives website
{{George VI
Awards established in 1940
1940 establishments in the United Kingdom
Civil awards and decorations of the United Kingdom
Decorations of the Merchant Navy
Courage awards
George VI