The Honoris Crux Silver (Silver Cross of Honour), post-nominal letters HCS, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to members of the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

for exceptional acts of bravery while in great danger. The Honoris Crux Silver was the third most senior in a set of four classes of Honoris Crux decorations, which together replaced the discontinued Honoris Crux of 1952.South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters
(Retrieved 28 April 2015)

The South African military

The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
(Retrieved 30 April 2015)
(Retrieved 30 April 2015)Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 457, no. 25213, Pretoria, 25 July 2003
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Institution

The Honoris Crux Silver (Silver Cross of Honour), post-nominal letters HCS, was instituted by the State President on 1 July 1975.

Award criteria

The decoration was awarded to members of the

for exceptional acts of bravery in action, while in great danger. A Bar could be awarded for a further similar deed of bravery. It was the third most senior of a set of four classes of Honoris Crux decorations, the Honoris Crux Diamond,

Honoris Crux Gold The Honoris Crux Gold (Gold Cross of Honour), post-nominal letters HCG, is a South African military decoration for bravery which was instituted in 1975. It was awarded to members of the South African Defence Force for outstanding acts of brav ...

, Honoris Crux Silver and Honoris Crux, which replaced the discontinued Honoris Crux of 1952.

Order of wear

The position of the Honoris Crux Silver in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1975, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first with the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994 and again with the institution of a new set of awards in 2003, but it remained unchanged on both occasions.Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 15093, Pretoria, 3 September 1993Republic of South Africa Government Gazette Vol. 477, no. 27376, Pretoria, 11 March 2005, DVRlint

;Official SANDF order of precedence: * Preceded by the

Honoris Crux (1952) The Honoris Crux (Cross of Honour) of 1952, post-nominal letters HC, is a South African military decorations, military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Union of South Africa in 1952. It was in use from 1952 to 1975 and was aw ...

(HC) of the

. * Succeeded by the

Van Riebeeck Decoration The Van Riebeeck Decoration, post-nominal letters DVR, is a South African military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Union of South Africa in 1952. It was awarded to officers for distinguished service in the field.Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. ;Official national order of precedence: * Preceded by the

(HC) of the

. * Succeeded by the

Description

;Obverse The Honoris Crux Silver is a silver Maltese cross which fits in a circle 45 millimetres in diameter, with two swords in

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltator ...

surmounted by a circular protea wreath, the arms of the cross in green enamel, with a roundel in the centre, tierced horizontally in the orange, white and blue bands of the national flag, framed in a double silver circle containing 24 stones. It is identical to the Honoris Crux of 1975 in all respects, except the colour of the enamel on the arms of the cross. ;Reverse The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms, with the decoration number impressed above and the silver hallmark below. ;Bar The bar is of silver, with a miniature replica of the Maltese cross embossed in the centre. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and orange, with two 1 millimetre wide white bands in the centre, spaced 4 millimetres apart.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003, when the Honoris Crux Silver was replaced by the new Nkwe ya Selefera (NS).

Recipients

In respect of those recipients about whom it is available, the actions they were cited for follow below the table. Note 1: denotes a posthumous award.

Actions cited for

References

{{South African military decorations and medals Military decorations and medals of South Africa Courage awards 1975 establishments in South Africa Awards established in 1975