The Medal for Gallantry (MG) is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

. It recognises acts of gallantry in action in hazardous circumstances. The MG was introduced on 15 January 1991, replacing the Imperial equivalent. It is ranked third in the Gallantry Decorations in the

Australian Honours System The Australian honours and awards system refers to all Order (distinction), orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarchy of Australia, Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister a ...

. Recipients of the Medal of Gallantry 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, ...

"MG".

Description

* The Medal for Gallantry is circular and is made of gold-plated silver. It is ensigned with the Crown of Saint Edward. The obverse bears a

Federation Star The Commonwealth Star (also known as the Federation Star, the Seven Point Star, or the Star of Federation) is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901. Six points of the Star represen ...

, which is superimposed on a circle of flames. This image represents action under fire. * The reverse shows a horizontal panel superimposed on a design of fluted rays. * The Medal for Gallantry is suspended from a 32 millimetre-wide ribbon by a narrow gold-plated silver suspender bar. The ribbon has a design of chevrons of light orange alternating with chevrons of deep orange angled at 60 degrees. The chevron pattern is placed as a stylised "A" with the points facing upwards.

Decoration allowance

Veterans who are paid disability pension under the ''Veterans Entitlements Act 1986'' (the Act), and who have been awarded a gallantry award specified in the Act, including the Medal for Gallantry, are also paid a decoration allowance. In May 2011, the allowance was A$2.10 per fortnight.

Notable recipients

Signalman A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...

Martin "Jock" Wallace MG, formerly of the 152 Signal Squadron and the

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The reg ...

. Awarded 27 November 2002 for actions in Afghanistan on 2 March 2002. * Sergeant "C" (

Matthew Locke Matthew Locke may refer to: * Matthew Locke (administrator) (fl. 1660–1683), English Secretary at War from 1666 to 1683 * Matthew Locke (composer) (c. 1621–1677), English Baroque composer and music theorist * Matthew Locke (soldier) (1974–2 ...

MG of the Special Air Service Regiment) was subsequently Killed In Action in 2007.Vale SGT Locke
, defence.gov.au * Lance Corporal "E" is now known as Corporal

Ben Roberts-Smith Benjamin Roberts-Smith (born 1 November 1978) is an Australian businessman and a former Australian Army soldier. The Victoria Cross (VC) in 2011 and the Medal for Gallantry (MG) in 2006 made Roberts-Smith the most highly decorated serving membe ...

VC MG of the Special Air Service Regiment. He was awarded the MG for actions in the period May–September 2006 in Afghanistan,Benjamin Roberts-Smith
defence.gov.au and subsequently the VC. * Corporal "B", (later identified as Sergeant Brett Wood MG), of the

2nd Commando Regiment The 2nd Commando Regiment is a special forces unit of the Australian Army and is part of Special Operations Command. The regiment was established on 19 June 2009 when the 4th Battalion RAR (Commando) was renamed. It is based at Holsworthy, ...

was subsequently Killed In Action on 23 May 2011.Vale SGT Wood
, defence.gov.au
defence.gov.au

List of recipients

Number awarded

In March 2018, only 55 of the recipients were listed on the "It's an Honour" website. A further 8 recipients have been identified from official publications of the Governor General, the Department of Defence and from special issues of the Australian Government Gazette. Many of the awards have been presented at the official Australia Day ceremonies - held on 26 January - and Queen's Birthday ceremonies - held on the 2nd Monday in June.

References

External links

It's an Honour
{{Australian Honours System Military awards and decorations of Australia Courage awards * 1991 establishments in Australia Awards established in 1991