The Honorary Medal for Charitable Assistance ( nl, Erepenning voor Menslievend Hulpbetoon) was created at 18 June 1822 and is after the

Military William Order The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Oran ...

the oldest decoration for bravery in the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

. Furthermore, the Honorary Medal is the highest civilian decoration still being awarded for bravery, and is specifically for those who carried out a voluntary act of bravery or self-sacrifice, with an emphasis on charity. The medal can be awarded in gold, silver or bronze. Awarding is on basis by nomination of the Netherlands government and by royal decree. The golden medal has precedence only after the

Dutch Cross of Resistance The Verzetskruis 1940–1945 (English: ''Cross of Resistance 1940–1945'') is a decoration for valour in the Netherlands. Instituted on May 3, 1946, it was awarded in recognition of the individual courage shown in resistance against the ...

(also a civilian bravery decoration, but not awarded anymore), and the silver and bronze medals have precedence after the

Airman's Cross The Airman's Cross ( nl, Vliegerkruis) is a military decoration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands created in 1941. The cross is awarded to members of the Dutch military who display initiative, courage, and perseverance against the enemy or during ...

(a military bravery award).

History of the medal

Lieutenant Alexander de Langle was the first person to be rewarded with this medal in 1821 for rescuing a sergeant who was stuck at the bottom of a well. Although this was considered an act of bravery, King William I did not deem it important enough to award the lieutenant the distinguished Military William Order, so instead a new award for bravery was created: the Honorary Medal for Charitable Assistance. The first medal was roundish and showed the portrait of King William I. At the reverse side a laurel wreath was portrayed and some space was reserved for an inscription. The medal was not meant to be worn. The size of the medal was related to the value of the metal used: a diameter of 50, 41 or 35 millimeter for subsequently a bronze, silver or golden medal. In 1825 King William I decided that noble and charitable acts of Dutchmen were to be awarded by charitable organisations and the acts of foreigners and soldiers by the king himself. In 1837 King William II decided by royal decree that the size of the golden, silver and bronze medals would be all 50 millimeter. Also his portrait was put on the medals. Since 1849 the portrait of

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

was shown on the medals and from 1875 a portrait of the older and bald King William III. When

Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia; 2 August 1858 – 20 March 1934) was Queen of the Netherlands and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of King-Grand Duke William III. An immensely popular member of the Dutch ...

became the

queen regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

of the Netherlands she decided to put on the medal the portrait of her minor daughter

Queen Wilhelmina Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...

. In 1897 a new type of medal was created, the medal did get a ribbon to wear and also did get the same shape as the French "Medal of Saint Helena". Since 1912 the medal has its current shape. The medal is ovally shaped with at the top a stylised royal crown. On the medal a mother with three children is portrayed. The motif is taken from the city hall in

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on thr ...

. At the reverse side the words "De koningin aan" ( en, The Queen Rewards to) and also some space is reserved for an inscription. The medal is worn with an orange ribbon that has a red band in the middle. The medallion is today still award as gold, silver or bronze. By decree on 15 April 1952 it was decided that the golden honorary medal has precedence just below the

; herewith the golden Honorary Medal for Charitable Assistance is one of the highest awards in the Netherlands. The silver and bronze honorary medals has lower precedence after the

. Before or since

World War II 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 opposing ...

it was common to award the medal to sailors. During

the medal was primarily award by the

Dutch government in exile The Dutch government-in-exile ( nl, Nederlandse regering in ballingschap), also known as the London Cabinet ( nl, Londens kabinet), was the government in exile of the Netherlands, supervised by Queen Wilhelmina, that fled to London after the Germ ...

to those British sailors who rescued Dutch victims from drowning by a shipwreck. After the war the medal was significantly less awarded. In 1982 a soldier of the Royal Netherlands Air Force received the bronze medal, and in 2005 two silver medals were awarded to rescuers of the

Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution The Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (Dutch: ''Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij'', abbreviated: ''KNRM'') is the voluntary organization in the Netherlands tasked with saving lives at sea. For that purpose, it maintains 45 lif ...

. The medal was last awarded to five members of the Search and Rescue squadron 7 of the Royal Netherlands Navy, this because they saved the life of the captain and coxswain of an

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

. Silver medals were awarded on 29 May 2008 by the then Dutch Minister of Defence

Eimert van Middelkoop Eimert van Middelkoop (; born 14 February 1949) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Union (CU) party and teacher. He is the chairman of the Institute for Multiparty Democracy since 20 January 2018. Early life After high school, van ...

External links

The Honorary Medal for Charitable Assistance
- Official site of the Chancellery of the Netherlands Orders (English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Honorary Medal For Charitable Assistance Orders, decorations, and medals of the Netherlands 1822 establishments in the Netherlands Awards established in 1822