The Indian Distinguished Service Medal (IDSM) was a military decoration awarded by the British Empire to Indian citizens serving in the Indian armed forces and military police. When it was instituted in 1907 it was the second highest award available to Indians, behind the

Indian Order of Merit The Indian Order of Merit (IOM) was a military and civilian decoration of British India. It was established in 1837, (General Order of the Governor-General of India, No. 94 of 1 May 1837) although following the Partition of India in 1947 it was ...

(IOM). However, when eligibility for 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 ...

was extended to cover all Commonwealth subjects in 1911, the IDSM became third highest in the order of precedence. It was instituted in order to recognise acts of gallantry that did not meet the standards required of the IOM. The award was discontinued following the

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

and subsequent

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

in 1947. The medal was awarded for gallantry, both in peace and on active military service. When instituted it was only available to Viceroy's commissioned officers, NCOs and men of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

, Indian State Forces, militias and levies. However, after 1917 it was extended to 'non-combatant' followers, such as carriers and grooms. In 1929, eligibility was extended to the

Royal Indian Marine Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

and to the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

in 1940. In 1944 members of the Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery became eligible. It is a circular silver medal, in width. The obverse depicts the current monarch, while the reverse had the words FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE surrounded by a laurel wreath. The medals were issued with the details of the recipient engraved or impressed on the rim, including service number, name and regiment. The ribbon was dark blue with a central wide crimson stripe. Fewer than 6,000 were awarded, including bars. About 3,200 were awarded during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and 1,200 from the start of the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

to 1947. The rest were mainly awarded between the wars during frontier fighting and other inter-war campaigns such as the Iraq campaign of 1919–20.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* * {{Decorations of the United Kingdom Military awards and decorations of the United Kingdom Military awards and decorations of India