The Southern Cross Decoration, post-nominal letters SD, is a South African military decoration for merit which was instituted by the Republic on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to officers 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 outstanding service of the highest order and utmost devotion to duty.South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters
(Retrieved 28 April 2015)
/ref>Alexander, E.G.M., Barron, G.K.B. and Bateman, A.J. (1986). ''South African Orders, Decorations and Medals''. Human and Rousseau.Monick, S, (1988). ''South African Military Awards 1912-1987''. South African National Museum of Military History.

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
/ref>

Institution

The Southern Cross Decoration, post-nominal letters SD, was instituted by the State President on 1 July 1975.

Award criteria

The decoration could be awarded to officers of the

for outstanding service of the highest order and utmost devotion to duty. A Bar was instituted in 1993, to be awarded in recognition of further similar displays of outstanding service of the highest order and utmost devotion to duty. The equivalent award for other ranks was the

Pro Merito Decoration The Pro Merito Decoration, post-nominal letters PMD, is a military decoration for merit which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to other ranks of the South African Defence Force for outstanding servi ...

(PMD). Although not prescribed, the practice was generally that recipients must already have received the Southern Cross Medal (SM). The first recipient was Admiral

Hugo Biermann Hugo Hendrik Biermann, (6 August 1916 – 27 March 2012) was a senior officer in the South African Navy. He served as Chief of the Navy from 1952 to 1972 and Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1972 until 1976, the only naval offic ...

SSA OBE GCIH, who received the decoration upon his retirement as Chief of the South African Defence Force in 1976.

Order of wear

The position of the Southern Cross Decoration in the official order of precedence was revised three times, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the

Azanian People's Liberation Army The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), formerly known as Poqo, was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, an African nationalist movement in South Africa. In the Xhosa language, the word 'Poqo' means 'pure'. After attacks on ...

and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again upon the institution of a new set of awards in 2003, but it remained unchanged on all three 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, PVDlint

;Official SANDF order of precedence: * Preceded by the

Pro Virtute Decoration The Pro Virtute Decoration, post-nominal letters PVD, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa in 1987. It was awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for distinguished conduct an ...

(PVD). * Succeeded by the Pro Merito Decoration (PMD). ;Official national order of precedence: * Preceded by the Pro Virtute Decoration (PVD). * Succeeded by the Pro Merito Decoration (PMD).

Description

;Obverse The Southern Cross Decoration is a silver-gilt double

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...

, which fits in a circle 45 millimetres in diameter. The arms of the cross are in white enamel, with the stars of the

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...

on a framed roundel, in dark blue enamel, in the centre. A protea attaches the decoration to the ribbon hanger.Southern Cross Decoration (SD)
/ref> ;Reverse The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms in the centre, with the decoration number impressed above and the silver hallmark below. Ribbon - Southern Cross Decoration & Bar

Ribbon - Southern Cross Decoration & Bar

;Bar The Bar is silver-gilt and has an emblem, depicting a

Protea ''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). Etymology The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus, possibly after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form a ...

, embossed in the centre. The same Bar was used to indicate multiple awards of the

, Southern Cross Decoration,

and Ad Astra Decoration. ;Ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and dark blue, with two 1 millimetre wide white bands in the centre, 4 millimetres apart.

Discontinuation

Conferment of the decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003, when the Southern Cross Decoration and the

(PMD) were both replaced by the new

iPhrothiya yeGolide The iPhrothiya yeGolide - Golden Protea, post-nominal letters PG, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 16 April 2003 and came into effect on 27 April 2003. It can be awarded to all ranks who have distinguished the ...

(PG).Republic of South Africa Government Gazette no. 26778, Pretoria, 17 September 2004

References

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