The Civil Defence Medal (CDM) is a long service award by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, instituted by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in March 1961 and awarded for 15 years continuous service in a variety of different organisations including the

Civil Defence Corps The Civil Defence Corps (CDC) was a civilian volunteer organisation established in Great Britain in 1949 to mobilise and take local control of the affected area in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Col ...

(CD), the

Auxiliary Fire Service The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of the Civil Defence Service. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local level. The Auxiliary Fire Service and the local brigades were superseded ...

(AFS), the National Hospital Service Reserve (NHSR) and the

United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation The United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) was a British civilian organisation operating to provide UK military and civilian authorities with data on nuclear explosions and forecasts of fallout across the country in the event ...

. Qualification was extended in 1963 to Civil Defence personnel in Gibraltar, Hong Kong and Malta.Captain W.W.F. Chatterton Dickson, RN. ''The Civil Defence Long Service Medal.'' Orders & Medals Research Society Journal, Vol 25 No 4, pages 224-226, Winter 1986. With most of the eligible organisations disbanded, the medal is currently only awarded to civil defence volunteers on the

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Description

An oval medallion measuring 38mm in height by 32mm wide in silver coloured

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.
Obverse: The crowned head of Queen Elizabeth II and the legend ''ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID. DEF.''
Reverse: The original 1961 medal depicted three shields, each bearing the initials of one of the three main services: ''CD'', ''AFS'' and ''NHSR'', with an oak branch in the background. A separate Northern Ireland version had the initials ''AFRS'' (Auxiliary Fire and Rescue Service) and ''HSR'' (Hospital Service Reserve) on the last two shields. When the award was extended to Gibraltar, Hong Kong and Malta in 1963, a new reverse was designed, bearing the words ''CIVIL DEFENCE'' and ''LONG SERVICE'', separated by a design of laurel wreaths and palms. This was the only design in use after 1968. A bar clasp bearing the words ''LONG SERVICE'', attached on the ribbon, was issued for each further period of 12 years service. The medal hangs from a straight bar, with a 32mm wide ribbon of dark blue with three narrow stripes of yellow red and green, with the yellow being worn farthest from the left shoulder. Miniature medals for wear at black tie events remain available from several commercial sources.

Naming

The medals were issued unnamed.

Disestablishment of the recipient organisations

The Auxiliary Fire Service, National Hospital Service Reserve and Civil Defence Corps were disbanded in 1968, with those serving in their fifteenth year, or twenty-seventh year for the bar, receiving the medal even though they had not completed their full qualifying service. On the UK mainland, only members of the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation continued to qualify after 1968, until it too was disbanded in 1992 (the Warning and Monitoring Organisation on the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey ...

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

continued until 2007). The medal was awarded in Hong Kong until the territory was transferred to China in 1997. The medal is still awarded to members of the

Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps The Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps is one of the five emergency services maintained by the Isle of Man Government, to provide a range of emergency responses on the Isle of Man, an independent Crown dependency located in the Irish Sea between ...

, with two members receiving clasps to the medal in 2011 from the Lieutenant Governor, Vice Admiral Sir

Paul Haddacks Vice-Admiral Sir Paul Kenneth Haddacks, KCB (born 27 October 1946) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Navy who served as Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man from 2005 to 2011. Early life Haddacks was born on 27 October 1946. He was ed ...

KCB KStJ.Isle of Man Guide, News. ''Civil Defence stalwarts receive rare honour'', 10 March 2011.
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References

{{Efficiency and long service decorations and medals Civil awards and decorations of the United Kingdom Awards established in 1961 1961 establishments in the United Kingdom Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth