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This list includes Royal Regiment of Artillery recipients of the Gallantry Awards.
The Royal Regiment of Artillery was formalised as a Regiment in the British Army in 1716. Since that date members of the Regiment, and those units that have been absorbed into the Regiment, have recieved numerous awards for gallantry. This article lists all know recipients of gallantry awards from 1716 to present, although for some awards the information is not complete. The awards are listed in order of precidence and then by award date.
Victoria Cross
[edit]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. It may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command although no civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two-thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.
The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War. The medals are struck from brass taken from the cascabels of captured enemy cannon and not of precious metal as was common at the time. This was to emphasise that the award should be cherished as a symbol of gallantry rather than for its value. Since the Crimean War, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients across the British, Imperial and Commonwealth Armys. Only 15 medals, of which 11 were to members of the British Army and four were to members of the Australian Army, have been awarded since the Second World War. There have been a total of 62 members of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who have received this award.
George Cross
[edit]he George Cross (GC) is the second highest award of the United Kingdom honours system awarded "for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage in circumstance of extreme danger",[1] not in the presence of the enemy, to members of the British armed forces and to British civilians.[2] Posthumous awards have been allowed since it was instituted. It was previously awarded to residents of Commonwealth countries (and in one case to Malta, a colony which subsequently became a Commonwealth country), most of which have since established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians including police, emergency services and merchant seamen. Many of the awards have been personally presented by the British monarch to recipients or, in the case of posthumous awards, to next of kin. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.[3]
The George Cross was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI.[4] At this time, during the height of the Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage. The existing awards open to civilians were not judged suitable to meet the new situation, therefore it was decided that the George Cross and the George Medal would be instituted to recognise both civilian gallantry in the face of enemy action and brave deeds more generally.
Albert Medal (No Longer Awarded)
[edit]The Albert Medal for Lifesaving was a British medal awarded to recognize the saving of life. It has since been replaced by the George Cross.
The Albert Medal was first instituted by a Royal Warrant on 7 March 1866 and discontinued in 1971 with the last two awards promulgated in the London Gazette of 31 March 1970 to the late First Officer Geoffrey Clifford Bye of Boolaroo, New South Wales, Australia, and on 11 August 1970 to the late Kenneth Owen McIntyre of Fairy Meadow, New South Wales, Australia. The medal was named in memory of Prince Albert and originally was awarded to recognize saving life at sea. The original medal had a blue ribbon 5⁄8" (16 mm) wide with two white stripes. A further Royal Warrant in 1867 created two classes of Albert Medal, the first in gold and bronze and the second in bronze, both enamelled in blue, and the ribbon of the first class changed to 1 3⁄8" (35 mm) wide with four white stripes.
The first recipient of the medal was Samuel Popplestone, a tenant farmer, who on 23 March 1866 helped to rescue four men after the cargo ship Spirit of the Ocean lost its battle with force eleven gales and was torn apart as it was swept onto the notorious Start Point rocks in Devon.[1] Witnessing the accident, Popplestone paused only to raise the alarm before setting off alone for the wreck, armed with just a small coil of rope. He clambered out onto the rocks and although swept off several times, he eventually managed to lift four men out of the water and drag them up the cliff to safety. As the story of Popplestone's bravery became known through the press, he was hailed as a hero and as a result of his heroism he became the first recipient of the brand new award for civilian gallantry.
In 1877, the medal was extended to cover saving life on land and from this point there are two medals with different inscriptions to depict which they were awarded for. The land version was enamelled in red, with a red ribbon. The titles of the medals changed in 1917, the gold "Albert Medal, first class" becoming the "Albert Medal in gold" and the bronze "Albert Medal, second class" being known as just the "Albert Medal".
The event that led to the introduction of the Albert Medal for Gallantry on Land was the Tynewydd Colliery disaster which occurred on 11 April 1877.[2] In many ways, although it was tragic the disaster at Tynewydd was, by the standards of the time when single mining accidents often claimed hundreds of lives, relatively unremarkable. However, as the enthralling saga of the determined, dangerous and stoic rescue of the surviving colliers was dramatically and episodically reported in the press it captured the imagination of the public and MPs. Consequently, released from Windsor Castle on 25 April 1877, it was announced that "the Albert Medal, hitherto only bestowed for gallantry in saving life at sea, shall be extended for similar actions on land, and that the first medals struck for this purpose shall be conferred on the heroic rescuers of the Welsh miners".[3]
In 1911, second class honors were awarded to an Indigenous Australian prisoner.[4][5]
Memorial plaque commemorating Lieutenant Turner, Royal Marines, who received the posthumous award of the Albert Medal after, without hesitation, diving overboard to the assistance of Sergeant G E Young on 2 March 1939. Both lost their lives in a very rough sea.
The Albert Medal in gold was abolished in 1949, being replaced by the George Cross, and the second class of Albert Medal (in bronze) was only awarded posthumously. In 1971, the Albert Medal was discontinued (along with the Edward Medal) and all living recipients were invited to exchange the award for the George Cross. From the total of 64 eligible to exchange, 49 took up the option.
The medal was made of gold (although early examples are gold and bronze), which was enameled blue. Miniatures of all four types are known to exist, with the gold awards believed to be gilt.
Edward Medal
[edit]The Edward Medal (King Edward VII) is a British civilian decoration which was instituted by Royal Warrant on 13 July 1907[1] to recognise acts of bravery of miners and quarrymen in endangering their lives to rescue their fellow workers.[2] The original Royal Warrant was amended by a further Royal Warrant on 1 December 1909[3] to encompass acts of bravery by all industrial workers in factory accidents and disasters, creating two versions of the Edward Medal: Mines and Industry.[4]
In both case (Mines and Industry), the medal was divided in two grades: first class (silver) and second class (bronze), with the medal being a circular silver or bronze medal (as appropriate to the class awarded) suspended from a ribbon 1 3/8" wide and coloured dark blue and edged with yellow. The medal associated with mines depicted colliers at work whilst the industry medal had a female figure with an industrial complex in the background.[5] Peculiarly, the cost of the Edward Medal (Mines) was borne by a fund established by a group of philanthropists (including prominent mine owners) and not the state.
The Edward Medal (Mines) has been awarded only 395 times (77 silver and 318 bronze) and the Edward Medal (Industry) only 188 times (25 silver and 163 bronze, of which only two were awarded to women), making the Edward Medal one of rarest British gallantry awards. Only posthumous awards were made after 1949, and the Edward Medal (Industry) (1st class) has not been awarded since 1948.
The Edward Medal was discontinued in 1971, when surviving recipients of the Edward Medal (along with holders of the Albert Medal) were invited to exchange their award for the George Cross.[6][7] Nine (2 silver, 7 bronze) elected not to exchange their medals.
Empire Gallantry Medal
[edit]The Medal of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, usually known as the Empire Gallantry Medal (EGM), was a British medal awarded for acts of the gallantry that did not reach the standard required for the Albert Medal and the Edward Medal. King George V introduced it on 29 December 1922. Recipients were entitled to use the post-nominal letters "EGM" and as a Medal of the Order of the British Empire it was also divided into military and civil divisions. Unlike appointments to the Order of the British Empire it could be awarded posthumously.
Conspicuous Gallantry Cross
[edit]The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) is a second level military decoration of the British Armed Forces. Created in 1993 and first awarded in 1995, it was instituted after a review of the British honours system to remove distinctions of rank in the awarding of gallantry decorations. The Victoria Cross is the only higher combat gallantry award presented by the United Kingdom.[5]
The CGC was instituted in the aftermath of the 1993 review of the honours system. As part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in awards for bravery, the CGC replaced both the Distinguished Conduct Medal (Army) and the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Naval and Air) as second level awards to other ranks and ratings. The CGC also replaced the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), in its role as an award to officers for gallantry. The DSO was retained as an award for outstanding leadership. The CGC now serves as the second level award for gallantry for all ranks across the whole armed forces.
The CGC which may be awarded posthumously, is awarded "in recognition of an act or acts of conspicuous gallantry during active operations against the enemy". All ranks of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army, and Royal Air Force may be awarded the CGC in recognition of qualifying acts of gallantry.[5] Bars are awarded to the CGC in recognition of the performance of further acts of gallantry meriting the award. When the ribbon bar alone is worn, a silver rosette on the ribbon indicates the award of a bar.[6] Recipients are entitled to the postnominal letters CGC.[7]
Commander of the Order of the Bath (Gallantry)
[edit]Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Gallantry)
[edit]Distinguished Service Order
[edit]Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Gallantry)
[edit]Member of the Order of the British Empire (Gallantry)
[edit]Military Cross
[edit]Distinguished Flying Cross
[edit]Air Force Cross
[edit]Distinguished Conduct Medal
[edit]George Medal
[edit]Military Medal
[edit]Distinguished Flying Medal
[edit]Queens Gallantry Medal
[edit]British Empire Medal (Gallantry)
[edit]- ^ Clause five of the George Cross gazette
- ^ The phrase "in the presence of the enemy" was inserted into the Victoria Cross Warrant in 1881 and continues in the present warrant but is often quoted as "in the face of the enemy".
- ^ Mussell, J.W. (Editor), (2018), Medal Yearbook 2019, (Token Publishing Ltd: Devon)
- ^ British Gallantry Medals (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138
- ^ a b "Conspicuous Gallantry Cross". MOD Medal Office. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ Online Medals: Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, (Accessed 8 June 2018).
- ^ "Honours & Gallantry Awards". mod.uk/. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 10 November 2011.