George Cross

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George Cross
Image:GeorgeCrossObv.jpg Image:GeorgeCrossRibbon.jpg Obverse of the medal. Ribbon: 38mm, dark blue.
Awarded by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type	Civil decoration.
Eligibility	British and Commonwealth subjects.
Awarded for	"... acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger."
Status	Currently awarded.
Description	Height 48mm, max. width 45mm; (Obverse) plain silver cross with circular medallion in the centre depicting the effigy of St. George and the Dragon, surrounded by the words "FOR GALLANTRY". In the angle of each limb is the Royal cypher GVI; (Reverse) plain, centre engraved with name of recipient and date of award. Cross attached by ring to bar ornamented with laurel leaves, through which the ribbon passes.
Statistics
Established	24 September 1940
Precedence
Next lowest	George Medal

The George Cross (GC) is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.<ref>Although certain Commonwealth Realms have now instituted their own indigenous honours systems, replacing the GC and other Commonweath awards so far as their citizens are concerned.</ref> The GC is the civilian counterpart of the Victoria Cross and the highest honour that can be awarded for civilian or non-operational bravery.

1 Creation
2 Award
3 Recipients
4 Annuity
5 Restriction of Use
6 Notes
7 Bibilography
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Creation

The GC was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI.<ref>British Gallantry Medals, p138</ref> 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.

Announcing the new award, the King said: "In order that they should be worthily and promptly recognised, I have decided to create, at once, a new mark of honour for men and women in all walks of civilian life. I propose to give my name to this new distinction, which will consist of the George Cross, which will rank next to the Victoria Cross, and the George Medal for wider distribution."^{[citation needed]}

The Warrant for the GC (along with that of the GM), dated 24 January 1940, was published in the London Gazette on 31 January 1941.

The GC was intended to replace the Empire Gallantry Medal; all holders of the EGM were instructed to exchange their medals for a GC, a substitution of awards unprecedented in the history of British decorations. This substitution policy ignored holders of the Albert Medal and the Edward Medal, awards which both took precedence over the EGM.<ref>British Gallantry Awards, p138</ref> The anomaly was only rectified in 1971, when the surviving recipients of the AM and the EM were invited to exchange their award for the George Cross. Of the 65 holders of the Albert Medal and 68 holders of the Edward Medal eligible to exchange, 49 and 59 respectively took up the option. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Award

The medal, which may be awarded posthumously, is granted in recognition of "acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger."<ref>London Gazette, 31 January 1941 - Warrant, Fifth clause</ref>

The medal is primarily a civilian award; however the George Cross may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct which is not in the face of the enemy.<ref>Which could not therefore be recognised by a military decoration, given that they typically require gallantry in the face of the enemy.</ref> As the Warrant states:

The Cross is intended primarily for civilians and award in Our military services is to be confined to actions for which purely military Honours are not normally granted.<ref>London Gazette, 31 January 1941 - Warrant, Second clause</ref>

Bars are awarded to the GC in recognition of the performance of further acts of bravery meriting the award, although none have yet been awarded. Recipients are entitled to the postnominal letters GC.<ref>London Gazette, 31 January 1941 - Warrant, Eighth clause</ref> In common with the Victoria Cross, in a distinction peculiar to these two premier awards for bravery, in undress uniform or on occasions when the medal ribbon alone is worn, a minature replica of the cross is affixed to the centre of the ribbon.<ref>One minature replica signifying a single award. In the event of a second award of the GC (the award of a bar), a second replica would be worn on the ribbon, and so on for further awards. London Gazette, 31 January 1941 - Warrant, Seventh clause</ref>

The details of all awards are published in the London Gazette.

[edit] Recipients

Since its inception in 1940, the GC has been awarded posthumously to 84 recipients and 71 living people (excluding the two collective awards to Malta and the Royal Ulster Constabulary).

[edit] Recent recipients

The most recent recipient of the George Cross is Captain Peter Norton, an Ammunition Technical Officer of the Royal Logistic Corps, for gallantry when, on 24 July 2005, he led a bomb disposal team at the site of an IED attack on a US military patrol in Iraq. During the incident he sustained serious injuries.

Prior to that the most recent military recipient of the George Cross had been Trooper Christopher Finney of the Blues and Royals, for gallantry during a friendly fire incident in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Finney is also the youngest military recipient of the decoration.

The most recent civilian recipient was Sergeant Stewart Guthrie of the New Zealand Police, who received his award posthumously for apprehending a gunman in the Aramoana massacre in New Zealand.<ref>London Gazette, 15 February 1992</ref>

[edit] Female awards

In its history, the GC has been awarded directly to only four women, Odette Sansom, Violette Szabo, and Noor Inayat Khan (all members of FANY, who were awarded the George Cross for actions carried out while serving as agents in the SOE during World War II), and Barbara Harrison, an Air Stewardess, on a BOAC flight at Heathrow Airport, who died on 8 April 1968 after helping many passengers escape from an onboard fire.

[edit] Collective awards

Image:Flag of Malta.svg The George Cross has, on the express recommendation of the Sovereign, been awarded twice on a collective basis,<ref>Such collective awards have only been bestowed on three occasions - two separate awards of the George Cross to Malta and the RUC and one award of the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross to the Royal Irish Regiment.</ref> to the island of Malta and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

[edit] Malta

The GC was awarded to the island of Malta in a letter dated 15 April 1942 from King George VI to the island's Governor Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie:

"To honour her brave people, I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history". The Governor answered "By God's help Malta will not weaken but will endure until victory is won".

The cross and the messages are today found in the War Museum in Fort Saint Elmo, Valletta. The fortitude of the population under sustained enemy air raids and a naval blockade which almost saw them starved into submission, won widespread admiration in Britain and other allied nations. The George Cross is woven into the Flag of Malta and can be seen wherever the flag is flown.

[edit] Royal Ulster Constabulary

The GC was awarded to the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II following the advice of her Government. Buckingham Palace announced,

"The Queen has awarded the George Cross to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, to honour the courage and dedication of the officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and their families who have shared their hardships."

The Queen paid her own personal tribute to the RUC by presenting the George Cross to the organisation in person at Hillsborough Castle, County Down.

The GC citation published in the London Gazette on 23 November 1999 states:

"For the past 30 years, the Royal Ulster Constabulary has been the bulwark against, and the main target of, a sustained and brutal terrorism campaign. The Force has suffered heavily in protecting both sides of the community from danger - 302 officers have been killed in the line of duty and thousands more injured, many seriously. Many officers have been ostracised by their own community and others have been forced to leave their homes in the face of threats to them and their families. As Northern Ireland reaches a turning point in its political development this award is made to recognise the collective courage and dedication to duty of all of those who have served in the Royal Ulster Constabulary and who have accepted the danger and stress this has brought to them and to their families."

Within two years (on 4 November 2001), the RUC was replaced with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

[edit] Awards by nation

There have been 10 crosses awarded to Canadians: 8 military, 1 Merchant Navy, and 1 woman. The GC is no longer awarded to Canadians by the Canadian government which awards the Cross of Valour (Canadian) instead.

The last Australian to be awarded the George Cross, and the most recent surviving civilian recipient, was Constable Michael Pratt of the Victoria Police, Melbourne, for arresting two armed bank robbers (London Gazette, July 5, 1978). The Australian government established the Cross of Valour (Australian) in 1975 to be awarded by the Australian government "only for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril" instead of recommending the awarding of the George Cross.

[edit] Annuity

Holders of the George Cross or Victoria Cross are entitled to an annuity, the amount of which is determined by the awarding government.<ref>London Gazette, 15 June 1965 - Warrant, Fourteenth clause</ref> Since 2002, the annuity paid by the British government is £1,495 per year.^{[citation needed]} As at January 2005, under the Canadian Gallantry Awards Order, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, or people who joined the British forces before 31 March 1949 while domiciled in Canada or Newfoundland, receive $3,000 per year.^{[citation needed]} For Australian holders, the amount is determined by clause 11A1.2 of the Australian Defence Forces Pay and Conditions, and as of January 2005 is $250 per year.

[edit] Restriction of Use

As from 1943 in accordance with the George Cross (Restriction of Use) Ordinance, in Malta it is not lawful to use the George Cross or an imitation of it or the words George Cross, for the purposes of trade or business without the authority of the Prime Minister.

[edit] Notes

[edit] Bibilography

Abbott, PE and Tamplin, JMA - British Gallantry Awards, (1981), Nimrod Dix and Co.
Duckers, P - British Gallantry Awards 1855-2000, (2001), Shire Publications
Mackay, J and Mussell, J (eds) - Medal Yearbook - 2005, (2004), Token Publishing.

The Register of the George Cross, This England, 2nd Edition (1990) ISBN 0-906324-17-3

The George Cross, Ian Bisset, MacGibbon & Kee (1961)
The Story of the George Cross, Sir John Smyth, Arthur Baker Ltd. (1968) ISBN 2-13763-079

'Gainst All Disaster, Allan Stanistreet, Picton Publishing Ltd. (1986) ISBN 0-948251-16-6
George Cross (Restriction of Use) Ordinance, Government of Malta, (1943)
One Step Further Those who gallantry was rewarded with the George Cross. Series of 10 books. Marion Hebblethwaite, Chameleon HH Publishing Ltd from 2005 (ISBN 0-9545917-1-7 onwards)