In the UK, a decoration bestowed on civilians for acts of great heroism or conspicuous bravery, or on members of the armed forces for actions in which purely military honours are not normally granted. (The island of Malta was a recipient in 1942.) Instituted in 1940 and named after George VI, the award, inscribed For Gallantry, with a blue ribbon, ranks second after the Victoria Cross.
| George Cross | |
|---|---|
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Obverse of the medal. |
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| Awarded by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | |
| Type | Civil decoration. |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 24 September 1940 |
| Precedence | |
| Next lowest | (for non-operational bravery) George Medal |
The George Cross (GC) is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. The GC is a Level 1 award, ranking alongside the Victoria Cross, and is the highest honour that can be awarded for civilian or non-operational military bravery. 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. 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."
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 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.
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." however the George Cross may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct which is not in the face of the enemy. As the Warrant states:
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. 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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Collective awards
The George Cross has, on the express recommendation of the Sovereign, been awarded twice on a collective basis, to the island of Malta and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).
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".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." 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.
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.
Annuity
Holders of the George Cross or Victoria Cross are entitled to an annuity, the amount of which is determined by the awarding government.
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.
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