The MC is granted in recognition of "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land" to all members of the British Armed Forces of any rank.[6] In 1979, the Queen approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, could be recommended posthumously.[7]
The award was created on 28 December 1914 for commissioned officers of the substantive rank of captain or below and for warrant officers. The first 98 awards were gazetted on 1 January 1915, to 71 officers, and 27 warrant officers. Although posthumous recommendations for the Military Cross were unavailable until 1979, the first awards included seven posthumous awards, with the word 'deceased' after the name of the recipient, from recommendations that had been raised before the recipients died of wounds or lost their lives from other causes.[2]
Awards are announced in The London Gazette, apart from most honorary awards to allied forces in keeping with the usual practice not to gazette awards to foreigners.[8]
From August 1916, recipients of the Cross were entitled to use the post-nominal letters MC,[9] and bars could be awarded for further acts of gallantry meriting the award,[10] with a silver rosette worn on the ribbon when worn alone to denote the award of each bar.
From September 1916, members of the Royal Naval Division, who served alongside the Army on the Western Front, were made eligible for military decorations, including the Military Cross, for the war's duration.[11] Naval officers serving with the division received 140 MCs and eight second award bars.[3]
In June 1917, eligibility was extended to temporary majors, not above the substantive rank of captain.[12] Substantive majors were made eligible in 1953.[13]
In 1931, the award was extended to equivalent ranks in the Royal Air Force for actions on the ground.[14]
After the Second World War, most Commonwealth countries created their own honours system and no longer recommended British awards. The last Military Cross awards for the Canadian Army were for Korea. The last four Australian Army Military Cross awards were promulgated in The London Gazette on 1 September 1972 for Vietnam as was the last New Zealand Army Military Cross award, which was promulgated on 25 September 1970. Canada, Australia and New Zealand have now created their own gallantry awards under their own honours systems.
Since the 1993 review of the honours system, as part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in awards for bravery the Military Medal, formerly the third-level decoration for other ranks, was discontinued. The MC is now the third-level award for all ranks of the British Armed Forces for "exemplary gallantry" on land, not to the standard required to receive the Victoria Cross (for "the most conspicuous bravery") or the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.[15]
Reverse is plain. From 1938 until 1957 the year of award was engraved on lower limb of cross,[19] and since 1984 it has been awarded named to the recipient.[18]
The ribbon width is 32 mm and consists of three equal vertical moire stripes of white, purple, and white.
Ribbon bar denoting a further award is plain silver, with a crown in the centre.
Recipients
Numbers awarded
Since 1914, over 52,000 Military Crosses and 3,717 bars have been awarded.[4][3] The dates below reflect the relevant London Gazette entries:
The above table includes awards to the Dominions: In all, 3,727 Military Crosses have been awarded to those serving with Canadian forces, including 324 first bars and 18 second bars.[22] A total of 2,930 were awarded to Australians, in addition to 188 first bars and four second bars. Of these, 2,403 MCs, 170 first Bars and four second Bars were for World War I.[23] Over 500 MCs were awarded to New Zealanders during World War I and over 250 in World War II. The most recent awards were for service in Vietnam.[24]
The honorary MC awards were made to servicemen from fifteen Allied countries in World War I, and nine in World War II.[3]
MC awarded to 2nd Lt. E. W. Fane de Salis (1894-1980)[27]
During World War I, Acting Captain Francis Wallington of the Royal Field Artillery was the first person to be awarded the MC and three bars when he was invested with his third bar on 10 July 1918 (gazetted 13 September 1918: he had obtained the first three awards as a second lieutenant).[28][29] Three other officers were subsequently awarded a third bar, Percy Bentley, Humphrey Arthur Gilkes and Charles Gordon Timms, all of whose awards appeared in a supplement to the London Gazette on 31 January 1919.[28][30]
For their key roles during World War I, the cities of Verdun and Ypres were awarded the Military Cross, in September 1916 and February 1920 respectively.[3] In May 1920, Field Marshal French presented the decoration to Ypres in a special ceremony in the city.[31]
During World War II Captain Sam Manekshaw, Indian Army (who eventually rose to the rank of Field Marshal), was leading a counter-offensive operation against the invading Japanese Army in Burma. During the course of the offensive, he was hit by a burst of machine-gun fire and severely wounded in the stomach. Major General D.T. Cowan spotted Manekshaw holding on to life and was aware of his valour in face of stiff resistance from the Japanese. Fearing the worst, Major General Cowan quickly pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on to Manekshaw saying, "A dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross."[32]
The first posthumous Military Cross was that awarded to Captain Herbert Westmacott, Grenadier Guards for gallantry in Northern Ireland during the period 1 February 1980 to 30 April 1980.[33]
Able Seaman Kate Nesbitt, second woman, first in the Royal Navy, for acts in Afghanistan in March 2009 as a Medical Assistant attached to 1 RIFLES, 3 Commando Brigade.[36][37]
^Abbott & Tamplin, British Gallantry Awards, 2nd edition. p. xx.
^Abbott & Tamplin, British Gallantry Awards, 2nd edition. p. 219.
^Revised Royal Warrant, clause 8. "No. 29725". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 August 1916. p. 8472.
^Revisied Royal Warrant, clause 5. "No. 29725". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 August 1916. p. 8471.
^Abbott & Tamplin, British Gallantry Awards, 2nd edition. page 217.
^"The Military Cross, Royal Warrant of 25th June, 1917, amending the Third Clause of The Military Cross Warrant of 23rd August, 1916", War Office 3 July 1917 "No. 30161". The London Gazette. 3 July 1917. p. 6550.
^Abbott & Tamplin, British Gallantry Awards, 2nd edition. page 218.
^ abJohn Mussell, Philip Mussell, Medal Yearbook 2015. page 87.
^Peter Duckers, British Gallantry Awards 1855–2000, pp. 26-27.
^The World War I records are incomplete, see page 220, British Gallantry Awards, (2nd ed), Abbott & Tamplin.
^Post 1979 MCs include 16 for the Falklands (London Gazette Supplement, 8 October 1982); 11 for Gulf War (London Gazette Supplement, 29 June 1991); 84 for Iraq and 215+1 bar for Afghanistan, plus awards for Northern Ireland and smaller conflicts.
^Veterans Affairs Canada – Military Cross (Retrieved 7 November 2018)
^. It's an Honour. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 23 June 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
^New Zealand Defence Force: British Commonwealth Gallantry Awards - The Military Cross (Retrieved 7 November 2018)
^ abScott Addington; For Conspicuous Gallantry... Winners of the Military Cross and Bar during the Great War. Volume 1 – Two Bars & Three Bars, Troubador Publishing Ltd, 2006, pp.343–352.
^"No. 30901". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 September 1918. p. 10877. (Wallington)
^"No. 31158". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 January 1919. p. 1617. (Bentley, Gilkes & Timms)
^"THE AWARD OF MILITARY CROSS TO THE CITY OF YPRES, BELGIUM". Imperial War Museums.
^"No. 48346". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 October 1980. p. 14608. (Westmacott)
^"No. 58183". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 December 2006. p. 17359. (Norris)
^Glendinning, Lee (22 March 2007). "Historic award for female private". The Guardian. UK. p. 8. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
^"No. 59182". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 September 2009. p. 15640. (Nesbitt)
^"First female Royal Navy medic awarded Military Cross". The Daily Telegraph. London. 27 November 2009. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
^Norton-Taylor, Richard (22 September 2009). "Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Has Been Awarded Military Cross". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
Bibliography
Abbott, Peter and Tamplin, John. British Gallantry Awards, 2nd edition (1981). Nimrod Dix and Co., London. ISBN978-0-902633-74-2.
Original Royal Warrant for the MC Supplement to London Gazette, 1 January 1915
Current Royal Warrant for the MC Supplement to London Gazette, 17 September 2002
Database of Australian Awardees at the Australian Government Honours
Search recommendations for the Military Cross The UK National Archives
"Military Cross". The King's Own Royal Regiment Museum, Lancaster.
Notes on numbers awarded North East Medals
January 19, 2023
military, cross, polish, military, award, order, poland, third, level, second, level, 1993, military, decoration, awarded, officers, since, 1993, other, ranks, british, armed, forces, formerly, awarded, officers, other, commonwealth, countries, typemilitary, d. For the Polish military award see Order of the Military Cross and Military Cross Poland The Military Cross MC is the third level second level pre 1993 military decoration awarded to officers and since 1993 other ranks of the British Armed Forces and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries Military CrossMilitary CrossTypeMilitary decorationAwarded for gallantry during active operations against the enemy 1 DescriptionObverse Straight armed silver cross Royal Cypher in centreReverse plainPresented byUnited Kingdom and CommonwealthEligibilityBritish and formerly Commonwealth and allied forcesStatusCurrently awardedEstablished28 December 1914First awarded1 January 1915 to 98 officers and warrant officers 2 TotalIncluding further awards 3 George V c 43 500George VI over 11 500Elizabeth II c 750Total recipients52 000 4 Military Cross ribbon without bar and with one and two barsOrder of WearNext higher Conspicuous Gallantry Cross 5 Next lower Distinguished Flying Cross 5 RelatedMilitary MedalThe MC is granted in recognition of an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members of the British Armed Forces of any rank 6 In 1979 the Queen approved a proposal that a number of awards including the Military Cross could be recommended posthumously 7 Contents 1 History 2 Description 3 Recipients 3 1 Numbers awarded 3 2 Notable awards 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksHistory EditThe award was created on 28 December 1914 for commissioned officers of the substantive rank of captain or below and for warrant officers The first 98 awards were gazetted on 1 January 1915 to 71 officers and 27 warrant officers Although posthumous recommendations for the Military Cross were unavailable until 1979 the first awards included seven posthumous awards with the word deceased after the name of the recipient from recommendations that had been raised before the recipients died of wounds or lost their lives from other causes 2 Awards are announced in The London Gazette apart from most honorary awards to allied forces in keeping with the usual practice not to gazette awards to foreigners 8 From August 1916 recipients of the Cross were entitled to use the post nominal letters MC 9 and bars could be awarded for further acts of gallantry meriting the award 10 with a silver rosette worn on the ribbon when worn alone to denote the award of each bar From September 1916 members of the Royal Naval Division who served alongside the Army on the Western Front were made eligible for military decorations including the Military Cross for the war s duration 11 Naval officers serving with the division received 140 MCs and eight second award bars 3 In June 1917 eligibility was extended to temporary majors not above the substantive rank of captain 12 Substantive majors were made eligible in 1953 13 In 1931 the award was extended to equivalent ranks in the Royal Air Force for actions on the ground 14 After the Second World War most Commonwealth countries created their own honours system and no longer recommended British awards The last Military Cross awards for the Canadian Army were for Korea The last four Australian Army Military Cross awards were promulgated in The London Gazette on 1 September 1972 for Vietnam as was the last New Zealand Army Military Cross award which was promulgated on 25 September 1970 Canada Australia and New Zealand have now created their own gallantry awards under their own honours systems Since the 1993 review of the honours system as part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in awards for bravery the Military Medal formerly the third level decoration for other ranks was discontinued The MC is now the third level award for all ranks of the British Armed Forces for exemplary gallantry on land not to the standard required to receive the Victoria Cross for the most conspicuous bravery or the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross 15 Description EditThe Military Cross was designed by Henry Farnham Burke 16 17 while its ribbon was created by Victoria Ponsonby Baroness Sysonby 17 In the Medal Yearbook 2015 it is described as follows 18 46 mm maximum height 44 mm maximum width Ornamental silver cross with straight arms terminating in broad finials suspended from a plain suspension bar Obverse decorated with imperial crowns with the Royal Cypher in centre Reverse is plain From 1938 until 1957 the year of award was engraved on lower limb of cross 19 and since 1984 it has been awarded named to the recipient 18 The ribbon width is 32 mm and consists of three equal vertical moire stripes of white purple and white Ribbon bar denoting a further award is plain silver with a crown in the centre Recipients EditNumbers awarded Edit Since 1914 over 52 000 Military Crosses and 3 717 bars have been awarded 4 3 The dates below reflect the relevant London Gazette entries Period Medals 1st bar 2nd bar 3rd bar HonoraryMCs HonoraryMC barsWorld War I 1914 20 37 104 2 984 169 4 2 909 20 Inter War 1920 39 349 31 World War II 1939 46 10 386 482 24 438 3Post War 1947 79 643 20 Total 1914 79 48 482 3 517 193 4 3 347 3In addition approximately 375 MCs have been awarded since 1979 including awards for Northern Ireland the Falklands and the wars in the Persian Gulf Iraq and Afghanistan 21 The above table includes awards to the Dominions In all 3 727 Military Crosses have been awarded to those serving with Canadian forces including 324 first bars and 18 second bars 22 A total of 2 930 were awarded to Australians in addition to 188 first bars and four second bars Of these 2 403 MCs 170 first Bars and four second Bars were for World War I 23 Over 500 MCs were awarded to New Zealanders during World War I and over 250 in World War II The most recent awards were for service in Vietnam 24 The honorary MC awards were made to servicemen from fifteen Allied countries in World War I and nine in World War II 3 Notable awards Edit See also Category Recipients of the Military Cross Albert Jacka s MC 25 and bar 26 MC awarded to 2nd Lt E W Fane de Salis 1894 1980 27 During World War I Acting Captain Francis Wallington of the Royal Field Artillery was the first person to be awarded the MC and three bars when he was invested with his third bar on 10 July 1918 gazetted 13 September 1918 he had obtained the first three awards as a second lieutenant 28 29 Three other officers were subsequently awarded a third bar Percy Bentley Humphrey Arthur Gilkes and Charles Gordon Timms all of whose awards appeared in a supplement to the London Gazette on 31 January 1919 28 30 For their key roles during World War I the cities of Verdun and Ypres were awarded the Military Cross in September 1916 and February 1920 respectively 3 In May 1920 Field Marshal French presented the decoration to Ypres in a special ceremony in the city 31 During World War II Captain Sam Manekshaw Indian Army who eventually rose to the rank of Field Marshal was leading a counter offensive operation against the invading Japanese Army in Burma During the course of the offensive he was hit by a burst of machine gun fire and severely wounded in the stomach Major General D T Cowan spotted Manekshaw holding on to life and was aware of his valour in face of stiff resistance from the Japanese Fearing the worst Major General Cowan quickly pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on to Manekshaw saying A dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross 32 The first posthumous Military Cross was that awarded to Captain Herbert Westmacott Grenadier Guards for gallantry in Northern Ireland during the period 1 February 1980 to 30 April 1980 33 The first woman to be awarded the Military Cross was Private Michelle Norris of the Royal Army Medical Corps while attached to The Princess of Wales s Royal Regiment for her actions in Iraq on 11 June 2006 Norris was awarded her medal personally by Queen Elizabeth II on 21 March 2007 34 35 Able Seaman Kate Nesbitt second woman first in the Royal Navy for acts in Afghanistan in March 2009 as a Medical Assistant attached to 1 RIFLES 3 Commando Brigade 36 37 Sergeant Michael Lockett MC was the first holder of the MC to be killed in action since World War II 38 39 See also EditCategory Recipients of the Military Cross British and Commonwealth orders and decorations List of British gallantry awards for the Iraq WarReferences Edit Defence FactSheet Military Honours and Awards Archived from the original on 17 April 2010 a b No 29024 The London Gazette Supplement 29 December 1914 pp 7 9 a b c d e Abbott amp Tamplin British Gallantry Awards 2nd edition pp 220 222 a b Jenn Stowell 9 December 2020 All The Gen On The Military Cross Forces Network Retrieved 5 March 2021 a b JSP 761 Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces PDF p 12A 1 Retrieved 7 November 2014 No 56693 The London Gazette Supplement 17 October 2002 p 11146 Abbott amp Tamplin British Gallantry Awards 2nd edition p xx Abbott amp Tamplin British Gallantry Awards 2nd edition p 219 Revised Royal Warrant clause 8 No 29725 The London Gazette Supplement 25 August 1916 p 8472 Revisied Royal Warrant clause 5 No 29725 The London Gazette Supplement 25 August 1916 p 8471 Abbott amp Tamplin British Gallantry Awards 2nd edition page 217 The Military Cross Royal Warrant of 25th June 1917 amending the Third Clause of The Military Cross Warrant of 23rd August 1916 War Office 3 July 1917 No 30161 The London Gazette 3 July 1917 p 6550 Abbott amp Tamplin British Gallantry Awards 2nd edition page 218 No 33700 The London Gazette 20 March 1931 p 1890 Military Cross MC Ministry of Defence 12 December 2012 Last updated 30 November 2021 The Military Cross The New British War Decoration Illustrated London News vol 146 no 3959 6 March 1915 1 a b Hoyte C Evans Kitchener and the Military Cross Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America March April 1957 14 15 accessed 3 November 2020 http www omsa org files jomsa arch Splits 1957 87251 JOMSA 1957 March April 13 pdf a b John Mussell Philip Mussell Medal Yearbook 2015 page 87 Peter Duckers British Gallantry Awards 1855 2000 pp 26 27 The World War I records are incomplete see page 220 British Gallantry Awards 2nd ed Abbott amp Tamplin Post 1979 MCs include 16 for the Falklands London Gazette Supplement 8 October 1982 11 for Gulf War London Gazette Supplement 29 June 1991 84 for Iraq and 215 1 bar for Afghanistan plus awards for Northern Ireland and smaller conflicts Veterans Affairs Canada Military Cross Retrieved 7 November 2018 Imperial Awards It s an Honour Australian Government Archived from the original on 23 June 2006 Retrieved 7 November 2018 New Zealand Defence Force British Commonwealth Gallantry Awards The Military Cross Retrieved 7 November 2018 No 29824 The London Gazette Supplement 14 November 1916 p 11074 No 30135 The London Gazette Supplement 15 June 1917 p 5983 No 30111 The London Gazette Supplement 1 June 1917 p 5478 a b Scott Addington For Conspicuous Gallantry Winners of the Military Cross and Bar during the Great War Volume 1 Two Bars amp Three Bars Troubador Publishing Ltd 2006 pp 343 352 No 30901 The London Gazette Supplement 13 September 1918 p 10877 Wallington No 31158 The London Gazette Supplement 31 January 1919 p 1617 Bentley Gilkes amp Timms THE AWARD OF MILITARY CROSS TO THE CITY OF YPRES BELGIUM Imperial War Museums Compton McKenzie 1951 Eastern Epic Chatto amp Windus London pp 440 1 No 48346 The London Gazette Supplement 20 October 1980 p 14608 Westmacott No 58183 The London Gazette Supplement 15 December 2006 p 17359 Norris Glendinning Lee 22 March 2007 Historic award for female private The Guardian UK p 8 ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 22 March 2007 No 59182 The London Gazette Supplement 11 September 2009 p 15640 Nesbitt First female Royal Navy medic awarded Military Cross The Daily Telegraph London 27 November 2009 Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 7 November 2018 No 58633 The London Gazette Supplement 7 March 2008 p 3613 Norton Taylor Richard 22 September 2009 Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Has Been Awarded Military Cross The Guardian Retrieved 17 November 2012 Bibliography EditAbbott Peter and Tamplin John British Gallantry Awards 2nd edition 1981 Nimrod Dix and Co London ISBN 978 0 902633 74 2 Duckers Peter British Gallantry Awards 1855 2000 2011 Shire Publications Risborough Buckinghamshire ISBN 978 0 7478 0516 8 Mussell J ed Medals Yearbook 2015 2014 Token Publishing Honiton Devon ISBN 978 1 908828 16 3 External links EditOriginal Royal Warrant for the MC Supplement to London Gazette 1 January 1915 Current Royal Warrant for the MC Supplement to London Gazette 17 September 2002 Database of Australian Awardees at the Australian Government Honours website Search recommendations for the Military Cross The UK National Archives Military Cross The King s Own Royal Regiment Museum Lancaster Notes on numbers awarded North East Medals Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Military Cross amp oldid 1134141638, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
