Military Cross

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For the Polish military award, see Order of the Military Cross and Military Cross (Poland).
Military Cross
Military Cross.jpg
Military Cross
Awarded by United Kingdom and Commonwealth
Type Military decoration
Eligibility British, (formerly) Commonwealth, and allied forces
Awarded for ... gallantry during active operations against the enemy.[1]
Status Currently awarded
Description Silver cross with straight arms, Royal Cypher in centre (obverse)
(reverse) plain
Statistics
Established 28 December 1914
First awarded 1 January 1915 to Lieutenant G. F. H. Brooke, 16th Lancers (Staff Captain).[2]
Total awarded George V: over 40,000
George VI: over 11,000
Elizabeth II: not published[3]
Distinct
recipients		 over 48,000
Order of Wear
Next (higher) Distinguished Service Cross[4]
Next (lower) Distinguished Flying Cross[4]
Related Military Medal
Military cross BAR.svg

Military cross w bar BAR.svg

Military cross w 2bars BAR.svg

Ribbon of the Military Cross; without, with bar, and with two bars
Albert Jacka's Military Cross and bar. Gazetted in 1916, the Cross displays the royal cypher of George V.

The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.

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 any rank in Our Armed Forces".[5] In 1979, the Queen approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, could be awarded posthumously.[6]

History

The award was created on 28 December 1914[7] for commissioned officers of the substantive rank of Captain or below and for Warrant Officers. In August 1916 Bars were awarded to the MC in recognition of the performance of further acts of gallantry meriting the award[8] and recipients of a bar continue to use postnominal letters MC.[9] In 1931 the award was extended to Majors and also to members of the Royal Air Force for actions on the ground.

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, has been discontinued. The MC now serves as the third-level award for gallantry on land for all ranks of the British Armed Forces.[10]

Description

  • 46 mm max height, 44 mm max width
  • Ornamental silver cross with straight arms terminating in broad finials, suspended from plain suspension bar.
  • Obverse decorated with imperial crowns, with the Royal Cypher in centre.
  • Reverse is plain, but from 1938 the name of the recipient and year of issue has been engraved on lower limb of cross.
  • The ribbon width is 32 mm and consists of three equal vertical moire stripes of white, purple, and white.

Notable awards

For more information, see categories:
Recipients of the Military Cross
Recipients of the Military Cross and Bar
Recipients of the Military Cross and two Bars
Recipients of the Military Cross and three Bars
  • 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."[14]
  • The first posthumous Military Cross was that awarded to Captain Herbert Westmacott (491354), Grenadier Guards for gallantry in Northern Ireland during the period 1 February 1980 to 30 April 1980.[15]
  • 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.[19][20][21]

See also

Notes

Military Cross awarded 1915 (?) to 2nd Lt. E. W. Fane de Salis (1894-1980), with his 1914-1915 star showing behind.[22]
  1. ↑ UK Defence FactSheet, accessed 28 June 2007.
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29024. pp. 7–9. 29 December 1914.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56693. p. 11146. 17 October 2002.
  6. ↑ P E Abbott and J M A Tamplin; British Gallantry Awards, 1981, Nimrod Dix and Co, ISBN 0-902633-74-0, p. xx.
  7. ↑ Royal Warrant: The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29024. p. 7. 29 December 1914.
  8. ↑ Clause 5 The Military Cross. Revisied Royal Warrant. The London Gazette: no. 29725. p. 8471. 25 August 1916.
  9. ↑ Clause 8 The Military Cross. Revisied Royal Warrant. The London Gazette: no. 29725. p. 8472. 25 August 1916.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Scott Addington; For Conspicuous Gallantry... Winners of the Military Cross and Bar during the Great War. Volume 1—Two Bars and Three Bars, Troubador Publishing Ltd, 2006, pp. 343–352. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "addington" defined multiple times with different content
  12. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30901. p. 10877. 13 September 1918. Retrieved 17 March 2008. (Wallington)
  13. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31158. p. 1617. 31 January 1919. Retrieved 17 March 2008. (Bentley, Gilkes & Timms)
  14. ↑ Compton McKenzie (1951), Eastern Epic, Chatto & Windus, London, pp. 440–1.
  15. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48346. p. 14608. 20 October 1980. (Westmacott)
  16. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58183. p. 17359. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2007. (Norris)
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59182. p. 15640. 11 September 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010. (Nesbitt)
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Given whilst serving with 1/8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (D.C.O.) or later when with K.R.R.C. (from 31.8.1915)

Bibliography

  • Mackay, J and Mussell, J (eds) – Medals Yearbook – 2005, (2004), Token Publishing.

External links

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