1.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
2.
Nkwe ya Selefera
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The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard, post-nominal letters NS, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 16 April 2003 and came into effect on 27 April 2003. It is South Africas second highest military decoration for bravery, the Union Defence Forces were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force. The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard, post-nominal letters NS, was instituted by the President of South Africa on 16 April 2003, the bilingual title of the decoration is in Sesotho and English. This decoration replaced the Honoris Crux as South Africas second highest military decoration for bravery and it is the middle award of a set of three military decorations for bravery, along with the Nkwe ya Gauta - Golden Leopard and the Nkwe ya Boronse - Bronze Leopard. A Bar may be awarded for every subsequent action which would make recipients eligible for the award of the same decoration, the decoration and bar may be awarded posthumously. Deliberate but daring and conspicuous actions on an occasion or over a period of time. A dangerous, serious and/or critical situation, a possibility of loss of own life and/or endangered own life for others. Succeeded by the Pro Virtute Decoration of the Republic of South Africa, official national order of precedence Preceded by the Star for Bravery in Silver of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Succeeded by the Mendi Decoration for Bravery, Silver of the Republic of South Africa, obverse The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard is a five-armed cross paty, struck in silver, with a diameter of 38 millimetres. The arms of the cross are bordered and the extremities embowed, in the centre of the obverse is a light blue enamel roundel,19 millimetres in diameter, with a silver leopards head. Reverse The reverse bears, in relief, the Coat of arms of South Africa, the decoration is attached to a plain silver suspender, affixed to the upper arm of the decoration. The decoration number is stamped or engraved below the Coat of Arms, ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and sky blue, with 6 millimetres wide white edges. The blue represents the feathers of the crane, which Xhosa kings used to present to brave warriors. When only a bar is worn, a button replica of the decoration,8 millimetres in diameter. The insignia are struck in silver and is worn on the ribbon, crossed swords for the South African Army. An eagle for the South African Air Force, an Anchor for the South African Navy. The Rod of Aesculapius for the South African Military Health Service, in respect of those recipients about whom it is available, the actions they were cited for follow below the table, since inclusion in the table itself is impractical
3.
Nkwe ya Boronse
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The Nkwe ya Boronse - Bronze Leopard, post-nominal letters NB, is a military decoration for bravery which was instituted in 2003. It is South Africas third highest military decoration for bravery, the Union Defence Forces were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force. The Nkwe ya Boronse - Bronze Leopard, post-nominal letters NB, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 16 April 2003, the bilingual title of the decoration is in Sepedi and English. It is the junior of a set of three decorations for bravery, along with the Nkwe ya Gauta - Golden Leopard and the Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard. A Bar may be awarded for every subsequent action which would make recipients eligible for the award of the same decoration, the decoration and Bar may be awarded posthumously. The exceptional combat leadership criteria were added after the Battle of Bangui in the Central African Republic from 22 to 24 March 2013. For acts of bravery Distinguished conduct, for exceptional combat leadership Incidents or deeds depicting outstanding leadership qualities. Result of operation in favour of the SANDF, places a high premium on the prevention of the loss of lives. Careful execution of the operational plan, succeeded by the Ad Astra Decoration of the Republic of South Africa. Official national order of precedence Preceded by the Medal for Valour in the Prisons Service of the Republic of Bophuthatswana, succeeded by the Mendi Decoration for Bravery, Bronze of the Republic of South Africa. Obverse The Nkwe ya Boronse - Bronze Leopard is a cross paty, struck in bronze. The extremities of the arms of the cross are embowed, with their flat surfaces urdy and their corners concave, in the centre of the obverse is a light blue enamel roundel,19 millimetres in diameter, with a bronze leopards head. Reverse The reverse bears, in relief, the Coat of arms of South Africa, the decoration is attached to a plain bronze suspender, fixed to the upper arm of the decoration. The medal number is stamped or engraved below the Coat of Arms, ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and sky blue, with 6 millimetres wide light brown edges. The blue represents the feathers of the crane, which Xhosa kings used to present to brave warriors. When only a bar is worn, a button replica of the decoration,8 millimetres in diameter. The insignia are struck in bronze and worn on the ribbon, crossed swords for the South African Army
4.
South African Army
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The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910. The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by Boer Commando forces, the role of the Army was fundamentally changed by the upheavals of the early 1990s and after 1994 the Army became part of the new South African National Defence Force. It is now becoming involved in peacekeeping efforts in southern Africa. The Army is composed of roughly 40,100 regular uniformed personnel, the rank/age structure of the army, which deteriorated desperately during the 1990s, is greatly improving through the Military Skills Development voluntary national service system. Through this system, young members are being inducted into the regular. The 1912 law also obligated all males between seventeen and sixty years of age to serve in the military, but this was not strictly enforced as there were a large number of volunteers. Instead, half of the males aged from 17 to 25 were drafted by lots into the ACF. For training purposes, the Union was divided into 15 military districts, initially, the Permanent Force consisted of five regiments of the South African Mounted Riflemen, each with a battery of artillery attached. Dorning says that. the SAMR was in reality a military constabulary similar to the Cape Mounted Riflemen, in 1913 and 1914, the new 23, 400-member Citizen Force was called on to suppress several industrial strikes on the Witwatersrand. In accordance with the 1912 Defence Act, the Active Citizen Force was established under Brig. Gen. C. F, the authorised strength of the ACF and Coast Garrison Force was 25,155 and by 31 December actual strength stood at 23,462. When World War I broke out in 1914, the South African government chose to join the war on the side of the Allies, the German troops stationed there eventually surrendered to the South African forces in July 1915. Later, a brigade and various other supporting units were shipped to France in order to fight on the Western Front as the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force. The 4th Regiment was called the South African Scottish and was raised from members of the Transvaal Scottish, the supporting units included five batteries of heavy artillery, a field ambulance unit, a Royal Engineers signals company and a military hospital. South Africans also saw action with the Cape Corps in Palestine, an estimated 3,000 South Africans also joined the Royal Flying Corps. The total South African casualties during the war was about 18,600 with over 12,452 killed – more than 4,600 in the European theater alone, wartime casualties and postwar demobilisation weakened the UDF. New legislation in 1922 re-established conscription for males over the age of 21 for four years of military training and service. UDF troops assumed internal security tasks in South Africa and quelled several revolts against South African domination in South-West Africa, during the Rand strike of 1922,14,000 members of the ACF and certain A class reservists were called up. Expenditure cuts saw the UDF as a whole reduced, the last remaining regiment of the South Africa Mounted Riflemen was disbanded on 31 March 1926 and the number of military districts was reduced from 16 to six on 1 April 1926
5.
South African Air Force
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The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920, the Air Force has seen service in World War II and the Korean War. From 1966 the SAAF was involved in providing support in a low intensity war in Angola, South-West Africa. On conclusion of the Border War in 1990, aircraft numbers were reduced due to economic pressures as well as the cessation of hostilities with neighboring states. Today the SAAF has an air combat capability and has been structured towards regional peace-keeping, disaster relief. After a visit to observe the 1912 military manoeuvres in Europe, beyers gave an extremely positive report on the future use of aircraft for military purposes to General Smuts. Flying training commenced in 1913 with students who excelled on the course being sent to the Central Flying School at Upavon in Great Britain for further training, the first South African military pilot qualified on 2 June 1914. At the outbreak of World War I, the Union Defence Force had realised the urgent need for air support which brought about the establishment of the South African Aviation Corps on 29 January 1915. Aircraft were purchased from France while the building of an airfield at Walvis Bay commenced in earnest in order to support operations against German forces in German South West Africa. By June 1915 the SAAC was deployed to its first operational airfield at Karibib in German South West Africa in support of Gen. Bothas South African ground forces. On 9 July 1915, the German forces capitulated and most of the pilots,26 Squadron RFC and later becoming an independent squadron on 8 October 1915. No.26 Squadron was equipped with Henri Farman F-27s and B. E. 2cs and was shipped to Kenya in support of the war effort in German East Africa, landing in Mombasa on 31 January 1916. While the SAAC were engaged in German South West Africa and 26 Sqdn RFC in East Africa, the number of South Africans in the RFC eventually reached approximately 3,000 men and suffered 260 active-duty fatalities over the Somme during the war. Forty six pilots became fighter aces, on conclusion of the First World War, the British Government donated surplus aircraft plus spares and sufficient equipment to provide the nucleus of a fledgling air force to each of its Dominions. In December 1920 the South African National insignia was added to aircraft for the first time and these colours remained until 1927 when they were replaced with the Orange, White and Blue roundels. 1 Squadron was called to fly reconnaissance missions and to bombard the strikers’ positions, the SAAF was again deployed to suppress the Bondelzwart Rebellion at Kalkfontein between 29 May and 3 July 1922. For maritime patrol operations, the SAAF took over all 29 passenger aircraft of South African Airways,18 Junkers Ju 86Z-ls for maritime patrols, SAAF maritime patrols commenced on 21 September 1939 with 16 Squadron flying three JU-86Zs from Walvis Bay. By 1940, the Ju 86s were replaced by Ansons and Coastal Command SAAF had been established, in December 1939 the Duke of Aosta had sent a report to Mussolini recording the state of chronic unpreparedness of the Allied Forces in East Africa
6.
South African Navy
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The South African Navy is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The South African Navy can trace its origins back to the SA Naval Service. On 1 July 1913 these two units were amalgamated to form the South African Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, the first ships acquired by the newly formed navy were HMSAS Protea, HMSAS Sonneblom and HMSAS Immortelle. However the Great Depression meant the government had to cut back, when World War II broke out the South African Naval Service was virtually non-existent, with only three officers and three ratings. In January 1940 a new unit, called the Seaward Defence Force, was formed. Rear-Admiral Guy Hallifax CMG, who had retired in South Africa from the Royal Navy, was appointed Director of the Seaward Defence Force and this unit was to be responsible for operating minesweepers and anti-submarine ships, and undertaking other duties including inspection and signalling in South African waters. From 1941 a number of SDF antisubmarine trawlers served in the Mediterranean, the Seaward Defence Force and the South African RNVR were consolidated on 1 August 1942 to form the South African Naval Forces. Due to the strong Royal Navy influence on its origins, South African naval forces used Royal Navy ranks, on 1 May 1946 the SANF was reconstituted as part of the Union Defence Force. It was renamed South African Navy on 1 July 1951, in 1947, the SANF acquired three additional ships, the Algerine-class minesweepers HMSAS Rosamund, HMSAS Pelorus, and the Flower-class corvette HMSAS Rockrose. The SANs first destroyer, SAS Jan van Riebeeck was transferred to South Africa on 29 March 1950, the SANs second destroyer, SAS Simon van der Stel, was handed over to the Navy on 23 February 1953. Meanwhile, negotiations were taking place between the British and South African governments on the future of the Royal Navys base at Simons Town, as a result of this, two corvettes and two Agosta-class submarines that had been ordered for the Navy were not delivered. Instead, South Africa covertly ordered the Warrior-class strike craft from Israel, in 1977 the then Chief of the South African Defence Force changed the Navys focus to that of a coastal navy and as the Border War began to escalate, the Navys budget was cut dramatically. After the first democratic elections in South Africa, the South African Navy once again started showing the flag around the world, in 1997 the South African Navy celebrated 75 years with 15 countries sending ships for the festivities. The need to re-equip the Navy was addressed by what is known as the Arms Deal, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was located in a bunker at Silvermine. In 2004 this function passed from the Department of Defence to the South African Maritime Safety Authority, the MRCC is located within the SAMSA Centre for Sea Watch and Response. A budget of roughly R2.55 billion was allocated for the Navy for the 2012–2013 fiscal year, despite an updated fleet, AllAfrica reported in December 2010 that the navys capabilities are limited and it would have difficulty contributing to anti-piracy efforts off Somalia. AllAfrica reported in January 2011 that with the current budget it would only be able to put one frigate. It was thought that such a deployment would deplete the 2011 annual operational budget, the Navy conducts several naval warfare and patrol exercises per year despite its budget problems such as Exercise Red Lion
7.
South African Military Health Service
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It is a significant actor in the effort to control HIV/AIDS within the SANDF. Following the end of the Border War, in the early 1990s, the SAMS was incorporated into the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, and was renamed the South African Military Health Service on 1 June 1998. The SAMHS includes active duty personnel and civilian employees of the Ministry of Defence. In addition, the service employs roughly 400 medical doctors and private medical specialists are sometimes appointed to supplement the staff of the SAMHS, the Surgeon General heads the SAMHS and has the rank of Lieutenant-General. The SAMHS operates three Military Hospitals, one in Pretoria, one in Cape Town and one in Bloemfontein, there are also four specialized institutes - the Institute for Aviation Medicine, the Institute for Maritime Medicine, the Military Veterinary Institute and the Military Psychological Institute. The SAMHS also provides veterinary services for animals used by the security. The militarys medical services include general medical and dental care. The SAMHS is organized into regional commands, corresponding to the armys regional commands, as well as a Medical Logistics Command. The regional commands support military units, military hospitals. The Medical Logistics Command is responsible for medical logistics only, as each provides for its own logistics support. The nursing college, in Pretoria, grants a four-year nursing diploma in association with the University of South Africa, specialized, in-service training courses for nurses and for nursing assistants are also available. loc. gov/frd/cs/
8.
Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and 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 rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and 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, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
9.
Distinguished Conduct Medal
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The Distinguished Conduct Medal, post-nominal letters DCM, was established in 1854 by Queen Victoria as a decoration for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, the medal was also awarded to non-commissioned military personnel of other Commonwealth Dominions and Colonies. Prior to the institution of this decoration, there had been no medal awarded by the British government in recognition of acts of gallantry in the Army. One known prior award for acts of gallantry by other ranks was the unofficial Sir Harry Smiths Medal for Gallantry, although the British government initially disapproved of Sir Harrys institution of the medal, it subsequently paid for it and thereby gave it recognition, but not official status. Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal are entitled to the post-nominal letters DCM, a Bar to the medal, introduced in 1881, could be awarded in recognition of each subsequent act of distinguished conduct for which the medal would have been awarded. During the First World War, the concern arose that the number of medals which were being awarded would devalue the prestige of those already awarded. The Military Medal for bravery in battle on land was instituted on 25 March 1916. The lesser Military Medal was usually awarded for bravery from this date, around 25,000 Distinguished Conduct Medals were awarded during the First World War, while approximately 1,900 were awarded during the Second World War. The medal could also be awarded to personnel serving in any of the Sovereigns forces in the British Empire. It remained an exclusively Army award until 1942, when other ranks of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, in May 1894, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various military medals and to award them to their local military forces. The Colony of Natal and the Cape Colony introduced this system in August and September 1894 respectively, other territories which made use of the opportunity were Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In respect of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, two versions are known to have been awarded, both King Edward VII versions. A territorial version of the Distinguished Conduct Medal was also approved for the Union of South Africa in 1913, More than 300 members of the Union Defence Forces were awarded the applicable British versions of the decoration during the two World Wars. These three decorations were replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, to serve as the second award for gallantry for all ranks of all the Arms of the Service. The medal was struck in silver and is a disk,36 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres thick, the suspender of all versions of the medal is an ornamented scroll pattern. The manner of attachment of the suspender to the medal varied between medal versions and, on early versions, allows the medal to swivel, all medals awarded bear the recipient’s number, rank, name and unit on the rim. From 1902, after the accession of King Edward VII, the effigy of the reigning monarch replaced the trophy of arms, King Edward VII – EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR. King George V, bareheaded – GEORGIVS V BRITT, OMN, REX ET IND, King George V, crowned – GEORGIVS•V•D•G•BRITT•OMN•REX•ET•INDIÆ•IMP•
10.
Maltese cross
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The cross is a white eight-pointed cross having the form of four V-shaped elements, each joining the others at its vertex, leaving the other two tips spread outward symmetrically. This is placed on a red background or worn on a black mantle, the term is often wrongly applied to all forms of eight-pointed crosses irrespective of colour or background. The geometric shape of a cross is found in antiquity. The association with Amalfi may go back to the 11th century, claims by Amalfi that it first appears on their coins in the 11th century is only a reference to a then common style of the 8-point cross pattee. Therefore, Amalfis claim to the Maltese Cross is through extension from the founder of the order, the term Amalfi Cross only developed after the 8-point cross was introduced on Malta in 1567. The Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades used a plain Latin cross, however, these 8-points do not signify that the shape required was that of the four-arrowhead form of 1567, or anything near it, as there are many variants of an 8-point cross. The association with Malta arose after the Knights Hospitaller moved from Rhodes to Malta in 1530, the first evidence for use of the Maltese Cross on Malta appears on the 2 Tarì and 4 Tarì Copper coins of the Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette. The 2 and 4 Tarì Copper coins are dated 1567 and this provides a date for the introduction of the Maltese Cross. The Maltese cross was depicted on the two mils coin in the old Maltese currency and is now shown on the back of the one and two Euro coins, introduced in January 2008. John remains the symbol of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, of the Order of Saint John and its orders, of the Venerable Order of Saint John. In past centuries, numerous other orders have adopted the cross as part of their insignia. In Australia, the cross is part of the state emblem of Queensland. In 1967, flight tests were conducted at Fort Rucker, Alabama, to determine the most highly visible, however, in the late 1970s, the FAA administrator repealed this standard when it was charged that the Maltese Cross was anti-semitic. In the United States today, there are still some helipads that remain bearing their original Maltese Cross emblem, the Maltese cross is displayed as part of the Maltese civil ensign. The Maltese euro coins of one and two euro denomination carry the Maltese cross and it is also the trademark of Air Malta, Maltas national airline. Austrias two highest decorations, the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria and the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art, have the eight-pointed Cross as their basis. In Belgium, the cross is the basis of two of the countrys royal orders of merit, the Order of Leopold and the Order of Leopold II. The Order of Bravery is the highest military decoration of the Kingdom of Bulgaria and of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Pour le Mérite, Imperial Germanys highest award for military valor, was a blue-enameled Eight-pointed Cross with golden eagles between the arms
11.
Military Cross
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The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and used to be awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC is granted in recognition of an act or acts of gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members. In 1979, the Queen approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, the award was created on 28 December 1914 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 acts of gallantry meriting the award. In 1931 the award was extended to Majors and also to members of the Royal Air Force for actions on the ground, the MC now serves as the third-level award for gallantry on land for all ranks of the British Armed Forces. 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 crowns, with the Royal Cypher in centre. Reverse is plain, but from 1938 the name of the recipient, the ribbon width is 32 mm and consists of three equal vertical moire stripes of white, purple, and white. During World War I, Acting Captain Francis Wallington of the Royal Field Artillery was the first person to be awarded the MC, during World War II Captain Sam Manekshaw, Indian Army, 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, 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, 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. The first woman to be awarded the Military Cross was Private Michelle Norris of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Norris was awarded her medal personally by Queen Elizabeth II on 21 March 2007 as the result of her actions in Iraq on 11 June 2006. Able Seaman Kate Nesbitt, second woman, first in the Royal Navy, sergeant Michael Lockett MC was the first holder of the MC to be killed in action since World War II. Database of Australian Awardees at the Australian Government Honours website Search recommendations for the Military Cross on The UK National Archives website, the Kings Own Royal Regiment Museum, Military Cross
12.
Military Medal
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The medal was established on 25 March 1916. It was the other ranks equivalent to the Military Cross, which was awarded to commissioned officers and, rarely, to warrant officers, the MM ranked below the Distinguished Conduct Medal, which was also awarded to non-commissioned members of the Army. According to Frank Richards, when the medal was first introduced, Richards writes, There were no grants or allowances with the Military Medal, which without a shadow of a doubt had been introduced to save awarding too many DCMs. With the DCM went a money-grant of twenty pounds, and a man in receipt of a life pension who had won the DCM was entitled to an extra sixpence a day on to his pension. After the new decoration was introduced, for every DCM awarded there were fifty Military Medals, the old regular soldiers thought very little of the new decoration. Recipients of the Military Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters MM, over 115,000 awards were made for actions during the First World War. Additionally, over 5,700 bars were awarded, as well as 180 second bars, during the Second World War, over 15,000 awards of the MM were made. In 1993, the Military Medal was discontinued, since then, the Military Cross has been awarded to personnel of all ranks within the British honours system. Several Commonwealth nations, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, have established their own systems in the post Second World War era. The medal and ribbon had the features, A circular silver medal of 36 mm diameter. The obverse bears the effigy of the reigning monarch, the reverse has the inscription FOR BRAVERY IN THE FIELD in four lines, surrounded by a laurel wreath, surmounted by the Royal Cypher and Imperial Crown. The suspender is of a scroll type. The ribbon is blue,1.25 inches wide, with five equal centre stripes of white, red, white, red. Silver, laurelled bars are authorised for subsequent awards, over 135,000 people have been awarded the Military Medal. Among the more notable recipients are, Walter Bingham, Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany who served in Normandy, ian Bailey, who was awarded the medal as a Corporal in The Parachute Regiment during the Falklands War, and went on to become a Captain. Geoffrey Bingham, Australian theologian and author, mairi Chisholm, British volunteer ambulance driver. Douglas Clark, British rugby league footballer and wrestler, william Coltman, who was also awarded the Victoria Cross, and was the most highly decorated NCO of the First World War. Robert Gaspare Consiglio, Special Air Service member killed during Bravo Two Zero patrol, ernest Albert Corey, the only person to be awarded the MM four times
South Africa
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