| Distinguished Conduct Medal | |
|---|---|
 Queen Victoria version | |
| Type | Military decoration for bravery |
| Awarded for | Gallantry in the field |
| Country |  British Empire |
| Presented by | the Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Eligibility | Other ranks |
| Post-nominals | DCM |
| Status | Discontinued in 1993 |
| Established | 4 December 1854 |
| First award | 1855 |
| Final award | 1993 |
| Total | 30,200+[1] |
  Ribbon bar without and with rosette to indicate award of a bar | |
| Order of Wear | |
| Next (higher) | Air Force Cross |
| Equivalent | Distinguished Conduct Medal (Natal) |
| Next (lower) | Conspicuous Gallantry Medal |
| Related | Distinguished Service Order |
TheDistinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) was a British military decoration instituted in 1854 byQueen Victoria to recognise gallantry in the field byother ranks of theBritish Army. It was the oldest British award for gallantry and served as the second highest military decoration for bravery, ranking just below theVictoria Cross. The medal remained in use until 1993, when it was discontinued and succeeded by theConspicuous Gallantry Cross. In addition to British personnel, the medal was also awarded to non-commissioned members of the armed forces from otherCommonwealthDominions andColonies.[2][3][4]
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was instituted by Royal Warrant on 4 December 1854, during theCrimean War, as an award to warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men of theBritish Army for "distinguished, gallant and good conduct in the field". For all ranks below commissioned officer, it was the second highest award for gallantry in action after theVictoria Cross, and the other ranks equivalent of theDistinguished Service Order, which was awarded only to commissioned officers.
Before its institution, there had been no official medal awarded by the British Crown in recognition of individual acts of gallantry in the Army.[2][3][4][5][6] TheMeritorious Service Medal, established in 1845 to reward long serving warrant officers and sergeants, was awarded several times up to 1854 for gallantry in action, although this was not the medal's main purpose.[7][8] One earlier award specifically for acts of gallantry by other ranks was the unofficialSir Harry Smith's Medal for Gallantry, instituted by Major GeneralSir Harry Smith in 1851. Although the British government initially disapproved of Sir Harry's institution of the medal, it subsequently paid for it and thereby gave it recognition, but not official status.[9][10][11]
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was awarded with a gratuity, that varied in amount depending on rank, and given on the recipient's discharge from the Army.[12]
Since January 1918 recipients have been entitled to thepost-nominal letters DCM.[12]
Abar 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.[2][13][14]
During the First World War, concern arose that the high number of medals being awarded would devalue the medal's prestige. TheMilitary Medal was therefore instituted on 25 March 1916 as an alternative and lower award, with the Distinguished Conduct Medal reserved for more exceptional acts of bravery.[5][13][14] Around 25,000 Distinguished Conduct Medals were awarded during the First World War, with approximately 1,900 during the Second World War.[2]
The Distinguished Conduct Medal could also be awarded to military personnel serving in any of the Sovereign's forces in theBritish Empire, with the first awards to colonial troops made in 1872, to theWest India Regiment.[15] Members of theIndian Army remained ineligible since they could receive theIndian Order of Merit and, from 1907, theIndian Distinguished Service Medal.[12]
From September 1916, members of theRoyal Naval Division were made eligible for military decorations, including the Distinguished Conduct Medal, for the war's duration.[16] Otherwise, it remained an exclusively Army award until 1942, when other ranks of theRoyal Navy,Royal Air Force and the Navies and Air Forces of the Dominions and Colonies also became eligible for distinguished conduct in action on the ground.[3][6]
In 1979 eligibility for a number of British awards, including the DCM, was extended to permit posthumous awards.[17] Until that time, only theVictoria Cross and amention in dispatches could be awarded posthumously.
In May 1894, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various military medals for award to their local military forces. TheColony of Natal and theCape Colony introduced this system in August and September 1894 respectively, and theTransvaal Colony followed in December 1902, while Australia, Canada and New Zealand also adopted the medal. However, only the Natal and Canada versions were finally awarded.[8]
A territorial version of the Distinguished Conduct Medal was approved for the Union of South Africa in 1913, but was never awarded. More than 300 members of the Union Defence Forces were awarded the applicable British versions of the decoration during the two World Wars.[18][19]
In 1903 specificAfrican Distinguished Conduct Medals were established for theKing's African Rifles and theRoyal West African Frontier Force. These were superseded by the British Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1943.[15]
These colonial Distinguished Conduct Medals were of the same design as the British version, with an additional territorial or unit inscription on the reverse, in a curved line above the regular inscription.[18][20]
In the aftermath ofthe 1993 review of the British honours system, which formed part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in respect of awards for bravery, the Distinguished Conduct Medal was discontinued, as was theConspicuous Gallantry Medal and the award, specifically for gallantry, of theDistinguished Service Order. These three decorations were replaced by theConspicuous Gallantry Cross, to serve as the second level award for gallantry for all ranks of all the Arms of the Service.[5][13][14]
After the Second World War, mostCommonwealth countries created their own honours system and no longer recommended British awards. The last Distinguished Conduct Medal awards for the Canadian Army were for Korea.[21] The last Australian DCM award was announced inThe London Gazette on 1 September 1972 for Vietnam,[22] as was the last New Zealand award, announced on 25 September 1970.[23]Canada,Australia andNew Zealand replaced the DCM in the 1990s, as part of the creation of their own gallantry awards under their own honours systems.
In the order of wear prescribed by the BritishCentral Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, the Distinguished Conduct Medal ranks on par with theDistinguished Conduct Medal (Natal) and takes precedence after theAir Force Cross and before theConspicuous Gallantry Medal.[24]
The medal was struck in silver and is a disk, 36 millimetres (1.4 inches) in diameter and 3 millimetres (0.12 inches) thick. The suspender of all versions is of 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.[2][3]
There were eight variants of the obverse:[25]
The reverse of all versions is smooth, with a raised rim, and bears the inscription "FOR DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT IN THE FIELD" in four lines, underlined by a laurel wreath between two spear blades.[2]
The bar for a second or subsequent award is straight and also of silver. Bars awarded between 1881 and mid–1916 bear the month and year of the subsequent award, while those awarded after mid–1916 bear a laurel-spray and no date. In undress uniform or on occasions when only ribbons are worn, a silver rosette is worn on the ribbon to indicate the award of each bar.[2][13][14][27]
The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and dark crimson, with a 10 millimetres wide navy blue band in the centre.[2][3]
All awards of the Distinguished Conduct Medal were notified in the London Gazette and, during the First World War, citations were generally also included.
From1854 to 1914 3,529 medals and 13 second award bars were awarded. Of these, about 808 medals were awarded for the Crimean War and 2,092 for theSecond Boer War, with some of the latter being the Edward VII version.[2] During the Boer War, six medals were awarded posthumously and six dated bars were awarded, three of them to recipients who had received their first Distinguished Conduct Medal in this war.[28][1]
Any recipient of the Distinguished Conduct Medal during King Edward VII's reign had their award announced in theLondon Gazette, although a citation was rarely published.
For theFirst World War, 24,620 medals as well as 472 first bars and nine second bars were awarded, with 46 further awards for the period 1920–39.
During the First World War and after all soldiers who received the Distinguished Conduct Medal also had their award announced in the London Gazette, although unlike the earlier awards a brief citation was always included describing their gallant acts and why were given the award. The citation very often started with the words,"For conspicious gallantry and devotion to duty...."
For theSecond World War, 1,891 medals and nine first bars were awarded.
Post War, a total of 153 DCMs were earned between 1947 and 1979, including 45 to Australian and New Zealand forces for service in Vietnam.[2][29] A further 25 awards were made after 1979, nine for service inNorthern Ireland,[30] eight for theSouth Atlantic,[31] and eight for theGulf War,[32] including a number of retrospective awards up to 2006.[33]
Honorary awards of the Distinguished Conduct Medal were made to members of allied forces, including 5,227 for the First World War[34] and 107 for the Second World War.[29] (Lists of WW1 awards to allied forces are kept in country specific files within theWO 388/6 series atKew, and were published in 2018.)[35]
Beginning in the Second Boer War, the Distinguished Conduct Medal has been awarded to 2,071 members of theAustralian Army and to three members of theRoyal Australian Air Force. Thirty first Bars were awarded, all to members of the Army and the majority for actions during the First World War.[6] The last award to an Australian was made in 1972, arising from theVietnam War.[22]
The medal was first awarded to a Canadian on 19 April 1901. Altogether, there were 2,132 awards toCanadian Army andRoyal Canadian Air Force personnel, 38 first Bars and one second Bar.[3]
Between 1899 and 1970, 525 awards of the Distinguished Conduct Medal were made to New Zealanders.[4]
More than 300 Distinguished Conduct Medals were awarded to South Africans during the two World Wars.[19]
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