George Cross

Main article: List of George Cross recipients Since its inception in 1940, the GC has been awarded 416 times: 401 to men, 12 to women, and three times collectively. There have been 165 original awards including the three collective awards, including 106 made before 1947. About 30% of the 162 original awards to individuals have been to civilians. There have been 251 exchange awards, 112 to Empire Gallantry Medal recipients, 69 to Albert Medal recipients and 70 to Edward Medal recipients. Of the 162 individuals who received original awards, 86 have been posthumous. In addition, there were five posthumous recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal whose awards in four cases were gazetted after the start of the Second World War and whose awards were also exchanged for the GC. All the other exchange recipients were living as of the date of the decisions for the exchanges. Dominic Troulan represented recipients at the 2023 Coronation.

Collective awards The flag of Malta displays its George Cross. The three collective awards have been to the Island of Malta, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the National Health Service of the United Kingdom (NHS).

Malta Main article: Award of the George Cross to Malta The George Cross awarded to Malta (National War Museum, 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. The Governor answered:

By God's help Malta will not weaken but will endure until victory is won. The cross and the messages are today in the War Museum in Fort Saint Elmo, Valletta. The fortitude of the population under sustained enemy air raids, and a naval blockade which almost saw them starved into submission, won widespread admiration in Britain and other Allied nations. Eric Grove argued on the BBC in 2017 that the George Cross was awarded as a propaganda gesture and consequently 'the island of Malta could not be allowed to fall as Singapore had done. Indeed, the North African campaign was being fought in 1942 as much to sustain Malta as vice versa.'

The George Cross was incorporated into the Flag of Malta in 1943 and, since independence in 1964, remains on the flag.

Royal Ulster Constabulary The GC was awarded to the RUC in 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II following the advice of the first Blair ministry. The citation published by Buckingham Palace on 23 November 1999 stated:

For the past 30 years, the Royal Ulster Constabulary has been the bulwark against, and the main target of, a sustained and brutal terrorism campaign. The Force has suffered heavily in protecting both sides of the community from danger—302 officers have been killed in the line of duty and thousands more injured, many seriously. Many officers have been ostracised by their own community and others have been forced to leave their homes in the face of threats to them and their families. 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. The Queen presented the George Cross on 12 April 2000 in a ceremony at Hillsborough Castle, County Down, attended by the senior RUC officers; the cross was accepted by Constable Paul Slaine, who had lost both legs in a 1992 IRA attack.

The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 gave effect to much of the Patten Report, with "the Police Service of Northern Ireland (incorporating the Royal Ulster Constabulary)" established on 4 November 2001. The RUC is often referred to as "RUC GC"; the 2000 act established a registered charity "to be known as 'The Royal Ulster Constabulary GC Foundation' for the purpose of marking the sacrifices and honouring the achievements of the Royal Ulster Constabulary"; other instances include the names of the RUC GC Widows' Association, RUC GC Historical Society, and RUCGC–PSNI Benevolent Fund.

National Health Service On 5 July 2021, on the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the NHS of the UK, Queen Elizabeth II announced in a personal handwritten message that the four NHS organisations of the United Kingdom would be awarded the George Cross. It was reported that the award was recommended by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. The conferral of the award followed an 18-month period in which the health service had been at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in the UK.

The message read:

It is with great pleasure, on behalf of a grateful nation, that I award the George Cross to the National Health Services of the United Kingdom. This award recognises all NHS staff, past and present, across all disciplines and all four nations. Over more than seven decades, and especially in recent times, you have supported the people of our country with courage, compassion and dedication, demonstrating the highest standards of public service. You have our enduring thanks and heartfelt appreciation. Elizabeth R. Awards to the Commonwealth Canada There have been 10 GCs awarded to Canadians including those by substitution for awards superseded by the GC. The recipients comprised nine men and one woman. The GC is no longer awarded to Canadians by the King of Canada, who awards the Canadian Cross of Valour instead.

Australia Main article: List of Australian George Cross recipients Memorial to Australian recipients, George Cross Park, Canberra The George Cross was awarded to 23 Australians, 11 to the Australian forces and 12 to civilians. It is the highest decoration of the Australian honours system after the British Victoria Cross and the Victoria Cross for Australia. Although Australia established the Cross of Valour within the Australian honours system in 1975 'for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril' it was not until 1992 that Australia officially ceased recommending British honours. During the period 1975 to 1992, the last George Cross to an Australian was awarded in 1978.

Of the 23 awards, 14 were direct awards and nine were Empire Gallantry Medal (two), Albert Medal (six) and Edward Medal (one) exchange awards. Four awards were to officers of the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve who served in the extremely dangerous role of mine disposal during the Second World War. Privates Benjamin Gower Hardy and Ralph Jones were posthumously awarded the George Cross for manning a Vickers machine gun during the Cowra breakout, a mass escape by Japanese prisoners of war in central New South Wales on 5 August 1944. Hardy and Jones disabled the weapon and denied its use to the escaping prisoners before they were overwhelmed and killed by the escapees. Courage of a different sort was displayed by two prisoners of war who endured terrible suffering. Captain Lionel Colin Matthews was eventually executed by his captors for building a resistance network in British North Borneo in the Second World War, while Private Horace William Madden, captured in Korea in 1951, died of privations while assisting fellow prisoners and openly resisting enemy efforts to force him to collaborate. The last Australian to be awarded the GC (in 1978) was Constable Michael Kenneth Pratt of the Victoria Police, Melbourne, for arresting two armed bank robbers in June 1976. For 39 years until the award to Dominic Troulon in 2017, Pratt was the most recent living civilian George Cross recipient.

A memorial to Australian recipients, George Cross Park, was opened in Canberra, the Australian capital, on 4 April 2001 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir William Deane.

New Zealand In 1999, the New Zealand Cross replaced the role of the George Cross. Up until then, the last George Cross awarded to a New Zealander, was posthumously awarded to Sgt Stewart Guthrie of the New Zealand Police for his actions and bravery during the Aramoana massacre.

^ British Gallantry Medals (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 142

^ Kevin Brazier. The complete George Cross, Pen & Sword, 2012, ISBN 978-1-84884-287-8

^ Hebblethwaite, Marion (2021). George Cross Encyclopedia: Illustrated biographies of all George Cross recipients. Vol. 1. Cirencester: Marion Hebblethwaite. pp. 9–17. ISBN 978-1-9997057-3-2.

^ "George Cross". Victoria Cross Online: The Men and Women and their Gallantry Awards on one site. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.

^ George Cross Database. Retrieved on 12 September 2007.

^ "George Cross for Army Afghanistan bomb heroes". BBC. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2010.

^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.

^ Grove, Eric (17 February 2011). "The Siege of Malta in World War Two". BBC. Retrieved 15 April 2007.

^ Turner, John Frayn (2010). "Royal Ulster Constabulary". Awards of the George Cross 1940–2009 (2 ed.). Pen & Sword Books Ltd. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-84884-200-7. Retrieved 24 February 2015.

^ Paterson, John (12 April 2000). "Queen honours RUC with George Cross". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2019.

^ "'New era' as NI police change name". BBC News. 4 November 2001. Retrieved 24 February 2015.

^ "Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 § 70". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2019.

^ "Home page". RUC GC Widows Association. Retrieved 26 June 2019.

^ "Police Museum". Art UK. Public Catalogue Foundation. Retrieved 26 June 2019.

^ "Home page". RUCGC–PSNI Benevolent Fund. Retrieved 26 June 2019.

^ "Queen gives George Cross to NHS for staff's 'courage and dedication'". BBC News. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

^ Low, Valentine. "Queen awards George Cross to heroic NHS". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

^ "Queen awards George Cross to NHS to mark 70 years of public service". The Guardian. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.

^ "Cowra breakout, 1944 – Fact sheet 198". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 5 May 2019.

^ "Hardy, Benjamin Gower". Department of Veterans' Affairs (Australia). Retrieved 5 May 2019.

^ "Jones, Ralph". Department of Veterans' Affairs (Australia). Retrieved 5 May 2019.

^ David Matthews. (2008). The Duke: A Hero's Hero at Sandakan. Captain Lionel Matthews GC, MC. Seaview Press, West Lakes, South Australia. ISBN 978-1-74008-486-4.

^ Michael Ashcroft. (2010). George Cross Heroes. Headline Publishing, London. pp. 249–251. ISBN 978-0755360840.

The George Cross was announced on 23 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, days after the climax of the Battle of Britain and during the third week of the Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage. The existing awards open to civilians were not judged suitable to meet the new situation, therefore it was decided to institute the GC and the George Medal (GM) to recognise civilian gallantry in the face of enemy action, and brave deeds more generally.

Announcing the new award, the King said:

In order that they should be worthily and promptly recognised, I have decided to create, at once, a new mark of honour for men and women in all walks of civilian life. 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 medal was designed by Percy Metcalfe. The warrants for the GC and for the GM were backdated to 24 September 1940, and published in The London Gazette on 31 January 1941.

The King in his speech announcing the new award, stated that it would rank next to the Victoria Cross. This was second on the Order of Wear, much higher than the then existing awards for bravery not in the presence of the enemy, the highest being the two-class Albert Medal (AM); and the lowest being the single class Empire Gallantry Medal (EGM). In a substitution of awards unprecedented in the history of British decorations, holders of the EGM were required to exchange their insignia for the GC, most receiving their replacement GC at a formal investiture. The four honorary EGM awards to foreigners were not exchanged and could therefore continue to be worn. In 1971, surviving recipients of the Albert Medal and the Edward Medal (EM) became George Cross recipients, but unlike the EGM exchange of insignia, they had the option of retaining their original insignia. Of the 69 holders of the Albert Medal and 70 holders of the Edward Medal eligible to exchange, 49 and 59 respectively took up the option.[citation needed]

^ British Gallantry Medals (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138

^ "George Cross Database". Archived from the original on 14 May 2011.

^ "No. 35060". The London Gazette. 31 January 1941. pp. 622–624.

^ "No. 35141". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 April 1941. p. 2285.

^ British Gallantry Awards by P E Abbott and J M A Tamplin list two AM in Gold awards between 1920 and 1939, p. 22. There were 130 EGM awards between 1922 and 1940, p. 242. Five deceased EGM recipients, pre-war recipient Herbert John Mahoney, killed in action at Dunkirk, and the four posthumous recipients after the outbreak of war became George Cross holders. See https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2483935/HERBERT%20JOHN%20MAHONEY/

^ British Gallantry Medals (Abbott and Tamplin), p.242

^ "No. 45566". The London Gazette. 6 January 1972. p. 171.

^ "No. 45566". The London Gazette. 6 January 1972. p. 172.