Distinguished Service Order

For other uses, see Distinguished Service Order (disambiguation).

Distinguished Service Order
Obverse and reverse (reign of George V)
Awarded by United Kingdom and Commonwealth
TypeOrder
Established6 September 1886
EligibilityMembers of the Armed Forces
Awarded for"Distinguished services during active operations against the enemy."[1]
StatusCurrently awarded
SovereignCharles III
GradesCompanion
Statistics
Total inductees
Precedence
Next (higher)Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)[4]
Next (lower)Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO)

DSO ribbon

The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful command and leadership during active operations, typically in actual combat.

Equal in British precedence of military decorations to the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross and Royal Red Cross, since 1993 the DSO is eligible to all ranks awarded specifically for "highly successful command and leadership during active operations".[5]

History

Bar for additional DSO award
Major Paul Garneau, of the Royal 22e Régiment, with the DSO he received for "gallant and distinguished services in the combined attack on Dieppe" after his investiture at Buckingham Palace in October 1942[6]

Instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria by Royal Warrant published in The London Gazette on 9 November,[7] the first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886.[8]

The order was established to recognise individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war. It is a military order, and was, until recently, typically awarded to officers in command above the rank of major (or equivalent), with awards to lower ranks usually being for a high degree of gallantry, just short of deserving the Victoria Cross.[9]

Whilst normally given for service under fire or under conditions equivalent to service in actual combat with the enemy, a number of awards made between 1914 and 1916 were under circumstances not under fire, often to staff officers, causing resentment among front-line officers. After 1 January 1917, commanders in the field were instructed to recommend this award only for those serving under fire.[10]

From 1916, bars could be authorised for subsequent award of the DSO, worn on the ribbon of the original award.[10]

In 1942, the award was extended to officers of the Merchant Navy who had performed acts of gallantry whilst under enemy attack.[11]

Prior to 1943, the DSO could be awarded to only commissioned officers of the Lieutenant-Colonel rank and above, for 'meritorious or distinguished service in wartime' under conditions of actual combat. If awarded to an officer ranking below Lieutenant-Colonel, it had to be a case of 'a high degree of gallantry just short of deserving the Victoria Cross'. In either case, being 'Mentioned in Despatches' was a pre-condition for appointment to the Distinguished Service Order.[12]

The stipulation that only those mentioned in despatches could be appointed to the Order was removed in 1943.[10]

Modern era

Since 1993, reflecting the review of the British honours system which recommended removing distinctions of rank in respect of operational awards, the DSO has been open to all ranks, with the award criteria redefined as "highly successful command and leadership during active operations".[5] At the same time, the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross was introduced as the second-highest award for gallantry.[13] Despite some very fierce campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DSO has yet to be awarded to a non-commissioned rank.[14]

The DSO was previously awarded throughout the Commonwealth but by the 1990s most, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, were had established their own honours systems no longer recommending British honours.[15]

Nomenclature

Recipients of the Order, formally styled Companions of the Distinguished Service Order, are entitled to use DSO as post-nominal letters. All awards are announced in The London Gazette.[16]

Description

  • The decoration signifying the award of the DSO is a silver-gilt (gold until 1889) cross with curved ends, 1.6 in (4.1 cm) wide, enamelled white and edged in gilt.[3] It is manufactured by Messrs Garrard & Co, the Crown Jewellers.[16]
  • In the centre of the obverse, within a green enamelled laurel wreath, is the Imperial Crown in gold upon a red enamelled background. The reverse has the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch in gold within a similar wreath and background.[16]
  • A ring at the top of the decoration attaches to a ring at the bottom of a gilt suspension bar, ornamented with laurel. Since 1938 the year of award engraved on the back of the suspension bar.[16] At the top of the ribbon is a second gilt bar ornamented with laurel.[9]
  • The decorations are issued unnamed but some recipients have had their names engraved on the reverse of the suspension bar.[9]
  • The red ribbon is 1.125 in (2.86 cm) wide with narrow blue edges.[13]
  • The Bar for an additional award is plain gold with an Imperial Crown in the centre. Since about 1938, the year of the award has been engraved on the back of the Bar.[16] A rosette is worn on the ribbon in undress uniform to signify the award of each Bar.[17]

Recipients

Numbers awarded

From 1918 to 2017, the Distinguished Service Order was awarded approximately 16,935 times, in addition to 1,910 bars. The figures to 1979 are laid out in the table below,[18] the dates reflecting the relevant entries in the London Gazette:

Period Crosses 1st bar 2nd bar 3rd bar
Pre-First World War 1886–1913 1,732 – – –
First World War 1914–1919 9,881 768 76 7
Inter-war 1919–1939 148 16 – –
Second World War 1939–1946 4,880 947 59 8
Post-1945 1947–1979 204 20 5 1
Total 1886–1979 16,845 1,751 140 16

In addition, approximately 90 DSOs were awarded between 1980 and 2017, including awards for the Falklands, Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, in addition to three Bars.[19] The above figures include awards to the Commonwealth.

  • In all, 1,220 DSOs were awarded to Canadians, plus 119 first bars and 20 second Bars.[9]
  • From 1901 to 1972, when the last Australian to receive the DSO was announced, 1,018 awards were made to Australians, plus 70 first Bars and one second Bar.[20]
  • The DSO was awarded to over 300 New Zealanders during the two World Wars.[11]
  • At least 14 Indian officers of the British Indian Army (i.e., until 1947) were awarded the DSO, with one in the First World War and 13 in the Second World War. The higher number awarded during the latter was due to the gradual Indianization of the British Indian Army from 1923 (see: South Asian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order).
  • Honorary awards to members of allied foreign forces include at least 1,329 for the First World War.[18]

Quadruple recipients

See also: Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order

The following received the DSO with three Bars (i.e., awarded the DSO four times):

See also

References

  1. ^ "Defence Internet | Fact Sheets | Guide to Honours". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  2. ^ Abbott & Tamplin 1981, p. 124–125. Confirms 1,732 prior to World War I: 1,646 to 1902, 78 to 1910 and 8 to 1914.
  3. ^ a b Medal Yearbook 2015. Honiton, Devon: Token Publishing. 2015. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-908-828-16-3.
  4. ^ "No. 56878". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 March 2003. p. 3351.
  5. ^ a b "Distinguished Service Order". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  6. ^ "No. 35729". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 October 1942. p. 4328.
  7. ^ "No. 25641". The London Gazette. 9 November 1886. pp. 5385–5386.
  8. ^ "No. 25650". The London Gazette. 9 November 1886. pp. 5975–5976.
  9. ^ a b c d Veterans Affairs Canada – Distinguished Service Order (Retrieved 8 December 2018)
  10. ^ a b c Abbott & Tamplin 1981, p. 119–121.
  11. ^ a b "British Commonwealth Gallantry, Meritorious and Distinguished Service Awards – Companion of the Distinguished Service Order". New Zealand defence force. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  12. ^ "Distinguished Service Order (DSO) - TracesOfWar.com". www.tracesofwar.com. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  13. ^ a b Duckers, Peter (2001). British gallantry awards: 1855-2000. Oxford: Shire Publications. pp. 18–23. ISBN 978-0-7478-0516-8.
  14. ^ [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a802607ed915d74e33f8bb2/JSP761_Part1.pdf www.gov.uk]
  15. ^ Medal Yearbook 2015. Honiton, Devon: Token Publishing. 2015. pp. 90, 429, 459. ISBN 978-1-908-828-16-3.
  16. ^ a b c d e Abbott & Tamplin 1981, p. 122–124.
  17. ^ "The British (Imperial) Distinguished Service Order". Vietnam veterans association of Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  18. ^ a b Abbott & Tamplin 1981, p. 124–129.
  19. ^ Post 1979 DSOs include 19 for the Falklands (London Gazette Supplement, 8 October 1982); 1 for Sierra Leone (London Gazette Supplement, 30 September 2003); 8 for Gulf War (London Gazette Supplement, 29 June 1991 Late award: 21 November 1994); 18 bars for Iraq and 43+3 second award bar for Afghanistan, plus awards for smaller conflicts.
  20. ^ "Imperial Awards". It's an Honour. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 23 June 2006. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  21. ^ a b c "No. 31583". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 October 1919. p. 12213.
  22. ^ "No. 31183". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 February 1919. p. 2363.
  23. ^ "No. 36081". The London Gazette. 2 July 1943. p. 3056.
  24. ^ "No. 36771". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 October 1944. p. 4977.
  25. ^ Bourne, John. "Edward Allan Wood". Centre for First World War Studies. Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  • Abbott, P. E.; Tamplin, J. M. A. (1981). British Gallantry Awards. London: Nimrod Dix. ISBN 0-902633-74-0.
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