How do I view the documents covered in this guide?
Exactly how many are online?
1. Why utilize this guide?
Once you learn of somebody who received a Uk army medal or honor for the work of bravery, gallantry and for meritorious solution between 1854 and c1990 and you also wish to learn whether an archive for the prize and exactly why it had been granted exist, this guide will soon be of good use. One of the many medals and prizes included in the guide will be the:
For suggestions about civilian gallantry honors consult our Civilian gallantry medals guide. You can find split documents for the prize of campaign medals (granted solely for service) – see our Army that is british campaign solution medals guide for suggestions about finding these.
2. The records of gallantry medals and prizes
2.1 Public notices
Pretty much all gallantry prizes to Uk nationals are publicly established into the formal federal government paper, the London Gazette. This general public statement is usually the only record that survives of an prize. notices additionally showed up, where appropriate, into the dominion or colonial gazettes.
2.2 guidelines and citations
A suggestion is just a statement that is full often furnished by a commanding officer, of why a medal must be granted to someone.
A citation is a quick formal statement, obtained from the suggestion, of why a medal ended up being granted.
Whether an archive of a citation or a suggestion survives depends, mainly, on the style of prize. periodically citations are published into the London Gazette although not constantly during the exact same date as the statement. A citation or suggestion may often endure within the solution record associated with the person.
2.3 Registers
For a few medals you can find registers and listings of recipients addressing a particular war 
3. How to locate documents
Find out where you should seek out documents of the medal that is particular consulting the dining table below. The next basic advice will additionally help you to get started:
3.1 on the web records
In some instances, to see documents you need to find document sources and either purchase copies or check us out to see the documents that are original individual. Listed here documents, nevertheless, can be seen or online that is downloaded.
3.2 fundamental search methods for finding original papers
You can make use of our catalogue to look for documents. Re Search because of the name of a medal utilising the search that is advanced target the documents associated with particular record departments for every branch of this army, the following.
3.3 Public announcements and posted citations
In many instances, the most useful destination to begin may be the London Gazette, available regarding the Gazette web site, though for a lot of medals a citation had not been posted (begin to see the dining dining table below for medal-by-medal details). You can easily search the Gazette by title, solution quantity, book date and kind of honor. You shall need to find out approximately if the honor had been announced or вЂgazetted’. There clearly was constantly a wait between your gallant deed, the real award of the medal, and book within the London Gazette. The Gazette indexes offered by The National Archives can help establish a romantic date.
3.4 guidelines, registers and citations that are unpublished
Always check posted sources, like those when you look at the further reading element of this guide, before you begin a seek out documents of suggestions or citations while they may possibly provide precise document recommendations and extra information. The dining dining table below provides links to your record series most very likely to include information about specific honors.
3.5 dining dining Table of record sources for gallantry medals
Click the London Gazette links to look the Gazette by title, solution quantity, book date and kind of honor. Click the document show sources and search by title of medal. The records that are online be searched by title of receiver.
Footnotes: (1) guidelines in AIR 2 are arranged by old Air Ministry file guide quantity, maybe perhaps not name. Contact the Ministry of Defence whom might be able to give you the file guide.
Be aware that medals granted by the British Army are not granted solely to British Army soldiers – they are often granted to workers through the other services that are armed. Throughout the 2nd World War, as an example, some people in the Royal Air Force received British Army prizes. Exactly the same will also apply to the Royal Navy and RAF, to ensure that, as an example, quantity of airmen associated with Fleet Air Arm, a branch for the Royal Navy, received RAF honors.
4. International honors to Britons and British honors to international servicemen and females (from 1854)
4.1 Notices
These honors are usually established into the London Gazette underneath the heading вЂForeign Orders’.
For draft variations of London Gazette notices 1914-1928 browse WO 388 by guide. A few of these pre-publication notices are annotated. The papers in this show (WO 388) are arranged by nation. WO 388/6 to 15, including indexes in WO 388/8 to 15, can be obtained to download online (you can install the indexes cost-free).
4.2 Tips
Military honors exchanged between Uk and international armies from 1946 onwards are searchable by title and prize within the tips (WO 373) on line. These could add those perhaps perhaps maybe not showing up when you look at the London Gazette.
4.3 Lists
You will find some listings of international Awards within FO 83 (before 1906) and FO 372 (after 1906). Select files containing these listings making use of the Foreign workplace correspondence indexes in the National Archives. It really is believed why these listings are not comprehensive.
5. Laws and policy files (from 1854)
Generally speaking, you can easily search our catalogue because of the medal title or its abbreviation to see if you will find any policy files. There are numerous particular series which document the laws regulating the prize of medals.
For policy files on medals, see series ADM 1 rule 85, ADM 116 rule 85, AIR 1, AIR 2, HO 45 rule 30, MT 9 rule 6, T 300 and T 333 and WO 32 rule 50.
6. The manufacture and design of medals (1805-1986)
Sales for gallantry medals (especially within the 19th century) might be followed closely by details of recipients as well as the action that resulted in the prize. Decide to try series MINT 16, MINT 20, MINT 24 and MINT 25. Re Search our catalogue with key phrases such as for instance вЂawards’ or вЂdecorations’.
7. Replacing and claiming medals
Contact the Ministry of Defence for campaign along with other medals given after 1939. Medals released before 1939 can no more be changed.
8. Further reading and other resources
Online language resources
The Ministry of Defence’s british forces that are armed booklet, available from GOV.UK. Listings the medals awarded for service into the Uk military, associated with a graphic for every medal.
Listings of Victoria Cross recipients announced into the Gazette for the very first World War in 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918 and 1919.
Publications
Go to the National Archives’ bookshop for a selection of available magazines about british gallantry that is military. Most of the publications here are for sale in The nationwide Archives’ Library for assessment at our building in Kew.
Peter Edwards Abbott and John Michael Allen Tamplin, British Gallantry honors (London, 1981)
Michael Maton, Honour The Recipents of international honors (Honiton: Token Publishing 2013)
William Spencer, Army Records for Family Historians (3nd edn, The National Archives, 2008)
