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22-545: The Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom , as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth , awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful command and leadership during active operations, typically in actual combat. Since 1993 it has been awarded specifically for "highly successful command and leadership during active operations", with all ranks being eligible. It

44-586: A pendant (commonly a medal ) attached. The oldest military decorations still in use is Sweden's För tapperhet i fält ('For Valour in the Field') and För tapperhet till sjöss ('For Valour at Sea') awarded to officers and soldiers of the Swedish Armed Forces who have—as the medal names suggest—shown valour in the field or at sea in wartime. The medal was instituted by Swedish king Gustav III on 28 May 1789, during his war against Russia. Whilst technically it

66-596: A case of 'a high degree of gallantry just short of deserving the Victoria Cross '. In either case, being ' Mentioned in Dispatches ' was a pre-condition for the award of a DSO. A requirement that the order could be given only to someone mentioned in despatches was removed in 1943. Since 1993, reflecting the review of the British honours system which recommended removing distinctions of rank in respect of operational awards,

88-473: A clasp for each battle fought. After four clasps were earned the medal was turned in for a cross with the battle names on the arms, and additional clasps were then added. The maximum was achieved by the Duke of Wellington , with a cross and nine clasps. Over the next 40 years, it became customary for governments to present a medal to all soldiers and officers involved in a campaign. These medals were often engraved with

110-579: A general region or time frame. Bars would be awarded to denote the particular campaign or war the recipient fought in. The 1854 India General Service Medal was awarded to soldiers over a 41-year period. Twenty-three clasps were created for this award, becoming one of the more extreme uses of this system. The British Naval General Service Medal , was authorised in 1847 with some 231 clasps (of which about 10 were never issued) for actions ranging from relatively minor skirmishes to certain campaigns and all full-fledged battles between 1793 and 1840. The Crimea Medal

132-548: A high degree of gallantry, just short of deserving the Victoria Cross . 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. From 1916, ribbon bars could be authorised for subsequent awards of

154-653: Is a level 2A decoration (order) in the British system of military decorations . Instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria in a royal warrant published in The London Gazette on 9 November, the first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886. The order was established to reward individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war. It was a military order, until recently for officers only and typically awarded to officers ranked major (or equivalent) or higher, with awards to ranks below this usually for

176-566: Is still active, it is for practical purposes inactive, not having been awarded since 1915. The next oldest is the Austro-Hungarian Tapferkeits Medaille Honour Medal for Bravery 1789–1792. This medal was instituted on 19 July 1789, by the Emperor Joseph II. Another of the oldest military decorations still in use is Poland's War Order of Virtuti Militari ( Latin for 'For Military Valour'). It

198-653: The Commonwealth . The following received the DSO and three bars ( i.e., were awarded the DSO four times): Military awards and decorations Civil decorations awarded to military personnel should not be considered military decorations, although some orders of chivalry have civil and military divisions. Decorations received by police and fire brigade personnel may sometimes be considered alongside military decorations, on which they may be modelled, although they are strictly not military awards. Decorations have been known since ancient times. The Egyptian Old Kingdom had

220-609: The Order of the Golden Collar while the New Kingdom awarded the Order of the Golden Fly . Celts and Romans wore a torc or received other military decorations such as the hasta pura , a spear without a tip. Dayaks wore and still wear tattoos , etc. Necklaces and bracelets were given during the early Middle Ages , evolving into large, richly jewelled necklaces, often with

242-414: The service ribbons are normally worn on everyday occasions (as opposed to the actual medals). Medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration , civil decoration , or other medal . It most commonly indicates the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that

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264-541: The 1990s most, including Canada , Australia and New Zealand , were establishing their own honours systems and no longer recommended British honours. Recipients of the order are officially known as Companions of the Distinguished Service Order, and are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "DSO". All awards are announced in The London Gazette . From 1918 to 2017, the Distinguished Service Order

286-550: The DSO has been open to all ranks, with the award criteria redefined as "highly successful command and leadership during active operations". At the same time, the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross was introduced as the second-highest award for gallantry. Despite some very fierce campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DSO has yet to be awarded to a non-commissioned rank. The DSO had also been awarded by Commonwealth countries but by

308-575: The DSO, worn on the ribbon of the original award. In 1942, the award was extended to officers of the Merchant Navy who had performed acts of gallantry whilst under enemy attack. 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

330-630: The name of each additional battle were attached to the medal's ribbon. This method of notation evolved again on the Punjab Campaign medal , where the standard medal was awarded to all that had served during the campaign, with bars produced for the three major battles; the Battle of Chillianwala , the Siege of Multan , and the Battle of Gujarat . The creation of bars led to the development of 'General Service' medals, which would be presented to any soldier serving in

352-424: The names of the major battles the recipient had fought in during the campaign. The main disadvantages of this system were that new medals had to be created for each campaign or war, and that it was impossible to tell at a glance if the recipient was only a participant in the campaign overall, or if he had been involved in one or several major actions. (The first gallantry medal to be awarded to ordinary British soldiers

374-463: The recipient has met the criteria for receiving the medal in multiple theatres . When used in conjunction with decorations for exceptional service, such as gallantry medals, the term "and bar" means that the award has been bestowed multiple times. In the example, "Group Captain Leonard Cheshire , VC , OM , DSO and two bars, DFC ", "DSO and two bars" means that the Distinguished Service Order

396-521: The ribbon. Prior to the early 19th century, medals and decorations were only awarded to ranking officers ; occasions existed where medals were presented to soldiers ( other ranks or enlisted men ) or seamen ( naval ratings ), but these were often private efforts. One exception was the Army Gold Medal issued to higher ranking participants in the Peninsular War . A medal was given for service, with

418-566: Was awarded approximately 16,935 times, in addition to 1,910 bars. The figures to 1979 are laid out in the table below, the dates reflecting the relevant entries in the London Gazette : In addition, approximately 90 DSOs were awarded between 1980 and 2017, including awards for the Falklands and the wars in the Gulf , Iraq and Afghanistan , in addition to three bars. The above figures include awards to

440-405: Was awarded on three occasions. A British convention is to indicate bars by the use of asterisks; thus, DSO** would denote a DSO and two bars. Bars are also used on long-service medals to indicate the length of service rendered. The two terms are used because terms "bar" and "clasp" both refer to two parts of the medal; the indicator discussed in this article, and the part of the medal connected to

462-424: Was first awarded in 1792. Medals have been forged by many people to make the medal appear more valuable or to make one look like a more decorated soldier. Medal forgeries can include: adding bars , engraving a famous soldier's name on it or creating a whole new medal. Medal forgery is illegal in most countries and can be punishable by imprisonment. Today military decorations include: In most NATO militaries, only

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484-465: Was the Victoria Cross in 1856.) The Sutlej Medal was the earliest medal to use such bars. It was awarded to British Army and Honourable East India Company soldiers who fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War between 1845 and 1846. The first battle the recipient participated in would be engraved on the medal itself. If the recipient had participated in multiple engagements, silver bars bearing

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