Post-nominal letters , also called post-nominal initials , post-nominal titles , designatory letters , or simply post-nominals , are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation, an office, a military decoration, or honour, or is a member of a religious institute or fraternity. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters, but in some contexts it may be customary to limit the number of sets to one or just a few. The order in which post-nominals are listed after a name is based on rules of precedence and what is appropriate for a given situation. Post-nominal letters are one of the main types of name suffix . In contrast, pre-nominal letters precede the name rather than following it, such as addressing a physician or professor as "Dr. Smith".
36-542: Henry Vivian Brandon, Baron Brandon of Oakbrook , MC , PC (3 June 1920 – 24 March 1999) was a British judge. Brandon was born in Worthing , Sussex , the younger son of Captain Vivian Ronald Brandon RN and of Joan Elizabeth Maud Simpson. He was educated at Durston House , Winchester College , and King's College, Cambridge , where he initially read Classics. His studies were interrupted by World War II. He
72-575: A Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and was created a life peer with the title Baron Brandon of Oakbrook , of Hammersmith in Greater London . In 1991, he retired from judicial service. Brandon married Jeanette Janvrin , a private secretary, on 28 December 1955; they had three sons and a daughter. Lady Brandon died in 2018. This United Kingdom law-related biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This biography of
108-511: A life peer is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Military Cross The Military Cross ( MC ) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces , and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC is granted in recognition of "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against
144-481: A Cambridge Master of Arts. Graduates from British and Irish universities sometimes add the name of the university that awarded their degree after the post-nominals for their degree, either in parentheses or not, depending on preferred style. University names are often abbreviated and sometimes given in Latin, e.g."BA, MA (Dunelm), PhD (Ebor)"; a list of abbreviations used for university names can be found at Universities in
180-471: A single item, and omits membership of the armed forces. Loughborough University gives a very similar ordering, but with "Appointments (e.g MP, KC)" replacing item 3 (KC) and "Higher Education awards (in ascending order, commencing with undergraduate)" replacing items 4–6 (degrees, diplomas and certificates). This restores the Appointments section from the civil list omitted by Oxford and Nottingham, although
216-432: Is normal to only list those relevant to the circumstance. For example, if Jane Doe had a BS, MS, and PhD in computer science as well as an MBA, then if working in management in a retail company she would write "Jane Doe, MBA", but if working in an IT company she might write "Jane Doe, PhD", and if working in academia she could write "Jane Doe, BS, MS, MBA, PhD". The Gregg Reference Manual recommends placing periods between
252-446: Is to give all higher education qualifications, starting from undergraduate, ordered by their level rather than their title. In this style, one might list a Certificate or Diploma of Higher Education first, then foundation degrees , first degrees at bachelor level, first degrees at master level (integrated master's degrees and first degrees in medicine), postgraduate degrees at master level (including postgraduate bachelor's degrees such
288-448: Is usual to list those most relevant to a person's profession first, or those most relevant to the particular circumstances. It is common to omit fellowships (except honorific fellowships) and memberships that are not relevant in a given situation. Debrett's notes that although Royal Academicians are listed after fellows of learned societies (and before members of professional bodies), they do not yield to them in precedence, "In practice
324-675: The Administration of Justice Act 1970 , and its Admiralty jurisdiction was transferred to the Queen's Bench Division . Brandon remained with the new Family Division, although he sat as an 'additional judge of the Queen's Bench Division' on secondment from the Family Division. Brandon was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1978 and sworn of the Privy Council . On 24 September 1981, he was appointed
360-604: The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross . The Military Cross was designed by Henry Farnham Burke , while its ribbon was created by Victoria Ponsonby, Baroness Sysonby . In the Medal Yearbook 2015 it is described as follows: Since 1914, over 52,000 Military Crosses and 3,717 bars have been awarded. The dates below reflect the relevant London Gazette entries: In addition, approximately 375 MCs have been awarded since 1979, including awards for Northern Ireland ,
396-673: The Falklands , and the wars in the Persian Gulf , Iraq , and Afghanistan . The above table includes awards to the Dominions: Post-nominal letters Different awards and post-nominal letters are in use in the English-speaking countries. The order in which post-nominal letters are listed after a person's name is dictated by standard practice, which may vary by region and context. Various University Style Guides, such as:
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#1733084922476432-602: The University of Sydney Style Guide and the Australian Government Style Manual and that of the various State Governments. Outside of any specific academic or State or Federal Government requirement, then in the following order: The Canadian government's The Canadian Style specifies that no more than two sets of post-nominal letters should normally be given, unless all are to be given either for information or for reasons of protocol, and that these should be
468-597: The 1993 review of the honours system , as part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in awards for bravery the Military Medal , formerly the third-level decoration for other ranks , was discontinued. The MC is now the third-level award for all ranks of the British Armed Forces for "exemplary gallantry" on land, not to the standard required to receive the Victoria Cross (for "the most conspicuous bravery") or
504-614: The Cross were entitled to use the post-nominal letters MC, and bars could be awarded for further acts of gallantry meriting the award, with a silver rosette worn on the ribbon when worn alone to denote the award of each bar. From September 1916, members of the Royal Naval Division , who served alongside the Army on the Western Front , were made eligible for military decorations, including
540-584: The Military Cross were unavailable until 1979, the first awards included seven posthumous awards, with the word 'deceased' after the name of the recipient, from recommendations that had been raised before the recipients died of wounds or died from other causes. Awards are announced in The London Gazette , apart from most honorary awards to allied forces in keeping with the usual practice not to gazette awards to foreigners. From August 1916, recipients of
576-460: The Military Cross, for the war's duration. Naval officers serving with the division received 140 MCs and eight second award bars. In June 1917, eligibility was extended to temporary majors , not above the substantive rank of captain. Substantive majors were made eligible in 1953. In 1931, the award was extended to equivalent ranks in the Royal Air Force for actions on the ground. After
612-601: The Oxford BCL), and doctorates. In this style, postgraduate certificates and diplomas could be shown either before postgraduate degrees at master's level (as in the table given by Loughborough University) or before first degrees at master's level (reflecting their position in the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies ). Strictly speaking, both the Debrett's and Ministry of Justice lists only allow for
648-659: The Second World War, most Commonwealth countries created their own honours system and no longer recommended British awards. The last Military Cross awards for the Canadian Army were for Korea. The last four Australian Army Military Cross awards were promulgated in The London Gazette on 1 September 1972 for Vietnam as was the last New Zealand Army Military Cross award, which was promulgated on 25 September 1970. Canada , Australia and New Zealand have now created their own gallantry awards under their own honours systems. Since
684-450: The UK there is, according to Debrett's , no defined order of precedence for placing designatory letters for fellowships of learned societies and memberships of professional bodies within their respective groups. Debrett's suggests that "In practice, where one society is indisputably of greater importance than another the letters are usually placed in that order. Alternatively, the fellowship of
720-552: The UK, it is usual to list only doctorates, degrees in medicine, and degrees in divinity. In particular, when a person has letters indicating Crown honours or decorations, only the principal degree would normally be given. The University of Oxford Style Guide advises writers: "Remember that you do not need to list all awards, degrees, memberships etc held by an individual – only those items relevant to your writing." In an academic context, or in formal lists, all degrees may be listed in ascending order of academic status, which may not be
756-497: The United Kingdom#Post-nominal abbreviations . Where the same degree has been granted by more than one university, this can be shown by placing the names or abbreviations in a single bracket after the degree name, e.g. " Sir Edward Elgar , Mus.D. (Oxon., Cantab., Dunelm. et Yale, U.S.A.), LL.D. (Leeds, Aberdeen, and W. University, Pennsylvania.)". Honorary degrees , if shown, can be indicated either by "Hon" before
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#1733084922476792-613: The bar to build up a practice in all three areas. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1961. Brandon was appointed to the High Court in 1966, at the age of forty-six, and was assigned to the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division , where he was the sole Admiralty judge. He received the customary knighthood the same year. In 1971, the Division was reformed into the Family Division under
828-551: The case of a BA from Oxford, Cambridge or Dublin who proceeds to be an MA of those universities (which is taken without further study), the MA replaces the BA and thus only the MA should be listed. Oxford has said that there is no risk of confusion between their MA and "earned" MAs as the Oxford MA is denoted "MA (Oxon)" rather than simply MA. However, Debrett's has advised using just "MA" to describe
864-494: The enemy on land" to all members of the British Armed Forces of any rank. In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, could be recommended posthumously. The award was created on 28 December 1914 for commissioned officers of the substantive rank of captain or below and for warrant officers . The first 98 awards were gazetted on 1 January 1915, to 71 officers, and 27 warrant officers. Although posthumous recommendations for
900-431: The inclusion of degrees, not non-degree academic awards. For someone with a substantive doctorate, it is usual either to give "Dr" as the title (without a stop per normal British usage) or to list their degrees post-nominally, e.g. "Dr John Smith" or "John Smith, PhD" but not "Dr John Smith, PhD". Postnominals may be used with other titles, e.g. "Mr John Smith, PhD", "Sir John Smith, PhD", or "The Rev John Smith, PhD". In
936-499: The junior society may be omitted. If such precedence cannot be determined, the letters may be placed in order of conferment. Where this is not known, they may be placed in alphabetical order." Earlier guidance that "Strictly speaking, they should be arranged according to date of foundation or incorporation of the societies concerned" has now been removed. Only postnominals indicating honorific fellowships (e.g., FRS , FBA , FREng ) are normally used socially. For professional bodies it
972-901: The letters of post-nominals (e.g., B.S. , Ph.D. ); however, The Chicago Manual of Style recommends writing degrees without periods (e.g., BS , PhD ). If post-nominals are given, the full name should be used, without Dr., Mr., Ms., Mrs., or Miss. Other prefixes (e.g., Professor ) may be used. In contrast to the style for academic qualifications, medical qualifications are listed in descending order, i.e.: doctorates, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, postgraduate diplomas, and qualifying diplomas. Letters indicating doctorates, master's degrees and fellowships of royal colleges are always given, while bachelor's degrees, memberships and qualifying diplomas are only shown for people with no higher qualifications. In all but formal lists, only three medical qualifications are normally given. Where someone holds qualifications in multiple fields, they are normally given in
1008-662: The order: medicine, surgery (except for MRCS, which is considered a qualifying diploma), obstetrics, gynaecology and other specialities. These are followed by qualifying diplomas and other diplomas. The academic style guides do not have a separate section for medical qualifications, so if following one of these guides, medical degrees should be listed with other degrees, medical diplomas with other diplomas, and fellowships and memberships of royal colleges with other fellowships and memberships of professional bodies. In Africa , learned societies and professional bodies use designatory letters for their members and fellowships. For example: In
1044-500: The ordering of styles and titles for British citizens, including the Ministry of Justice, Debrett's and A & C Black 's Titles and Forms of Address ; these are generally in close agreement, with the exception of the position of MP, etc., in the listing: In addition, British citizens who have received honours from Commonwealth countries are usually given permission from the King to use
1080-613: The other differences remain. Nottingham Trent University gives essentially the same ordering as Oxford and Nottingham, but without specifying the order in which degrees should be given. Nottingham Trent, Oxford and Loughborough recommend degree abbreviations be given in mixed case without stops between the letters (e.g. BA, not B.A.; PhD, not Ph.D.), as does Cambridge . Imperial College London , however, uses all small caps for post-nominals (e.g. phd , not PhD). Where all degrees are shown, as in university calendars, most universities will give these in ascending order. However, advice on
1116-455: The post-nominals for the degree or "hc" (for honoris causa ) after the post-nominals, e.g. "Professor Evelyn Algernon Valentine Ebsworth CBE, PhD, MA, ScD, DCL hc , FRSC, FRSE " (emphasis added); "Professor Stephen Hawking Hon.ScD , CH, CBE, FRS" (emphasis added). The Oxford University Calendar Style Guide recommends not giving honorary degrees in post-nominals. In academia and research, all degrees may be listed. In general, however, it
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1152-423: The postnominals for that honour. The Oxford University Style Guide and the University of Nottingham Style Guide give the alternative ordering: This differs from the civil ordering in that it omits appointments except for KC, includes diplomas and certificates in addition to degrees, merges medical qualifications, fellowships of learned societies, royal academicians, and membership of professional bodies into
1188-471: The precise ordering varies: In the United States, standard protocol is to list post-nominal letters in the following order: Active duty services personnel do not use any post-nominals other than, if applicable, Staff Corps affiliation (Navy only) followed by a comma and then their branch of service. Names are bracketed by the appropriate pre-nominal and post-nominal, e.g. LCDR John Q Public, MC, USN. In
1224-512: The same as the order in which they were obtained (although see notes on medical qualifications, below). The Oxford style is to list qualifications by their title starting with bachelor's degrees, then master's degrees, then doctorates. Postgraduate Certificates and Diplomas are listed after doctorates, but before professional qualifications, with a similar ordering being used by other universities. In this style, foundation degrees and other sub-bachelor qualifications are not shown. An alternative style
1260-539: The two highest of different types. The types and the order in which they are given are: Going back to the mid 17th century, today's classical European fraternities such as the German Student Corps have used post-nominal symbols and letters to allow their members to indicate their fraternity membership and honorary positions held in their signature. In the United Kingdom various sources have issued guidance on
1296-666: Was commissioned into the Royal Artillery and won the Military Cross for directing artillery fire behind Vichy lines in Madagascar . After the war he returned to Cambridge, graduating with a First in Law in 1946. The same year he was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1946. He practiced in the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court , becoming the only man at
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