86-479: Edwin Maxwell Fry , CBE , RA , FRIBA , F RTPI (2 August 1899 – 3 September 1987) was an English modernist architect, writer and painter. Originally trained in the neo-classical style of architecture, Fry grew to favour the new modernist style, and practised with eminent colleagues including Walter Gropius , Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret . Fry was a major influence on a generation of young architects. Among
172-404: A broad riband or sash, passing from the right shoulder to the left hip. Knights Commander and male Commanders wear the badge from a ribbon around the neck; male Officers and Members wear the badge from a ribbon on the left chest; female recipients other than Dames Grand Cross (unless in military uniform) normally wear it from a bow on the left shoulder. An oval eight-pointed star is worn, pinned to
258-678: A campaign to preserve Nash 's Carlton House Terrace in the 1930s. Fry was one of the few modernist architects working in Britain in the thirties who were British; most were immigrants from continental Europe, where modernism originated. Among them was Walter Gropius , former director of the Bauhaus , who fled from Nazi Germany in 1934 and with whom Fry set up a practice in London in the same year. The partnership lasted until 1936, when Gropius, receiving offers of work from Harvard University, decided to emigrate to
344-449: A circlet bearing the motto of the Order; the reverse bears George V's Royal and Imperial Cypher. (Prior to 1937 Britannia was shown within the circlet.) The size of the badges varies according to rank: the higher classes have slightly larger badges. The badges of Knights and Dames Grand Cross, Knights and Dames Commander, and Commanders are enamelled, with pale blue crosses, crimson circlets and
430-466: A citizen of a Commonwealth realm can convert their appointment from honorary to substantive, and they then enjoy all privileges of membership of the order, including use of the title of Sir and Dame for the senior two ranks of the Order. (An example of the latter is Irish broadcaster Terry Wogan , who was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order in 2005, and on successful application for British citizenship, held alongside his Irish citizenship,
516-704: A disused corner of land belonging to the Gas Light and Coke Company between the Grand Union Canal and the railway. The project was completed in 1937. Fry opportunistically planned the blocks of flats to curve in front of the site of a disused gasholder which then included a nursery school, and his simple design won the competition for this project. The result was a spacious estate for working-class people with modern shared amenities, which set new standards for its time. Fry admitted in his Autobiographical Sketches that during their work together his enthusiasm for their work on
602-443: A gold central medallion. Officers' badges are plain silver-gilt, while those of Members are plain silver. From 1917 until 1937, the badge of the order was suspended on a purple ribbon, with a red central stripe being added for the military division in 1918. Since 1937, the ribbon has been rose-pink with pearl-grey edges (with the addition of a pearl-grey central stripe for the military division). Knights and Dames Grand Cross wear it on
688-629: A party in Henry Moore 's studio. Denby had a sponsor, Lady Mozelle Sassoon, for the flats – R. E. Sassoon House – they had designed as part of a working-class estate around the Pioneer Health Centre in Peckham , London. As pleasant social housing at minimum cost, Sassoon House became his first collaboration with Denby. He worked again with Denby to create Kensal House, in Ladbroke Grove , London, on
774-630: Is a British teacher, researcher and writer on twentieth-century architecture and design. Powers was raised on the borders of Hampstead Heath and in Suffolk. His father Michael was an architect member of the Architects' Co-Partnership , UK. Powers trained as an art historian at the University of Cambridge , gaining an undergraduate degree and a PhD. As a writer Powers has been prolific, writing reviews, magazine articles, obituaries of artists and architects and
860-512: Is an image of Britannia surrounded by the motto, with the words "For Meritorious Service" at the bottom; on the reverse is George V's Imperial and Royal Cypher, with the words "Instituted by King George V" at the bottom. The name of the recipient is engraved on the rim. This medal is nicknamed "the Gong", and comes in both full-sized and miniature versions – the latter for formal white-tie and semi-formal black-tie occasions. A lapel pin for everyday wear
946-502: Is author of more than twenty books. He has concentrated on 20th century British architecture and architectural conservation. He has also written books on the design of book jackets, shopfronts, book collectors, and the artist Eric Ravilious as well as monographs on Serge Chermayeff , and the British firms of Tayler and Green and of Aldington, Craig and Collinge. He is joint editor of the journal Twentieth Century Architecture , published by
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#17329049806391032-931: Is not a member of the College of Arms , as are many other heraldic officers; and the Lady Usher of the Purple Rod does not – unlike the Order of the Garter equivalent, the Lady Usher of the Black Rod – perform any duties related to the House of Lords . Since the Second World War, several Commonwealth realms have established their own national system of honours and awards and have created their own unique orders, decorations and medals. A number, though, continue to make recommendations for appointments to
1118-584: The British Empire Medal , and the following year its recipients were granted the right to use the postnominal letters BEM. During the war, the BEM came to be used to recognise acts of bravery which did not merit the award of a George Cross or George Medal , a use which continued until the introduction of the Queen's Gallantry Medal in 1974. The designs of insignia of the order and medal were altered in 1937, prior to
1204-573: The Empire Gallantry Medal , were given permission to use the postnominal letters EGM (and at the same time to add a laurel branch emblem to the ribbon of the medal); however, in 1940, awards of the EGM ceased and all holders of the medal were instructed to exchange it for a new and more prestigious gallantry award: the George Cross . In 1941, the medal of the order 'for meritorious service' was renamed
1290-541: The Order of Canada . On the other hand, the Australian Honours System unilaterally created in 1975 did not achieve bi-partisan support until 1992, which was when Australian federal and state governments agreed to cease Australian recommendations for British honours; the last Australian recommended Order of the British Empire appointments were in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours . New Zealand continued to use
1376-591: The Twentieth Century Society , and joint series editor of the series of monographs, "Twentieth Century Architects", a collaboration between RIBA , English Heritage and the Twentieth Century Society. Powers has curated several exhibitions, including "Modern Britain 1929–39" ( Design Museum , 1999), "Serge Chermayeff" ( Kettle's Yard , 2001), "Eric Ravilious" ( Imperial War Museum , 2003), "Mind into Matter" ( De La Warr Pavilion , 2009), "Eros to
1462-523: The University of Ibadan . In 1951, Fry and Drew joined an ambitious project to plan and create a new city, Chandigarh . With the partition of India, the Indian part of Punjab needed a new capital. Fry and his wife were responsible for securing Le Corbusier's participation in the project. He had previously declined invitations, but Fry and Drew visited him in Paris and secured his agreement to join them. He took on
1548-444: The coronation of King George VI , 'in commemoration of the reign of King George V and Queen Mary, during which the Order was founded'. The figure of Britannia at the centre of the badge of the order was replaced with an image of the crowned heads of the late King and Queen Mary, and the words 'Instituted by King George V' were added to the reverse of the medal. The colour of the riband was also changed: twenty years earlier, prior to
1634-464: The 21st century quotas were introduced to ensure consistent representation among recipients across nine categories of eligibility: with the largest proportion of awards being reserved for community, voluntary and local service. Non-military awards of the British Empire Medal resumed in 2012, starting with 293 BEMs awarded for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee . In 2017 the centenary of
1720-788: The British Empire . Rather than using this chapel, the Order now holds its great services upstairs in the nave of the cathedral. In addition to the Chapel of the Order of the British Empire, St Paul's Cathedral also houses the Chapel of the Order of St Michael and St George . Religious services for the whole Order are held every four years; new Knights and Dames Grand Cross are installed at these services. Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander prefix Sir , and Dames Grand Cross and Dames Commander prefix Dame , to their forenames. Wives of Knights may prefix Lady to their surnames, but no equivalent privilege exists for husbands of Knights or spouses of Dames. Such forms are not used by peers and princes, except when
1806-443: The British Empire for Gallantry. Any individual made a member of the order for gallantry after 14 January 1958 wears an emblem of two crossed silver oak leaves on the same ribbon as the badge, with a miniature version on the ribbon bar when worn alone. When the ribbon only is worn the emblem is worn in miniature. It could not be awarded posthumously , and was replaced in 1974 with the Queen's Gallantry Medal (QGM). If recipients of
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#17329049806391892-464: The MARS plan. She shared Fry's zeal for architectural and social modernisation, and they became professional as well as personal partners, establishing Fry, Drew and Partners , which existed from 1946 to 1973. Their first work together was for the British government in its West African colonies. In 1944, Fry was appointed town planning adviser to Lord Swinton , the resident minister of British West Africa; Drew
1978-845: The Military Division of the order from the UK and across the Empire. Recommendations for all appointments to the Order of the British Empire were originally made on the nomination of the King's United Kingdom ministers (recommendations for overseas awards were made by the Foreign Office , the Colonial Office , the India Office and the Dominions Office ); but in the early 1940s the system was changed to enable
2064-436: The Order of the British Empire for Gallantry received promotion within the order, whether for gallantry or otherwise, they continued to wear also the insignia of the lower grade with the oak leaves; however, they used only the post-nominal letters of the higher grade. When the order was founded in 1917, badges, ribands and stars were appointed for wear by recipients. In 1929 mantles, hats and collars were added for recipients of
2150-513: The Order of the British Empire. In 2024 appointments to the order were made by the governments of: Most members of the order are citizens of the United Kingdom or Commonwealth realms that use the UK system of honours and awards. In addition, honorary awards may be made to citizens of nations where the monarch is not head of state ; these permit use of post-nominal letters, but not the title of Sir or Dame . Honorary appointees who later become
2236-404: The Order, however, are not assigned any special precedence. As a general rule, only wives and children of male recipients are afforded privileges. Knights and Dames Grand Cross are also entitled to be granted heraldic supporters . They may, furthermore, encircle their arms with a depiction of the circlet (a circle bearing the motto) and the collar; the former is shown either outside or on top of
2322-516: The Ritz: 100 years of street architecture" ( Royal Academy , 2012/3), "Ardizzone, a retrospective" ( House of Illustration , 2016–17), and "Enid Marx" (House of Illustration, 2018). Powers was Professor of Architecture and Cultural History at the University of Greenwich , London 1999–2012. In 2011–12, Powers was awarded a Mid Career Fellowship by the British Academy to study "Figurative Architecture in
2408-632: The Society's campaigns for education and conservation. In 1982, he was elected as a member of the Art Workers' Guild and in 2020 was elected to Master. In 2008 Powers was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects ( RIBA ) in recognition of his standing as one of the pre-eminent experts in the history of 20th-century architecture. Powers has published his own illustrations in magazines, especially The Spectator during
2494-556: The Time of Modernism", a study of non-modernist architecture in Britain. He currently teaches at the London campus of New York University and the London School of Architecture , and has served as external examiner at several schools and universities. However, he usually writes as an independent scholar . Powers is Chairman of Pollock's Toy Museum Trust, London. He was Chair of the Twentieth Century Society 2007–2012, and remains involved in
2580-486: The UK continue to make appointments to the order. Honorary awards may be made to citizens of other nations of which the order's sovereign is not the head of state. The five classes of appointment to the Order are, from highest grade to lowest grade: The senior two ranks of Knight or Dame Grand Cross and Knight or Dame Commander entitle their members to use the titles Sir for men and Dame for women before their forenames, except with honorary awards. King George V founded
2666-571: The UK is the Kensal House flats in Ladbroke Grove , London, designed with Walter Gropius, which was aimed at providing high quality low cost housing, on which Fry and Gropius also collaborated with Elizabeth Denby to set new standards. Fry's writings include critical and descriptive books on town planning and architecture, notably his Art in a Machine Age . His last book was the Autobiographical Sketches of his life from boyhood up to
Maxwell Fry - Misplaced Pages Continue
2752-538: The US. Gropius wanted Fry to go with him, saying "your country will be at war", but though Fry agreed, he "could not face the prospect of being a refugee, however honourably accompanied". Among their joint works was Impington Village College, Cambridgeshire : Gropius created the original design, and Fry revised it and supervised construction after Gropius's departure. Fry first met pioneering social reformer Elizabeth Denby in 1934, whom he described as "a small dynamic woman", at
2838-460: The United Kingdom; those who would formerly have met the criteria for the medal were instead made eligible for the MBE. In 2004, a report entitled A Matter of Honour: Reforming Our Honours System by a Commons select committee recommended phasing out the Order of the British Empire, as its title was "now considered to be unacceptable, being thought to embody values that are no longer shared by many of
2924-403: The arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service . It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or a dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal , whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of,
3010-451: The award of medal of the order to Lizzie Robinson, a munitions worker. The order had been established primarily as a civilian award; in August 1918, however, not long after its foundation, a number of awards were made to serving naval and military personnel. Four months later, a 'Military Division' was added to the order, to which serving personnel would in future be appointed. The classes were
3096-468: The cathedral. That year, Commonwealth awards made up 40% of all OBEs and MBEs awarded (and 35% of all living recipients of the higher awards). Gradually that proportion reduced as independent states within the Commonwealth established their own systems of honours . The last Canadian recommendation for the Order of the British Empire was an MBE for gallantry gazetted in 1966, a year before the creation of
3182-402: The centre for awards in the military division). From time to time the order was expanded: there was an increase in the maximum permitted number of recipients in 1933, and a further increase in 1937. During the Second World War, as had been the case during and after World War I, the number of military awards was greatly increased; between 1939 and 1946 there were more than 33,000 appointments to
3268-566: The change in Fry's aesthetic views came gradually; he continued to design in the neo-classical style for some years: "As a partner in Adams, Thompson and Fry, he designed a garden village at Kemsley near Sittingbourne in 1929, and a house at Wentworth, Surrey, in 1932, in the refined neo-Georgian style typical of the Liverpool school." Wells Coates , a colleague at Adams, Thompson and Fry tried to enthuse Fry with
3354-418: The circlet. In 1929, to bring the order into line with the other orders of chivalry, members of the first class of the order (GBE) were provided with mantles, hats and collars. Only Knights/Dames Grand Cross wear these elaborate vestments; the hat is now rarely, if ever, worn. Use of the mantle is limited to important occasions (such as quadrennial services and coronations ). The mantle is always worn with
3440-488: The civil division were to be divided equally between UK and overseas awards. With regard to the Medal of the Order (but not the order itself), a distinction was made in 1922 between awards 'for gallantry' and awards 'for meritorious service' (each being appropriately inscribed, and the former having laurel leaves decorating the clasp, the latter oak leaves). In 1933 holders of the medal 'for gallantry', which had come to be known as
3526-444: The collar. Although the mantle was introduced in 1929, very few mantles would have been produced prior to the 1937 design changes, as there were few occasions for wearing them in the intervening years. On certain days designated by the sovereign, known as " collar days ", members attending formal events may wear the order's collar over their military uniform, formal day dress, evening wear or robes of office. Collars are returned upon
Maxwell Fry - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-735: The council of the Royal Institute of British Architects, of which he was vice-president in 1961–2. He was awarded the institute's Royal Gold Medal in 1964. He also served on the Royal Fine Arts Commission and on the council of the Royal Society of Arts. He was appointed CBE in 1955, was elected a corresponding member of the Acádemie Flamande in 1956, and an honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1963. He
3698-479: The country's population". The committee further suggested changing the name of the award to the Order of British Excellence, and changing the rank of Commander to Companion (as the former was said to have a "militaristic ring"), as well as advocating for the abolition of knighthoods and damehoods; the government, however, was not of the opinion that a case for change had been made, and the aforementioned suggestions and recommendations were not, therefore, pursued. In
3784-403: The death of their owners, but other insignia may be retained. The six office-holders of the order wear pearl-grey mantles lined with rose-pink, having on the right side a purple shield charged with the roundel from the badge. Each of these office-holders wears a unique badge of office, suspended from a gold chain worn around the neck. The British Empire Medal is made of silver. On the obverse
3870-544: The designs of the new capital's major governmental and legal buildings and advised on the master plan for the city. Together with Pierre Jeanneret and a team of local architects, the Frys worked within Le Corbusier's plan to create Chandigarh; they spent three years there, designing housing, a hospital, colleges, a health centre, swimming pools and shops. Both Fry and Drew often collaborated with and were close friends of Ove Arup ,
3956-607: The distinction between ranks in military operational gallantry awards will cease'. The reforms affected the order at various levels: for example the automatic award each year of a GBE to the Lord Mayor of London ceased; the OBE replaced the Imperial Service Order as an award for civil servants and the number of MBEs awarded each year was significantly increased. As part of these reforms the British Empire Medal stopped being awarded by
4042-400: The eager young men of the profession. Many who later distinguished themselves passed through it and have never forgotten Fry's early influence on them." From 1937 to 1942, Fry worked as secretary, with Arthur Korn as chairman, on the governing committee of the MARS group plan for the redevelopment of postwar London, the results of which were outlined in his 1944 work Fine Building . The plan
4128-778: The example of Le Corbusier , but his conversion to modernism, in Powers's words, "came principally through his membership of the Design and Industries Association , which introduced him to modern German housing. ... [Fry] was also influenced by the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne , and was closely involved in its English branch, the Modern Architectural Research (MARS) Group , following its establishment in 1933." Even after his espousal of modernism, Fry remained fond of neo-classical architecture, lending his support to
4214-515: The former was to be responsible for recording all proceedings connected with the order, issuing warrants under the seal of the order and making arrangements for investitures, while the latter (at that time the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury ) was responsible for collecting and tabulating the names of those who were to receive an award. The office of Dean was added in 1957. The King of Arms
4300-550: The founder of the engineering firm Arup . As Fry, Drew and Partners, the pair's major British commission was the headquarters of Pilkington Glass in St. Helens , Lancashire. The building includes a number of modernist art commissions with works by Victor Pasmore . Fry and Drew took on a number of younger partners, and the practice eventually grew to a considerable size. However, in the view of The Times 's obituarist, "in these new circumstances his personal talent somehow became submerged, and
4386-401: The governments of overseas dominions to make their own nominations; Canada and South Africa began doing so in 1942, followed by Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth realms. In May 1957, forty years after the foundation of the order, it was announced that St Paul's Cathedral was to serve as the church of the order, and in 1960 a chapel was dedicated for its use within the crypt of
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#17329049806394472-450: The highest class of the order (GBE). The designs of all these items underwent major changes in 1937. The badge is worn by all members of the order; the size, colour and design depends on the class of award. The badge for all classes is in the form of a cross patonce (having the arms growing broader and floriated toward the end) with a medallion in the centre, the obverse of which bears a crowned image of George V and Queen Mary within
4558-588: The honours system, calling it "a preposterous charade". The order has attracted some criticism for its naming having connection with the idea of the now-extinct British Empire . Benjamin Zephaniah , a British poet of Jamaican and Barbadian descent, publicly rejected appointment as an Officer in 2003 because, he asserted, it reminded him of "thousands of years of brutality". He also said that "it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised". Alan Powers Alan Powers (born 1955)
4644-446: The insignia to Buckingham Palace and by ceasing to make reference to their honour, but they still hold the honour unless and until annulled by the monarch. In 2003, The Sunday Times published a list of the people who had rejected the Order of the British Empire, including David Bowie , John Cleese , Nigella Lawson , Elgar Howarth , L. S. Lowry , George Melly , and J. G. Ballard . In addition, Ballard voiced his opposition to
4730-624: The junior post-nominal letters. The British sovereign is the sovereign of the order and appoints all other officers of the order (by convention, on the advice of the governments of the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth realms ). The second-most senior officer is the Grand Master (a 'Prince of the Blood Royal, or other exalted personage' appointed by the sovereign, who, by virtue of their appointment, becomes 'the First or Principal Knight Grand Cross of
4816-519: The latter. Knights and Dames Commander and Commanders may display the circlet, but not the collar, surrounding their arms. The badge is depicted suspended from the collar or circlet. See List of current honorary knights and dames of the Order of the British Empire Only the monarch can annul an honour. The Honours Forfeiture Committee considers cases and makes recommendations for forfeiture. An individual can renounce their honour by returning
4902-463: The left breast, by Knights and Dames Grand Cross; Knights and Dames Commander wear a smaller star composed of 'four equal points and four lesser'. The star is not worn by the more junior classes. Prior to 1937 each star had in the centre a gold medallion with a figure of Britannia, surrounded by a crimson circlet inscribed with the motto of the order ('For God and the Empire'); since 1937 the effigies of King George V and Queen Mary have been shown within
4988-469: The names of the former are written out in their fullest forms. Male clergy of the Church of England or the Church of Scotland do not use the title Sir (unless they were knighted before being ordained) as they do not receive the accolade (they are not dubbed "knight" with a sword), although they do append the post-nominal letters ; dames do not receive the accolade, and therefore female clergy are free to use
5074-399: The numbers restricted to the order as full members do. Although the Order of the British Empire has by far the highest number of members of the British orders of chivalry, with more than 100,000 living members worldwide, there are fewer appointments to knighthoods than in other orders. From time to time, individuals may be promoted to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of
5160-605: The order alongside its own honours until the establishment of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1996. Other Commonwealth realms have continued to use the Order of the British Empire alongside their own honours. In 1993 the Prime Minister, John Major , instituted a reform of the honours system with the aim 'that exceptional service or achievement will be more widely recognised; that greater importance will be given to voluntary service; that automatic honours will end; that
5246-569: The order to fill gaps in the British honours system : In particular, George V wished to create an order to honour the many thousands of individuals from across the Empire who had served in a variety of non-combat roles during the First World War . From its foundation the order consisted of five classes (GBE, KBE/DBE, CBE, OBE and MBE) and was open to both women and men; provision was also made for conferring honorary awards on foreign recipients. At
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#17329049806395332-409: The order was celebrated with a service at St Paul's Cathedral. The order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the total number of members of the fourth and fifth classes, but no more than 858 officers and 1,464 members may be appointed per year. Foreign appointees, as honorary members, do not contribute to
5418-410: The order's establishment, Queen Mary had made it known that pink would be her preferred colour for the riband of the proposed new order, but, in the event, purple was chosen. Following her appointment as Grand Master of the order in 1936 a change was duly made and since 9 March 1937 the riband of the order has been 'rose pink edged with pearl grey’ (with the addition of a vertical pearl grey stripe in
5504-402: The order. The order was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V , who created the order to recognise 'such persons, male or female, as may have rendered or shall hereafter render important services to Our Empire'. Equal recognition was to be given for services rendered in the UK and overseas. Today the majority of recipients are UK citizens, though a number of Commonwealth realms outside
5590-586: The outskirts of Paris. Fry and Drew had among their friends contemporary artists such as Henry Moore , Barbara Hepworth , Ben and Winifred Nicholson , Victor Pasmore and Eduardo Paolozzi ; and the author Richard Hughes . Fry was elected ARA in 1966 and advanced to RA in 1972. He exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, had a one-man show in 1974 at the Drian Gallery in London, and continued painting in his retirement. He served on
5676-478: The prevailing conservatism of British architecture and society, renounced Reilly's neo-classicism in favour of "an independent functionalist design idiom modified from the main German and French progenitors of the modern movement". Liscombe adds that the "austere formalism and social idealism" of continental modernism appealed to Fry's moral outlook and his desire for social change. Fry's biographer Alan Powers writes that
5762-635: The project was for some time indistinguishable from his enthusiasm for her, distracted by the "sad inadequacies" of his own marriage: but he broke up the relationship because he admitted "... I failed publicly to acknowledge her and injured us both irreparably." Among Fry's well-known buildings of the 1930s are the Sun House, Frognal Lane, Hampstead (1936), and Miramonte in New Malden , Kingston, Surrey (1937). His obituarist for The Times wrote of this period that "places in Fry's office were much sought after by
5848-586: The same Order'). The position of Grand Master has been held by the following people: In addition to the sovereign and the grand master , the order has six further officers: At its foundation the order was served by three officers: the King of Arms, the Registrar & Secretary and the Gentleman Usher of the Purple Rod. In 1922 the Prelate was added, and the office of Registrar was separated from that of Secretary:
5934-402: The same as for the Civil Division (as it was now termed), but military awards were distinguished by the addition of a central vertical red stripe to the purple riband of the civil awards. In 1920 appointment as an MBE 'for an act of gallantry' was granted for the first time, to Sydney Frank Blanck Esq, who had rescued an injured man from a burning building containing explosives. In December 1922
6020-433: The same time, alongside the order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. The first investiture took place at Ibrox Stadium , as part of a royal visit to the Glasgow shipyards, with the appointment of Alexander Ure, 1st Baron Strathclyde as a GBE (in recognition of his role as chairman of the Scottish War Savings Committee) and
6106-401: The standard of the George Medal (even though, as appointments to an order of chivalry, they were listed before it on the Order of Wear . In contrast to awards for meritorious service, which usually appear without a citation, there were often citations for gallantry awards, some detailed and graphic. From 14 January 1958, these awards were designated Commander, Officer or Member of the Order of
6192-473: The statutes of the order were amended; there having been a large number of awards for war work prior to this date, these amended statutes placed the order on more of a peacetime footing. For the first time numbers of appointments were limited, with the stipulation that senior awards in the Civil Division were to outnumber those in the Military Division by a proportion of six to one. Furthermore appointments in
6278-612: The time of his marriage to Jane Drew. Fry was born in Liscard , Cheshire (now Merseyside). He describes his father, Canadian-born Ambrose Fry, as a "business man with all sorts of irons in the fire – chemicals, electricals, old property..."; he mentions living in a terrace house converted by his father overlooking Liverpool Cathedral ; and his first job was working in his father's factory, the Liverpool Borax Co. in Edge Street. His mother
6364-506: The title Dame . Knights and Dames Grand Cross use the post-nominal GBE; Knights Commander, KBE; Dames Commander, DBE; Commanders, CBE; Officers, OBE; and Members, MBE. The post-nominal for the British Empire Medal is BEM. Members of all classes of the order are assigned positions in the order of precedence . Wives of male members of all classes also feature on the order of precedence, as do sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander; relatives of Ladies of
6450-506: The work of the firm that bore his name, though of acceptable quality, was not easy to distinguish from the competent modern work done by many other firms. Fry's originality, and his sparkle as a designer, were far less evident than in his pre-war buildings." Fry was also a painter, writer and a poet. In the 1950s, he frequented the community of Surrealist artists gathered at the villa of William and Noma Copley in Longpont-sur-Orge in
6536-579: The younger colleagues with whom he worked was Denys Lasdun . In the 1940s, Fry designed buildings for West African countries that were then part of the British Empire , including Ghana and Nigeria. In the 1950s, he and his wife, the architect Jane Drew , worked for three years with Le Corbusier on an ambitious development to create the new capital city of Punjab at Chandigarh . Fry's works in Britain range from railway stations to private houses to large corporate headquarters. Among his best known works in
6622-615: Was Lydia (Lily) Thompson. He had two older sisters, Muriel and Nora , and a younger brother Sydney. To his family and friends he was known as Maxi or Max. Fry was educated at the Liverpool Institute High School . He served in the King's Liverpool regiment at the end of the First World War. After the war he received an ex-serviceman's grant that enabled him to enter Liverpool University school of architecture in 1920, where he
6708-516: Was an honorary LLD of Ibadan University, and towards the end of his life he became Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy. On his retirement in 1973, Fry and his wife moved from London to a cottage in Cotherstone, County Durham , where he died in 1987 at the age of 88. CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry , rewarding contributions to
6794-560: Was as an assistant in the architect's department of the Southern Railway , where in 1924–1926 he worked on three neo-classically styled railway stations, at Margate , Ramsgate and Dumpton Park , the first two (both in Kent) being Grade II Listed. In 1926, he married his first wife Ethel Leese ( née Speakman). She was a divorcee, previously married to Lancashire cricketer Charles Leese (1889–1947), and aged 38 when they married. The marriage
6880-479: Was described by Dennis Sharp , one of Fry's collaborators, as "frankly Utopian and Socialistic in concept." In 1939, Fry became a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects . During the Second World War, he served with the Royal Engineers , ending the war with the rank of major. In 1942, recently divorced from his first wife, Fry married the architect Jane Drew , whom he had met during his work on
6966-739: Was engaged as Fry's assistant. Their official postings continued until 1946, when Fry and Drew set up in private practice. Although based in London, most of their work for the next few years continued to be in west Africa for the British colonial authorities. The Frys opened an office in Ghana (then known as the Gold Coast) and worked there and in Nigeria, primarily on educational establishments, and often in temporary partnership with other British architects. The Times considered Fry's most notable work in West Africa to be
7052-402: Was first announced at the end of December 2006, and is available to recipients of all levels of the order, as well as to holders of the British Empire Medal . The pin design is not unique to any level. The pin features the badge of the order, enclosed in a circle of ribbon of its colours of pink and grey. Lapel pins must be purchased separately by a member of the order. The creation of such a pin
7138-469: Was made a substantive member and subsequently styled as Sir Terry Wogan). Although initially intended to recognise meritorious service, the order began to also be awarded for gallantry. There were an increased number of cases in the Second World War for service personnel and civilians including the merchant navy, police, emergency services and civil defence, mostly MBEs but with a small number of OBEs and CBEs. Such awards were for gallantry that did not reach
7224-493: Was not happy: Max described her as "a too well-bred wife without a frolic in her nature ... with the same determination [as her mother] to be well thought of without trying", and he also noted that she was a chain smoker. They had one daughter, Ann Fry. He returned to Adams and Thompson in 1930 as a partner. In a 2006 study of Fry in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians , R. W. Liscombe writes that Fry, frustrated at
7310-566: Was recommended in Sir Hayden Phillips ' review of the honours system in 2004. The Chapel of the Order of the British Empire is in St Paul's Cathedral . It occupies the far eastern end of the cathedral crypt and was dedicated in 1960. The only heraldic banners normally on display in the chapel are those of the Sovereign of the Order of the British Empire and of the Grand Master of the Order of
7396-519: Was trained in "the suave neo-Georgian classicism " of Professor Charles Reilly . The curriculum of the course included town planning as an important component, and Fry retained an interest in planning throughout his career. He gained his diploma with distinction in 1923. The next year he worked for a short time in New York before returning to England to join the office of Thomas Adams and F. Longstreth Thompson , specialists in town planning. His next post
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