Durham Mining Museum - Awards for Gallantry (original) (raw)

Westminster, August 28, 1917.

George R.I.

George The Fifth, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India, to all to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting !

Whereas His late Majesty King Edward VII, being desirous of distinguishing by some mark of His Royal Favour the many heroic acts performed by those of His faithful subjects who endanger their own lives in saving or endeavouring to save the lives of others from perils incurred in mines or quarries or otherwise in connection with Industrial Employment in His Dominions and in Territories under His protection and jurisdiction, did by Warrants under His Sign Manual bearing date respectively the 13th July, 1907, and the 1st December, 1909, for Himself, His Heirs and Successors institute and create a new Medal to be entitled the Edward Medal to be awarded for such acts of gallantry:

And whereas We are desirous of amending the rules governing the award of the said Decoration and of consolidating the Royal Warrants relating to the said Decoration, We are graciously pleased to make, ordain and establish the following Rules for the governance of the said Decoration:

1. It is ordained that the Medal shall be styled "The Edward Medal" but when it is awarded for acts of such great and exceptional gallantry as to merit a special degree of recognition it shall be styled "The Edward Medal in Silver."

2. It is ordained that the Edward Medal shall consist of a circular Medal with Our Effigy on the obverse, and on the reverse a suitable design with the words "For Courage" ; and that the Medal shall be of Bronze or, when the Edward medal in Silver is awarded, of Silver.

3. It is ordained that the Edward Medal shall only be awarded to those of Our faithful subjects who endanger their own lives in saving or endeavouring to save the lives of others from perils incurred in connection with Industrial Employment in these Our Dominions, and in Territories under Our protection or jurisdiction, and such awards shall be made only on a recommendation to Us by Our Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department.

4. It is ordained that the names of those upon whom We may be pleased to confer either of these Decorations shall be published in the London Gazette, and that a Register thereof shall be kept in the Office of Our Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department.

5. It is ordained that each Medal shall be suspended from the left breast, and the riband, of an inch and three-eighths in width, shall be dark blue with a narrow yellow stripe on either side: Provided that when the Medal is awarded to a woman it shall be worn on the left shoulder, suspended from a riband of the same width and colour fashioned into a bow.

6. It is ordained that any act of gallantry which is worthy of recognition by the award of the Edward Medal, but is performed by one upon whom the Decoration has already been conferred may, on a recommendation to Us by Our Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, be recorded by a Bar attached to the riband by which the Medal is suspended; and for every such additional act an additional Bar may be added.

7. In order to make such provision as shall effectually preserve pure these most honourable Decorations, it is ordained that if any person on whom either of such Decorations is conferred be guilty of any crime or disgraceful conduct which, in Our judgment, disqualifies him for the same, his name shall, by an especial Warrant under Our Royal Sign Manual, be forthwith erased from the Register of those upon whom the said Decoration shall have been conferred and his Medal shall be forfeited And every person to whom the said Medal is given shall, before receiving the same, enter into an agreement to return the same, if his name shall be so erased as aforesaid under this regulation. It is hereby further declared that We, Our Heirs and Successors, shall be the sole judges of the circumstances demanding such forfeiture. Moreover, We shall at all times have power to regrant a Medal to any person whose Medal may at any time have been forfeited.

8. The Warrants of the 13th July, 1907, and 1st December, 1909, are hereby revoked.

Given at Our Court at Saint James's, this Twenty-eighth day of August, One thousand nine hundred and seventeen, in the Eighth year of Our Reign.

By His Majesty's command.

Geo. Cave.