Empire Gallantry Medal
History
In 1922, the original Medal of the order of the British Empire (founded at the same time as ‘The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire’ - for junior government and military officials who were deemed not senior enough to enter the Order itself) was split into two separate awards, 1. the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry (EGM - which was to be awarded for acts of gallantry), and 2. the Medal of the Order of the British Empire (which was for ‘Meritorious Service’ and is generally known as the British Empire Medal - BEM) which was awarded for meritorious services and was the lower level award of the Order of the British Empire.
The Empire Gallantry Medal (EGM), was awarded for acts of the gallantry that did not reach the standard required for the Albert Medal and the Edward Medal.
King George V introduced the medal in December 1922 and as a Medal of the Order of the British Empire it was also divided into military and civil divisions. Unlike appointments to the Order of the British Empire it could be awarded posthumously.
The Empire Gallantry Medal was revoked by Royal Warrant in September 1940 when it was superseded by the George Cross which was created to recognize gallantry by men and women in all walks of civilian life.
All living recipients and the next-of-kin of recipients who had been posthumously awarded the medal after 3 September 1939 (the start of World War II) were obliged to exchange the Empire Gallantry Medal for the George Cross - although it has fallen into abeyance in the United Kingdom it is still awarded in other Commonwealth Realms.
It was only in 1971, that then living recipients of the Albert Medal and Edward Medal were deemed to be George Cross recipients. Most former Albert Medal and Edward Medal recipients accepted the invitation to change their original insignia for the George Cross but unlike the Empire Gallantry Medalists they were not obliged to exchange their original insignia.
Recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters ‘EGM’.
Description
The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in silver. The obverse of this medal depicts a seated figure of Britannia holding a trident in her right hand and in her left hand resting on a shield. To the left and right of Britannia is the inscription; FOR GOD AND EMPIRE’ and below is the inscription; ‘GALLANTRY’.
There have been two different designs for the reverse. The 1st type, issued prior to 1936 depicted six lions in a line around the circumference of the medal with the Royal cypher of George V at the centre. The 2nd type, issued post 1936 has four lions, two on either side of the Royal cypher of George VI.
The ribbon suspender is of the plain, straight and non-swivelling style ornamented with oak leaves.
The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim.
Ribbon
Military Issue
The ribbon is 38mm wide and rose-pink in colour, with a narrow pearl-grey stripe along either edge and down the middle.
Civil Issue
The ribbon is 38mm wide and rose-pink in colour with a narrow pearl-grey stripe along either edge.
Between 1922 and 1936, the ribbon for both the Military and the Civil issue was purple in colour - with the military issue having a central red stripe.
Bars/Clasps
In 1933, a silver laurel branch was added to the ribbon to denote an act of gallantry.
In undress uniform or on occasions when the medal ribbon alone is worn, a smaller silver laurel branch emblem is worn.
Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.
Dealer Retail Value *
Empire Gallantry Medal George V issue from
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£6000.00
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Empire Gallantry Medal George VI issue from
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£6000.00
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For valuations for medals with a gallantry award please ‘contact us’.
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* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.
Further Historical Context
This section contains information on the following:-
- The British Honours System.
- The London Gazette.
The British Honours System - The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories. The system consists of three types of award: honours, decorations and medals:
Honours are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement and service, decorations tend to be used to recognise specific deeds and medals are used to recognise bravery, long and or valuable service and or good conduct.
Although the Anglo-Saxon monarchs are known to have rewarded their loyal subjects with rings and other symbols of favour, it was the Normans who introduced knighthoods as part of their feudal government.
The first English order of chivalry, the Order of the Garter, was created in 1348 by Edward III. Since then the system has evolved to address the changing need to recognise other forms of service to the United Kingdom.
As the head of state, the Sovereign remains the 'fount of honour', but the system for identifying and recognising candidates to honour has changed considerably over time.
Various orders of knighthood have been created (see below) as well as awards for military service, bravery, merit, and achievement which take the form of decorations or medals.
Most medals are not graded. Each one recognises specific service and as such there are normally set criteria which must be met. These criteria may include a period of time and will often delimit a particular geographic region. Medals are not normally presented by the Sovereign.
A full list is printed in the 'order of wear', published infrequently by the London Gazette.
A complete list of approximately 1350 names is published twice a year, at New Year and on the date of the Sovereign's (official) birthday. Since their decisions are inevitably subjective, the twice-yearly honours lists often provoke criticism from those who feel strongly about particular cases.
Candidates are identified by public or private bodies, by government departments or are nominated by members of the public. Depending on their roles, those people selected by committee are submitted either to the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, or Secretary of State for Defence for their approval before being sent to the Sovereign for final approval.
Certain honours are awarded solely at the Sovereign's discretion, such as the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle, the Royal Victorian Order, the Order of Merit and the Royal Family Order.
The awards are then presented by the Sovereign or her designated representative. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal have deputised for the Queen at investiture ceremonies at Buckingham Palace.
This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.
The London Gazette - The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published. The London Gazette claims to be the oldest surviving English newspaper and the oldest continuously published newspaper in the UK, having been first published on 7 November 1665 as The Oxford Gazette.
This title is also claimed by the Stamford Mercury and Berrow's Worcester Journal, because the Gazette is not a conventional newspaper offering general news coverage. It does not have a large circulation.
Other official newspapers of the UK government are the Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes, which, apart from reproducing certain materials of nationwide interest published in The London Gazette, also contain publications specific to Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively.
In turn, The London Gazette not only carries notices of UK-wide interest, but those relating specifically to entities or people in England and Wales. However, certain notices that are only of specific interest to Scotland or Northern Ireland are also required to be published in The London Gazette.
The London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes are published by TSO on behalf of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. They are subject to Crown Copyright.
In the British Armed Forces, the despatch is published in the London Gazette.