common elements, and the most central of these is the presentation of an insignia, being a badge or medal. This tradition can be traced back to circa 150 B.C. and the gold button given by Alexander, the ruler of Seleucid Syria, to a Jewish high priest for bravery demonstrated in battle. Honour has also been accorded through the bestowal of land and titles, and in ancient Greece a complex system of crowns was devised to reward public and military service. The practice of embossing medallic insignia on breastplates (phaleristics) was initiated by the ancient Romans and has in some ways carried forward to the present day. In India’s Pudukkottai state there was an ancient tradition of the raja presenting gifts and honours to loyal subjects. This ritual served not only as a mechanism for recognition but was also a source of political power. As well, few are unfamiliar with the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Moving through history, the ideals of chivalry and honours gradually replaced the act of granting land with that of bestowing knighthoods and insignia.
The purpose of honours is to reward service or valorous acts, and to accord recognition to those who, according to the state, are deemed to merit such. At various times honours have also been, and in some countries continue to be, a central tool of political patronage. All types of honours are intended to foster a feeling of loyalty and a personal connection to the state or regime.
Our modern national honours system can be divided into three main categories: orders, decorations, and medals. It is worth noting that there is some overlap between the last two categories, and some honours referred to as medals are actually decorations, and vice versa.
Orders
These are societies of honour that are instituted by the state, usually to recognize lifelong exemplary service of the highest calibre. Orders are usually divided into several different levels to allow for recognition of those who have rendered service at both the national/international level and at the local or regional level. In Canada we have several orders that are national in scope: the Order of Merit, the Order of Canada, the Order of Military Merit, the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, the Royal Victorian Order, and the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.
Orders can be “field specific” — the Order of Military Merit, for example, is restricted to members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have rendered meritorious service over an extended period of time. Similarly, the Royal Victorian Order is primarily bestowed upon those who have served the Queen or Royal Family in a distinguished manner.
Decorations
This section can be further divided into two subsections: Bravery/Valour/Gallantry and Meritorious Service. The term also applies to the Canadian Forces’ Decoration and is colloquially used to describe all honours.
Bravery/Valour/Gallantry
Awarded for a specific act of bravery, valour, or gallantry, bravery awards are bestowed upon those who perform an exemplary act, such as life-saving, in a time of peace, while valour and gallantry decorations are for valour and devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. Provisions have been made in the Canadian honours system to allow for valour decorations, such as the Victoria Cross (VC), to be awarded for gallant acts performed while in non-warlike situations, provided they involve a hostile armed force.
Meritorious Service
These are awarded for a specific act of meritorious service, not necessarily over an extended period of time. This category is notably employed to recognize short-term merit as part of a specific action or project, whether it is rendered over five minutes or five years.
Medals
There are four types of medals: service medals, commemorative medals, long service medals, and other awards. The term is often used in common parlance to describe all honours, be they the insignia of orders, decorations, or medals.
Service Medals
These are awarded for service in a particular mission or operation. While primarily limited to members of the armed forces, in the Canadian context police officers and civilian personnel from various government departments are also often included.
Commemorative Medals
Commemorative medals are awarded on the occasion of a special event such as a coronation, jubilee, or anniversary.
Long Service Medals
These are awarded for long service and honourable conduct over a set period of time. The Canadian Forces’ Decoration (essentially a medal despite its name) is awarded for twelve years of honourable service, while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Long Service Medal and Exemplary Service Medals are awarded for twenty years of honourable service.
Other Awards
Most specifically these are the Sacrifice Medal, awarded to those who have been physically or psychologically wounded as a result of service in an operational area; the Polar Medal, which is awarded for specific service in Canada’s North; and the Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot, which is awarded for winning an annual marksmanship competition. In the provinces this category includes Volunteer and Citizenship Medals.
Waterloo Medal obverse.
Waterloo Medal reverse.
These three main types of honours emulate directly the British system of honours, which, although ancient in its origins, only began to develop in this form in the mid-nineteenth century. Since the fourteenth century, England had used its Order of the Garter and other knighthoods to reward loyal nobles. In the nineteenth century the Order of the Bath was expanded, while others such as the Order of St. Michael and St. George, the Order of the Star of India, and the Order of the Indian Empire were created. These were not restricted to nobles, and their membership came to include non-titled members of the military and civil service.
The Battle of Waterloo yielded the first standard-issue medal intended for wear. Created in 1816 at the direction of the Duke of Wellington, the circular medal measured 36 mm in diameter with a ring suspender hung from a ribbon and served, in many ways, as the basis for the design of future war medals. There was the additional aspect that the medal was impressed with the recipient’s name and issued to officers and men alike.
In 1830 and 1831 respectively, the British Army and Royal Navy each instituted long service medals. The Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was awarded for twenty-one years of service in the ranks. The Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was originally awarded for twenty-one years of service as a rating in the Royal Navy. These were the first long service awards, and both continue to be awarded to members of the British Army and Royal Navy.
At various times members of the Canadian military were awarded a diverse number of long service medals and decorations. These were dependent not only on the length of service rendered but also the branch of service, rank — non-commissioned officer or commissioned officer — and whether one was in the regular force or reserve. In all there were more than a dozen different long service awards consolidated into the Canadian Forces’ Decoration in 1951. With the Canadian Forces’ Decoration, the distinction between service in the regular and reserve forces was abandoned, as was having separate awards for officers and non-commissioned officers.
In 1847 the Military General Service Medal was established, and in the following year the Naval General Service Medal was created to recognize service rendered in specific wars and actions between 1793 and
