The Commendation for Gallantry is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...
, it recognises acts of gallantry in action considered worthy of recognition. The award was introduced on 15 January 1991, replacing the Imperial equivalent of the
Mentioned in Despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
. It is ranked fourth in the Gallantry Decorations in the
Australian Honours System
The Australian honours and awards system refers to all Order (distinction), orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarchy of Australia, Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister a ...
. Since its inception 68 awards have been made.
Description
* The insignia of the Commendation for Gallantry is a
Federation Star
The Commonwealth Star (also known as the Federation Star, the Seven Point Star, or the Star of Federation) is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901.
Six points of the Star represent ...
superimposed centrally on a gold-plated silver row of flames.
* The insignia is attached to a plain orange ribbon. The centre of the Federation Star is 19 mm from the bottom of the ribbon and 16 mm from either edge.
Recipients
On 6 March 2011 the Commendation for Gallantry was posthumously awarded to 20 Australian prisoners of war who were either killed attempting to escape from the Japanese or were executed after their recapture during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. The awards followed a review by the independent Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal which found that the men should have been awarded a Mentioned in Despatches under the wartime policy then in place, and consequently were awarded the modern equivalent.
Since its inception 70 awards have been made, with the most recent being announced in the
2015 Australia Day Honours The 2015 Australia Day Honours were announced on 26 January 2015 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove.
The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day (26 January), with ...
.
See also
*
Australian Honours Order of Precedence
The Governor-General of Australia has, at irregular intervals, notified for general information the positioning of the wearing of Australian Orders, Decorations and Medals in the '' Commonwealth of Australia Gazette''. The ''Order of Wearing Aus ...
References
External links
It's an Honour
{{Australian Honours System
Military awards and decorations of Australia
Courage awards
1991 establishments in Australia
Awards established in 1991