Major-General Sir Evelyn John Webb-Carter KCVO OBE(RLH)

The King's Commendation for Valuable Service is a British military award for meritorious service in an operational theatre. It was established in 1994, when the award of the

Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct The Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct, formerly the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, acknowledged brave acts by both civilians and members of the armed services in both war and peace, for gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. Est ...

and the

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air The Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, formerly the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, was a merit award for flying service awarded by the United Kingdom between 1942 and 1994. It was replaced by the Queen’ ...

were discontinued.

Criteria

A King’s Commendation for Valuable Service is open to all ranks of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

for meritorious service, not in the face of an enemy, in an operational theatre. It is the lowest level of merit award, classed as 'level 4', alongside a

Mention in Dispatches 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 ...

and other King's Commendations. The award does not entitle the holder to any

post nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

. A King’s Commendation for Valuable Service can be awarded posthumously.

Manner of wear

The holder is entitled to wear an emblem of a spray of silver oak leaves. This should be worn in a similar manner to a

mention 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 ...

. If awarded for services in a theatre for which a

campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a h ...

has been granted, it is worn on the ribbon of the appropriate medal. If the award is made for services where no campaign medal has been granted, the emblem is to be worn directly on the coat after any medal ribbons. From 2003, in addition to British campaign medals, commendation and mention in despatches devices can be worn on United Nations, NATO and EU medals. Originally only one commendation or mention in dispatches emblem of each category could be worn on any one medal ribbon. In a change introduced in 2014, those with multiple awards may wear up to three of each commendation and mention in dispatch devices on a single campaign medal and ribbon bar.

Recipients

King's and Queen's Commendation awards

This table summarises the various King's and Queen's Commendations awarded by the United Kingdom:

References

{{Orders, decorations, and medals of Australia before 1992 Military awards and decorations of the United Kingdom