The Firmin Sword of Peace (previously known as the Wilkinson Sword of Peace) is an award given to units of the

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

for activities above and beyond the unit's normal role that improve relations with the community, either within the United Kingdom, or overseas. The award was established by British swordmaker Wilkinson Sword in 1966, with the company presenting a ceremonial sword to one unit each of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

(including the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RF ...

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

; each unit having been judged as making the most outstanding contribution to community relations within each service during the calendar year. An award can be shared between multiple units on the same operation: for example, the 1998 Navy award was presented to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and for their involvement in Operation Teller (the British relief response to

Hurricane Mitch Hurricane Mitch was an extremely deadly and catastrophic Atlantic hurricane, which became the second-deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record. Mitch caused 11,374 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately ...

). The award can also be shared with foreign military units: the frigates and received the 1983 Navy Sword of Peace after a series of port visits made by the two ships to African nations sparked several diplomatic initiatives. From 1994 onwards, the company began presenting a fourth sword to any joint-service unit or ''ad hoc'' single-operation unit that met the criteria for the award. Unlike the awards for the three services, the "Special" sword was only presented if such a unit existed and was deemed worth recognising. After Wilkinson stopped the production of swords in 2005, Firmin & Sons began sponsoring the award. Awards since 2005 have been made as follows: Additionally in 2014 a Special Achievement Award was made to the Gurkha Welfare Scheme.

References

{{reflist Ceremonial weapons Military awards and decorations of the United Kingdom