The Imperial Service Order was established by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

in August 1902. It was awarded on retirement to the administration and clerical staff of the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

throughout the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

for long and meritorious service. Normally a person must have served for 25 years to become eligible, but this might be shortened to 16 years for those serving in unhealthy climates abroad. There is one class: Companion. Both men and women are eligible, and recipients of this order are entitled to use the

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, an academic degree, accreditation ...

'ISO'.

History

The new order was announced in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, on the day scheduled for the

coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra of Denmark, Alexandra, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, ...

. The coronation was postponed due to the King's illness, however, and the statutes of the order were published on 8 August 1902, to coincide with the actual coronation on the following day. The first list of recipients was included in the Birthday Honours list published on the King′s birthday 9 November 1902.

Insignia

''The insignia of the order for men'' was an eight-pointed silver star, with the top ray obscured by a crown; the golden central medallion bore the

cipher In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...

of the reigning monarch surrounded by the legend 'For Faithful Service'. This was suspended on a ribbon of crimson with a blue central stripe. ''The insignia of the order for women'' had the same medallion as for men, surrounded by a silver laurel wreath and topped by a crown. This was suspended on a bow of crimson with a blue central stripe.

Imperial Service Medal

Civil servants who complete 25 years' service are eligible for the Imperial Service Medal (ISM) upon retirement. The medal is a silver circular medal bearing the effigy of the reigning monarch on the obverse, and the motif of a man resting after work with the legend 'For Faithful Service' on the reverse. The ribbon or bow pattern is the same as the Imperial Service Order.

1993 reforms

During the 1993 reform of the

British honours system In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award: *Honours are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement a ...

the British Government decided to make no new appointments to the Imperial Service Order. The Imperial Service Medal, however, continues to be awarded in recognition of certain individuals who make positive contributions.

Statutes

The Order is governed by statutes.

References