The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

for exceptional services in military nursing. It was created in 1883, and the first two awards were to

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

and Jane Cecilia Deeble. Deeble had served in

Zulu Kingdom The Zulu Kingdom ( ; ), sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following which ruled a wide expanse of So ...

and the

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

during the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

in 1879, and she had noted that the work of the nurses was not recognised officially.

Foundation and first awards

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

established the award by

Royal Proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

on 27 April 1883. The decoration was to be conferred, as recommended by the Secretary for State for War or First Lord of the Admiralty, on ladies for special exertions in the providing of nursing for sick and wounded soldiers and sailors and on nursing sisters for special devotion and competency displayed in nursing duties for the army in the field or in the military and naval hospitals In addition, the Royal Red Cross could be worn by Queens and Princesses of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

. At this time there was a single class of the award. The first awards were made in May 1883 under provision of Queen Victoria's warrant. The recipients included Florence Nightingale and Jane Cecilia Deeble. Deeble had served in Zululand and she had noted that the work of the nurses was not recognised officially. The award was created after this comment was passed to the Queen's senior official, Sir Henry Ponsonby, after he was told that "a word of recognition from the Queen … would make her and them .e. Jane Cecilia Deeble and the nurseshappy and proud for the rest of their lives". Also receiving the award at this time were 22 nursing sisters and Lady Loyd-Lindsay, founder of the National Aid Society (later the British Red Cross Society).

Later changes to the award

A second and lower class, Associate, was added during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in November 1915 under a

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. The award is made to a fully trained nurse of an officially recognised nursing service, military or civilian, who has shown exceptional devotion and competence in the performance of nursing duties, over a continuous and long period, or who has performed an exceptional act of bravery and devotion at her or his post of duty. It is conferred on members of the nursing services regardless of rank. Holders of the second class who receive a further award are promoted to the first class, although an initial award can also be made in the first class. Holders of the first class who receive a further award are awarded a bar. The decoration was conferred exclusively on women until 1976, when men became eligible, with posthumous awards permitted from 1979. Recipients of the Royal Red Cross 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 ...

"RRC" for Members and "ARRC" for Associates.

Description

* The ''badge for the RRC'' is in the shape of a golden cross, wide, the obverse enamelled red, with a circular medallion, bearing an effigy of the reigning monarch at its centre. The words "Faith", "Hope" and "Charity" are inscribed on the upper limbs of the cross, with the year "1883" in the lower limb.
The reverse is plain except a circular medallion bearing the

royal cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning Monarch, sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a Crown (heral ...

of the reigning monarch. * The ''badge for the ARRC'' is in the shape of a silver cross, wide, the obverse enamelled red, with broad silver edges around the enamel; a circular medallion bearing an effigy of the reigning monarch at its centre.
The reverse has a circular medallion bearing the royal cypher of the reigning monarch, with the words "Faith", "Hope" and "Charity" inscribed on the upper three limbs of the cross, with the year "1883" in the lower limb. * The ''ribbon'' for both grades is dark blue with crimson edge stripes. The decoration is worn by women from the ribbon in the form of a bow, although it can be worn by both sexes in military uniform on a straight ribbon alongside other medals. * To recognise further exceptional devotion and competency in the performance of nursing duties or exceptional act of bravery and devotion at her or his post of duty, a bar may be awarded to a recipient of the RRC. The bar is linked to the cross and is made of red enamel. A rosette is worn on the ribbon in undress to denote a bar to the RRC.

Members

References

External links