Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

Medal - Distinguished Service Order

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Overview

The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly Australia, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.
The medal signifying the award of the DSO is a silver-gilt cross with curved ends, 4.1 cm wide, enamelled white and edged in gilt. It is manufactured by Messrs Garrard & Co, the Crown Jewellers. In the centre of the obverse, within a green enamelled laurel wreath, is the imperial crown in gold upon a red enamelled background. The reverse has the royal cypher of the reigning monarch in gold within a similar wreath and background.
A ring at the top of the medal attaches to a ring at the bottom of a gilt suspension bar, ornamented with laurel. Since 1938 the year of award engraved on the back of the suspension bar. At the top of the ribbon is a second gilt bar ornamented with laurel. The red ribbon is 2.86 cm wide with narrow blue edges.

Historical information

The DSO was instituted in 1886 by Queen Victoria in a royal warrant published in The London Gazette. The first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886. The order was established to reward individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war. It was a military order, officers only and typically awarded to officers ranked major (or equivalent) or higher, with awards to ranks below this usually for a high degree of gallantry, just short of deserving the Victoria Cross. Recipients of the order are officially known as Companions of the Distinguished Service Order, and are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "DSO". All awards are announced in The London Gazette and/or The Australian Gazette

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-99-165

Inscriptions and markings

The medals are issued unnamed but some recipients have had their names engraved on the reverse of the suspension bar. The bar for an additional award is plain gold with an Imperial Crown in the centre. Since 1938, the year of the award has been engraved on the back of the bar. A rosette is worn on the ribbon in undress uniform to signify the award of each bar.

Contextual Information

From 1901 to 1972, when the last Australian to receive the DSO was announced, 1,018 awards were made to Australians, plus 70 first bars and one second bar.
The Army Museum has 3 Distinguished Service Order medals in its collection awarded to:
Lieutenant Cyril Richard Cornish DSO, MID
Colonel Herbert Brayley Collett CMG, DSO, MID,VD
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Richard Harricks Roberts DSO, OBE, MID, 11 Battalion AIF
All medals are identified, archivally stored and are accessible and viewable with prior notice.

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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