Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

Distinguished Service Medal

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Overview

The Distinguished Service Medal was introduced in 1991 as part of the Australian Honours Sysyem. It is awarded for distinguished leadership in warlike operations. The medal is nickel-silver with a Federation Star on a circle of flames on the obverse. The reverse has a panel for recipient detail over a design of fluted rays of varying lengths.

Historical information

Australia originally used the Imperial honours system, also known as the British honours system. The creation in 1975 of the Australian honours and awards system saw Australian recommendations for the Imperial awards decline, with the last awards being gazetted in 1989. The Australian honours and awards system refers to all orders, decorations, and medals nstituted by letters patent from the Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister, that have been progressively introduced since 14 February 1975.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-99-982

Inscriptions and markings

The ribbon has alternating stripes of silver-blue and ochre-red. A further award is denoted by a nickel- silver bar with the Federation Star on a horizontal row of flames. When the ribbon is worn alone, the award of a bar is indicated by a ribbon bar emblem in the form of a Federation Star on a nickel-silver disc. Recipients of the medal are entitled to the post-nominal letters ‘DSM’. Recipients of a bar add ‘and Bar’ to the post-nominal

Contextual Information

The Museum has a replica of this medal with a display of medals and awards under the Australian Honours system.

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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