George Cross (GC) Database - EGM, AM and EM Exchanges

George Cross "Exchanges"

Prior to the inception of the George Cross, several gallantry awards already existed for civilians which could also be given to servicemen and women for acts of great heroism performed in circumstances other than battle. These awards included the Empire Gallantry Medal, the Albert Medals for saving life on land and at sea and the Edward Medals for Mines and Industry, but none matched the distinction of the Victoria Cross. King George VI, with his advisors, decided to create a new decoration which would be equivalent in status with the VC.

The George Cross was instituted on 24th September 1940, whereupon the Empire Gallantry Medal ceased to be awarded. However, the Albert and Edward Medals continued to be awarded, but by the early 1970's it was acknowledged that there was little public appreciation of their importance. Indeed, no awards of the AM or EM to living recipients had been made since 1949. In 1971 it was announced that surviving holders of these decorations would have their awards translated to the GC. 65 holders of the AM and 68 holders of the EM were eligible to exchange their decoration for the George Cross.

In the case of exchanged EGMs, the George Cross is engraved on the reverse with the recipient's name and date of the London Gazette in which the original announcement was made. In the case of AMs and EMs, the GC is engraved with the recipient's name and the year of the action or actions for which the award was made.

Empire Gallantry Medal

The Empire Gallantry Medal, (officially called the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry), was instituted on the 29th December 1922. It was designed by Langford Jones and the first recipient in the Civil Division was Park Keeper Albert Waterfield, (LG 1st Jan 1923). The first recipients in the Military Division were four soldiers of the Dorsetshire Regiment and a Surgeon of the Indian Medical Department, (LG 2nd June 1923).

The EGM was a circular silver medal, 36 millimetres in diameter, suspended by a straight clasp ornamented with laurel leaves with the recipient's name around the medal's rim. The obverse (outward facing side) had the seated figure of Britannia, her left hand resting on a shield and her right hand holding a trident. In the upper right corner was a blazing sun. The motto "For God and the Empire" was around the upper side of this face.

The first type of reverse had six lions on the surround and the royal cypher in the middle. The second type had four lions; two either side of the royal cipher and the inscription Instituted by King George V.

The EGM's ribbon was originally plain purple with an additional thin vertical red central stripe for military awards. In 1933 a silver laurel branch was diagonally affixed to the ribbon of both types of award. From July 1937 the ribbon changed to rose pink with pearl grey edges, with the addition of a pearl grey vertical central stripe for military awards. Recipients were now allowed to use the post-nominals ‘EGM’.

At the time of the introduction of the George Cross, 108 living recipients of the EGM were obliged to exchange their decoration for the GC. The next-of-kin of 4 further EGM recipients were also eligible to exchange the decoration for the GC, on account that these awards had been made after the 3rd September 1939. (The four foreign Honorary awardees were not eligible to exchange their EGMs and continued to wear them). The EGM then became obsolete after a short-lived but very wide circulation, as thirty per cent of awards went to the Indian sub-continent.

Albert Medal

The Albert Medal (AM) was instituted on 7th March 1866, and was named after Queen Victoria's husband and consort Prince Albert who had died on 14th December 1861 at Windsor. A warrant issued in 1867 created two classes of AM: 1st and 2nd class. Ten years later, in 1877, a new warrant was made to allow the saving of life on land to be recognised by the award of the Albert Medal.

The AM was an oval medal, 57 millimetres high and 30 millimetres wide. The early issues were Gold and Bronze, the later issues were either Gold (1st class) or Bronze (2nd class). The AM's (Gold 1st class) ribbon was originally blue with two white stripes, but was changed to a wider blue ribbon with four white stripes. The AM 2nd class inherited the original 1st class ribbon size with two white stripes. In 1904 the 2nd class AM changed the ribbon size to that of the 1st class AM, while retaining the 2nd class two white stripes.

The AMs obverse consisted of a letter "V" (for Victoria) entwined with a letter "A" for Albert. AMs issued for gallantry at sea also have an anchor. The obverse has the words For Gallantry in Saving Life with At Sea or On Land added as appropriate. A further distinction is that the "Sea" medals have blue enamelling behind the royal monogram, while the "Land" medals have red.

In 1917 the title was altered producing the Albert Medal in gold (formerly the AM 1st Class) and the Albert Medal (formerly the 2nd class bronze medal).

In 1949 the Albert Medal in Gold was ‘replaced’ by the George Cross, although this was not regulated by a Royal Warrant. Thereafter, the Albert Medal was only posthumously awarded in Bronze. In 1971, the award of the Albert Medal ceased and living recipients were invited to exchange their decoration for the GC. However, 15 Albert Medallists decided not to exchange their original awards. It appears one person was overlooked, Ernest Wooding (LG 13th April 1945) was not informed until 1993. He too elected not to exchange his Albert Medal, though his entry now appears in the GC Register's latest supplement.

The use of the post-nominal initials AM was authorised in 1918. It appears to have been an administrative decisional as there was no Royal Warrant to that effect. Interestingly, when the Welsh Assembly was set up in 1998, the members started being called Assembly Members, and were permitted to use the post-nominal letters AM, hopefully not to be confused with Albert Medallists.

Edward Medal

There were two versions of the Edward Medal: Mines and Industry. In both cases, the medal was either a circular silver or bronze medal, 33 millimetres in diameter with a dark blue ribbon edged with yellow. Two recipients received a Bar but didn’t survive to exchange them for the GC..

Edward Medal (Mines)

The Edward Medal (Mines) was instituted on the 13th July 1907. It had the sovereign's profile on the obverse, while the reverse had a miner rescuing a stricken comrade, with the inscription "For Courage" across the top. The medal was designed by W. Reynolds-Stephens.

At the time of the 1971 exchanges, 2 Silver and 6 Bronze Edward Medal holders decided to retain their original decoration.

The EM (Mines) was intended to recognise life-saving in mines and quarries, with two grades of medal: 1st class (Silver) and 2nd class (Bronze). Unlike other awards, the cost of the medal was borne by a fund that was created by a group of philanthropists led by a leading mine owner called A. Hewlett. Both classes of medal were engraved with the recipient's name. Since 1930, the date and sometimes the place of the action have also been inscribed.

After 1949 the medal was only granted posthumously.

A Total of 77 Silver and 320 Bronze Edward Medal (Mines) were awarded.

Edward Medal (Industry)

The Edward Medal (Industry) was instituted on the 1st December 1909. It had the sovereign's profile on the obverse, while the reverse was originally a worker helping an injured workmate with a factory in the background and the words For Courage diagonally across the top. The reverse was designed by Kathleen Bruce. A second reverse design, by Gilbert Bayes, depicting a standing female figure with a laurel branch and factory skyline in the background, was introduced in 1912.

The EM (Industry) was awarded for acts of bravery in factory accidents and disasters. Like the EM (Mines) it also had two classes: 1st (Silver) and 2nd (Bronze). No 1st class medals were awarded after 1948. Since 1949 the medal was only granted posthumously. In 1971, 1 Silver Medal and 25 Bronze recipients of the Edward Medal (Industry) chose to exchange their EMs for the George Cross.