Distinguished Service Order

Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful command and leadership during active operations, typically in actual combat.

Equal in British precedence of military decorations to the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross and Royal Red Cross, since 1993 the DSO is eligible to all ranks awarded specifically for "highly successful command and leadership during active operations".<ref name="dsomod" />

HistoryEdit

File:Distinguished Service Order, ribbon bar.png

Bar for additional DSO award

File:DSO1.jpg

Major Paul Garneau, of the Royal 22^e Régiment, with the DSO he received for "gallant and distinguished services in the combined attack on Dieppe" after his investiture at Buckingham Palace in October 1942<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria by Royal Warrant published in The London Gazette on 9 November,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> the first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

The order was established to recognise individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war. It is a military order, and was, until recently, typically awarded to officers in command above the rank of major (or equivalent), with awards to lower ranks usually being for a high degree of gallantry, just short of deserving the Victoria Cross.<ref name=veteran/>

Whilst normally given for service under fire or under conditions equivalent to service in actual combat with the enemy, a number of awards made between 1914 and 1916 were under circumstances not under fire, often to staff officers, causing resentment among front-line officers. After 1 January 1917, commanders in the field were instructed to recommend this award only for those serving under fire.Template:Sfn

From 1916, bars could be authorised for subsequent award of the DSO, worn on the ribbon of the original award.Template:Sfn

In 1942, the award was extended to officers of the Merchant Navy who had performed acts of gallantry whilst under enemy attack.<ref name=NZ>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Prior to 1943, the DSO could be awarded to only commissioned officers of the Lieutenant-Colonel rank and above, for 'meritorious or distinguished service in wartime' under conditions of actual combat. If awarded to an officer ranking below Lieutenant-Colonel, it had to be a case of 'a high degree of gallantry just short of deserving the Victoria Cross'. In either case, being 'Mentioned in Despatches' was a pre-condition for appointment to the Distinguished Service Order.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The stipulation that only those mentioned in despatches could be appointed to the Order was removed in 1943.Template:Sfn

Modern eraEdit

Since 1993, reflecting the review of the British honours system which recommended removing distinctions of rank in respect of operational awards, the DSO has been open to all ranks, with the award criteria redefined as "highly successful command and leadership during active operations".<ref name=dsomod>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At the same time, the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross was introduced as the second-highest award for gallantry.<ref name="Duckers">Template:Cite book</ref> Despite some very fierce campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DSO has yet to be awarded to a non-commissioned rank.<ref>[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a802607ed915d74e33f8bb2/JSP761_Part1.pdf www.gov.uk]</ref>

The DSO was previously awarded throughout the Commonwealth but by the 1990s most, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, were had established their own honours systems no longer recommending British honours.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

NomenclatureEdit

Recipients of the Order, formally styled Companions of the Distinguished Service Order, are entitled to use Template:Post-nominals as post-nominal letters. All awards are announced in The London Gazette.Template:Sfn

DescriptionEdit

The decoration signifying the award of the DSO is a silver-gilt (gold until 1889) cross with curved ends, Template:Convert wide, enamelled white and edged in gilt.<ref name=Yearbook/> It is manufactured by Messrs Garrard & Co, the Crown Jewellers.Template:Sfn
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.Template:Sfn
A ring at the top of the decoration 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.Template:Sfn At the top of the ribbon is a second gilt bar ornamented with laurel.<ref name=veteran/>
The decorations are issued unnamed but some recipients have had their names engraved on the reverse of the suspension bar.<ref name=veteran/>
The red ribbon is Template:Convert wide with narrow blue edges.<ref name=Duckers/>
The Bar for an additional award is plain gold with an Imperial Crown in the centre. Since about 1938, the year of the award has been engraved on the back of the Bar.Template:Sfn A rosette is worn on the ribbon in undress uniform to signify the award of each Bar.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

RecipientsEdit

Numbers awardedEdit

From 1918 to 2017, the Distinguished Service Order was awarded approximately 16,935 times, in addition to 1,910 bars. The figures to 1979 are laid out in the table below,Template:Sfn the dates reflecting the relevant entries in the London Gazette:

Period		Crosses	1st bar	2nd bar	3rd bar
Pre-First World War	1886–1913	1,732	–	–	–
First World War	1914–1919	9,881	768	76	7
Inter-war	1919–1939	148	16	–	–
Second World War	1939–1946	4,880	947	59	8
Post-1945	1947–1979	204	20	5	1
Total	1886–1979	16,845	1,751	140	16

In addition, approximately 90 DSOs were awarded between 1980 and 2017, including awards for the Falklands, Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, in addition to three Bars.<ref>Post 1979 DSOs include 19 for the Falklands (London Gazette Supplement, 8 October 1982); 1 for Sierra Leone (London Gazette Supplement, 30 September 2003); 8 for Gulf War (London Gazette Supplement, 29 June 1991 Late award: 21 November 1994); 18 bars for Iraq and 43+3 second award bar for Afghanistan, plus awards for smaller conflicts.</ref> The above figures include awards to the Commonwealth.

In all, 1,220 DSOs were awarded to Canadians, plus 119 first bars and 20 second Bars.<ref name="veteran">Veterans Affairs Canada – Distinguished Service Order (Retrieved 8 December 2018)</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The DSO was awarded to over 300 New Zealanders during the two World Wars.<ref name="NZ" />
At least 14 Indian officers of the British Indian Army (i.e., until 1947) were awarded the DSO, with one in the First World War and 13 in the Second World War. The higher number awarded during the latter was due to the gradual Indianization of the British Indian Army from 1923 (see: South Asian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order).
Honorary awards to members of allied foreign forces include at least 1,329 for the First World War.Template:Sfn

Quadruple recipientsEdit

Template:See also The following received the DSO with three Bars (i.e., awarded the DSO four times):

Archibald Walter Buckle, rose from naval rating in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve to command the Anson Battalion of the Royal Naval Division during the First World War<ref name=LG1919/>
William Denman Croft,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> First World War army officer
William Robert Aufrere Dawson, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment during the First World War, wounded nine times and mentioned in despatches at least five times<ref name=LG1919/>
Sir Basil Embry, Second World War Royal Air Force officer
Sir Bernard Freyberg, also awarded the Victoria Cross, was decorated DSO three times during the First World War, and a fourth during the Second World War
Edward Albert Gibbs, Second World War destroyer captain<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Arnold Jackson, First World War British Army officer and 1500 metre Olympic gold medal winner in 1912
Sir Douglas Kendrew, brigade commander in Italy, Greece and the Middle East between 1944 and 1946. Subsequently, appointed Governor of Western Australia
Robert Sinclair Knox, First World War British Army officer<ref name=LG1919>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Frederick William Lumsden, British First World War Royal Marines officer, also awarded the Victoria Cross
Paddy Mayne, Special Air Service commander in the Second World War and Irish rugby player
Sir Richard George Onslow, Second World War destroyer captain and later admiral<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Alastair Pearson, a British Army officer appointed DSO four times within the space of two years during the Second World War
James Brian Tait, RAF pilot also awarded the DFC with Bar, completed 101 bombing missions in the Second World War
Frederic John Walker, Second World War Royal Navy captain and U-boat hunter
Edward Allan Wood,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation