View source for Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)

{{short description|British medal for act of gallantry}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox military award
|name= Distinguished Service Cross
|image=[[File: Distinguished Service Cross, Obverse, 1937-47.jpg|152px|centre]] Obverse of the Cross<br>[[File:Distinguished Service Cross, second award bar.png|120px|centre]]
|caption= Ribbon bar for further award
|presenter= United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
|type= Military decoration
|eligibility= British, (formerly) Commonwealth, and allied forces
|awarded_for= Gallantry during active operations against the enemy at sea
|campaign=
|status= Currently awarded
|description= Plain silver cross with rounded ends, 43 mm max height and width
|clasps=
|established= 15 June 1901 (as Conspicuous Service Cross), renamed October 1914
|firstawarded=
|lastawarded=
|total_awarded= At least 6,658 Crosses and 603 bars
|total_awarded_posthumously=
|total_recipients=
|individual=
|precedence_label=Order of Wear
|higher= [[Royal Red Cross|Royal Red Cross, First Class]]<ref name=JSP761>{{cite web |title=JSP 761 Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces |url=http://ndm-pr.webs.com/jsp761%5B1%5D.pdf |page=12A-1 |access-date=7 November 2014 |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802165525/https://ndm-pr.webs.com/jsp761%5B1%5D.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|same=
|lower= [[Military Cross]]<ref name=JSP761/>
|related=[[Distinguished Service Medal (UK)|Distinguished Service Medal]]
|image2= [[Image:UK Distinguished Service Cross BAR.svg|center|100px]]<br>[[File:UK DSC w bar BAR.svg|center|100px]]<br>[[File:UK DSC w 2bars BAR.svg|center|100px]]Distinguished Service Cross ribbon:<br>without bar, and with one and two bars
|caption2=
}}

The '''Distinguished Service Cross''' ('''DSC''') is a third-level [[military decoration]] awarded for gallantry during active operations against the enemy at sea to officers; and, since 1993, [[Naval rating|ratings]] and other ranks of the [[British Armed Forces]], [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary]] and the [[British Merchant Navy]] have been eligible. The award was formerly also awarded to members of armed forces of other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries.

The DSC is "awarded in recognition of an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy at sea."<ref name=Gazette>{{London Gazette|issue=56693 |supp=y|page=11145|date=17 October 2002}}</ref><ref>[http://www.operations.mod.uk/honours/honours.htm Defence FactSheet] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210734/http://www.operations.mod.uk/honours/honours.htm |date=27 September 2007 }} Accessed 28 June 2007.</ref> Since 1979, it can be awarded posthumously.<ref name=Gazette/>

==History==
The award was originally created in 1901 as the '''Conspicuous Service Cross''', for award to [[warrant officer|warrant]] and subordinate officers, including [[midshipman|midshipmen]], ineligible for the [[Distinguished Service Order]]. It was renamed the Distinguished Service Cross in October 1914, eligibility being extended to all naval officers (commissioned and warrant) below the rank of [[lieutenant commander]].<ref name=Abbott107>Abbott & Tamplin, pages 107-109.</ref>

From March 1915, foreign officers of equivalent rank in allied navies could receive honorary awards; in August 1916, [[Medal bar|bars]] were introduced to reward further acts of gallantry meriting the Cross, with a silver rosette worn on the ribbon when worn alone, to denote the award of each bar.<ref name=Abbott107/> During [[World War I]], officers of the [[British Merchant Navy|Merchant]] and Fishing Fleets had been awarded the DSC, and their eligibility was legally clarified by an [[order in council]] in 1931.<ref name=Dorling/>

[[World War II]] saw a number of changes. In December 1939, eligibility was extended to Naval Officers of the rank of [[Commander]] and [[Lieutenant-Commander]].<ref name=Dorling>Dorling, page 40.</ref> In April 1940, equivalent ranks in the [[Royal Air Force]] serving with the Fleet could receive the DSC, and, from November 1942, so could those in the [[British Army|Army]] aboard [[defensively equipped merchant ship]]s.<ref name=Abbott107/>

Since [[1993 reviews of the British honours system|the 1993 review of the honours system]], as part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in awards for bravery, the [[Distinguished Service Medal (UK)|Distinguished Service Medal]], formerly the third-level decoration for ratings, has been discontinued. The DSC now serves as the third-level award for gallantry at sea for all ranks, not to the standard required to receive the [[Victoria Cross]] or the [[Conspicuous Gallantry Cross]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceFor/Veterans/Medals/MilitaryCrossmc.htm |title=Distinguished Service Cross |publisher=[[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref>

The DSC had also been awarded by Commonwealth countries; however, by the 1990s, most of these—including [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada|Canada]], [[Australian Honours System|Australia]], and [[New Zealand Royal Honours System|New Zealand]]—were establishing their own honours systems and no longer recommended British honours.<ref>Mussell, pages 390, 429, 459.</ref>

Recipients are entitled to the post-nominal "DSC".<ref name=Dorling/>

==Description==
The DSC is a plain silver cross with rounded ends, with a width of {{convert|43|mm|in}} and with the following design:<ref name=Mussell/>
* The obverse has a circular centre containing the [[Royal Cypher]] of the reigning monarch at the time of award surmounted by a crown.
* The reverse is plain apart from the hallmark, and the ribbon is attached via a hallmarked silver ring. From 1940, the year of issue was engraved on lower limb of cross,<ref name=Duckers>Duckers, pages 24-25.</ref> and since 1984 it has been awarded named to the recipient.<ref name=Mussell>Mussell, page 86.</ref>
* The ribbon has three equal stripes of dark blue, white, and dark blue.<ref name=Duckers/>
* The ribbon bar denoting a further award is plain silver, with convex ends and a central crown.

== Recipients ==
===Numbers awarded===
Since 1901 at least 6,658 Crosses and 603 bars have been awarded. The dates below reflect the relevant London Gazette entries:<ref name=Abbott110>Abbott & Tamplin, pages 110-111.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! Period || ||align=center| Crosses|| 1st bar || 2nd bar|| 3rd bar
|-
|align=center| Pre-1914|| align="center" | 1901–1913 ||align=center| 8 ||align=center| – ||align=center| – ||align=center| –
|-
|align=center| World War I||align=center| 1914–1920 ||align=center| 1,983<ref>Abbott & Tamplin, page 110 gives varying figures from several sources, this being the highest figure.</ref> ||align=center| 91 ||align=center| 10 ||align=center| –
|-
|align=center| [[Interwar period|Interwar]]|| align="center" | 1921–1938 ||align=center| 7 ||align=center| – ||align=center| –  ||align=center| –
|-
|align=center| World War II ||align=center| 1939–1946 ||align=center| 4,524 ||align=center| 434 ||align=center| 44 ||align=center| 1
|-
|align=center| [[Post-war|Postwar]]|| align="center" | 1947–2016||align=center|136<ref>Abbott & Tamplin, page 111 confirms 95 DSCs for 1947-79. A further 41 awarded 1980–2016: 30 for [[Falklands War|South Atlantic]] ([https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/48999/supplement/7422 London Gazette Supplements, 3 June 1982] & [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/49134/supplement/12831 8 October 1982]); 7 for [[Gulf War]] ([https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/52588/supplement/1 London Gazette Supplement, 29 June 1991]); 1 for [[Iraq War]] ([https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/57100/supplement/4 London Gazette Supplement 31 October 2003]); and 3 for smaller conflicts:([https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/56168/supplement/4246 London Gazette Supplements 6 April 2001], [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/60095/supplement/5851 23 March 2012] & [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/61529/supplement/6082 18 March 2016]).</ref>||align=center| 18 ||align=center| 5 ||align=center| –
|-
|align=center| '''Total''' ||align=center| '''1901–2016''' ||align=center| '''6,658''' ||align=center| '''543''' ||align=center| '''59''' ||align=center| '''1''' 
|}

A number of honorary awards were made to members of allied foreign forces, including 151 for World War I, and 228 (with 12 first bars and 2 second bars) for World War II. Eight honorary awards were made in 1955 to members of the [[US Navy]] for service in [[Korean War|Korea]].<ref name=Abbott110/>

The above table includes awards to the [[Dominions]]:<br>In all, 199 DSCs have gone to those serving with Canadian forces, with 34 first bars and five second bars.<ref>[http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/medals-decorations/details/44 Veterans Affairs Canada – Distinguished Service Cross] (Retrieved 7 November 2018)</ref> It was replaced in 1993 by the [[Medal of Military Valour]].<br>
182 were awarded to Australians, in addition to 13 first bars and three second bars. Last awarded to an Australian in 1972, it was replaced in 1991 by the [[Medal for Gallantry]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/awards/imperial.cfm#dsc |title=Imperial Awards |work=It's an Honour |publisher=[[Australian Government]] |access-date=7 November 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623051652/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/awards/imperial.cfm#dsc |archive-date=23 June 2006 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Four-time recipient===
Only one person has ever been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross four times. [[Norman Morley|Norman Eyre Morley]] served in the [[Royal Naval Reserve]] during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]]. He was awarded the DSC for the first time in 1919. He was awarded his second DSC in 1944. He was awarded the DSC a further two times in 1945. He gained an entry into the ''[[Guinness Book of Records]]'' as the most decorated reserve naval officer.<ref name="LG 8 June 1945">{{London Gazette |issue=37127 |date=8 June 1945 |page=3088 |supp=y }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=An important collection of Royal Navy items relating to Commander Norman Morley DSC|url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/15088/lot/350/|website=Bonhams|access-date=24 April 2015|date=2007}}</ref>

===List of three-time recipients===
* [[Robert Atkinson (businessman)|Sir Robert Atkinson]], served in the [[Royal Navy]] during [[World War II]]
* [[Patrick Bayly]], served in the Royal Navy and rose to the rank of [[vice admiral]]
* [[Richard Gatehouse]], served in the Royal Navy during [[World War II]] and later during the [[Korean War]]<ref name="LG 6 Nov 1953">{{London Gazette |issue=40011|date=6 Nov 1953 |page=6002 |supp=y }}</ref>
* [[George Onslow Graham]], served in the Royal Navy and the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]]<ref name="LG 15 May 1953">{{London Gazette |issue=39854 |date=15 May 1953 |page=2765 |supp=y }}</ref>
* [[Robert Peverell Hichens]], served in the Royal Navy during World War II and was later recommended unsuccessfully for the [[Victoria Cross]]
* [[Geoffrey John Kirkby]], served in the Royal Navy during World War II. Awarded DSC in 1940, 1942 and 1944
<!--*[[Charles Lightoller]] (highest surviving officer on [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']]), served in the Royal Navy during World War I, volunteer in World War II.  Awarded DSC twice, in 1916, 1918.-->
* [[Thomas Le Mesurier (RAF officer)|Thomas Le Mesurier]], served in the [[Royal Air Force]] during [[World War I]] as a [[flying ace]] credited with seven aerial victories. Awarded DSC twice in 1917 and in 1918
* [[George James Macdonald (naval officer)|George James Macdonald]], served in the Royal New Zealand Navy
* [[Richard Minifie]], served in the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] during [[World War I]]. Awarded DSC in twice in 1917 and in 1918
* [[Stanley Orr]], served in the Royal Navy during World War II. Awarded DSC in 1940, 1941, and 1944
* [[Peter Piper (Royal Navy officer)|Peter Piper]], served in the [[Royal Naval Reserve]] during World War II. Awarded DSC in 1939 and twice in 1941
* [[Jack Scatchard]], served in the Royal Navy during World War II and the Cold War
* [[Skule Storheill]], served in the [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] and attached to the Royal Navy during World War II
* [[Bob Whinney]], served in the Royal Navy during [[World War II]]. Awarded DSC thrice in 1944

===Collective award===
In 1919, the Distinguished Service Cross was awarded to the City of [[Dunkirk]] for the gallant behaviour of its citizens during World War I, and the Cross appears in the coat of arms of the city.<ref>{{cite web|title=Traces of War|url=https://www.tracesofwar.com/awards/3/Distinguished-Service-Cross-DSC.htm?c=aw|website=TracesOfWar|access-date=2 Aug 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=La Grande Guerre (fr)|url=https://www.ville-dunkerque.fr/decouvrir-sortir-bouger/histoire-patrimoine/lhistoire-de-dunkerque/la-grande-guerre/|website=Dunkerque & vous|access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[:Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross]]
* [[British and Commonwealth orders and decorations]]

==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/56693/supplement/11145 Current Royal Warrant for the Distinguished Service Cross], 17 September 2002. London Gazette.
* Abbott, Peter and Tamplin, John – ''British Gallantry Awards'', 2nd edition (1981). Nimrod Dix and Co, London. ({{ISBN|9780902633742}})
* Dorling, H. Taprell – ''Ribbons and Medals'', (1956). A. H. Baldwin & Son
* Duckers, Peter – ''British Gallantry Awards 1855–2000'', (2011). Shire Publications, Risborough, Buckinghamshire. ({{ISBN|9780747805168}})
* Mussell, J (ed) – ''Medals Yearbook 2015'', (2014). Token Publishing, Honiton, Devon. ({{ISBN|9781908828163}})

{{Decorations of the United Kingdom}}
{{Former Australian Honours}}
{{South African military decorations and medals}}

[[Category:Military awards and decorations of the United Kingdom]]