The Commendation for Gallantry is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force

Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...

, it recognises acts of gallantry in action considered worthy of recognition. The award was introduced on 15 January 1991, replacing the Imperial equivalent of the Mentioned in Despatches. It is ranked fourth in the Gallantry Decorations in the Australian Honours System

Australian Honours System

-History:The Commonwealth of Australia, until 1975, used the Imperial or British honours system. Only a handful of peerages were created for Australians, some in recognition of public services rendered in Britain rather than Australia. Some hereditary peers and baronets whose titles derive from...

. Since its inception 52 awards have been made.

Description

• The insignia of the Commendation for Gallantry is a Federation Star
  Commonwealth Star
  The Commonwealth Star is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901....
  
   superimposed centrally on a gold-plated silver row of flames.
• The insignia is attached to a plain orange ribbon. The centre of the Federation Star is 19 mm from the bottom of the ribbon and 16 mm from either edge.

Recipients

Since its inception 52 awards have been made. On 6 March 2011 the Commendation for Gallantry was posthumously awarded to 20 Australian prisoners of war who were either killed attempting to escape from the Japanese or were executed after their recapture during the Second World War. The awards followed a review by the independent Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal which found that the men should have been awarded a Mentioned in Despatches under the wartime policy then in place, and consequently were awarded the modern equivalent.

External links

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