Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 medal for distinguished service, or for gallantry, principally by non-commissioned officers of all of the British armed forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...

 and of Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service is the nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Service unit works alongside the Royal Navy Medical Branch....

.

Summary

The medal was first instituted for the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 in 1845, for the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

 in 1849, for the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 in 1918 and for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 in 1919.

Following historic variations between the medals awarded in each of the armed forces, including slight differences in design and in the criteria for the award, the same medal is now issued for all of the services.

To be awarded the MSM, an individual must have "good, faithful, valuable and meritorious service, with conduct judged to be irreproachable throughout". Other ranks must have at least twenty years service, must already hold Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
The Long Service & Good Conduct Medal is a medal awarded by the British Government to members of the British Armed Forces who have completed 15 years of reckonable service.-British Army:...

s, and for the Army and the Royal Air Force must have reached the equivalent rank of sergeant. Officers of any service can also be considered for the medal immediately after being commissioned, provided they meet the other criteria, but not later.

The number of MSMs awarded is limited: no more than forty-nine a year may be awarded in the Royal Navy, three in the Royal Marines, eighty-nine in the Army and sixty in the Royal Air Force, and in practice these numbers are not reached.

Design

The medal has the sovereign's profile on one side, on the other a small crown and a wreath surrounding the inscription For Meritorious Service. The recipient's name, rank and unit is inscribed on the rim. If a sovereign is shown in naval uniform, then the medal was awarded for service at sea or with a Naval or Royal Marines unit on land.

Ribbon

The medal's ribbon has had various colours:
  • Army, 1845–1916: crimson
  • Army, 1916–1917: crimson with white edges
  • Army, 1917–: crimson with white edges and a white centre stripe
  • Royal Navy: crimson with white edges and a white centre stripe
  • Royal Marines: dark blue
  • Royal Marines (award in the field, 1916–1919): crimson with white edges and a white centre stripe
  • Royal Air Force: crimson and light blue, with white edges and a white centre stripe

Army

The British Army's medal was instituted in 1845, to recognise meritorious service by non-commissioned officers, and recipients were also granted an annuity. During 1916–1919, army NCOs could be awarded the medal immediately for meritorious service in the field.

Royal Marines

The medal for Royal Marines was instituted in 1849, for gallantry or for distinguished service. As a gallantry medal, it was superseded by the Naval Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal was, until 1993, a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Armed Forces and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for conspicuous gallantry in action against the enemy at sea...

. As with the Army, during 1916–1919 NCOs of the Royal Marines could be awarded the medal in the field. Since 1977, the Royal Marines' medal is only awarded for long service and is identical to the Royal Navy's.

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy's medal was instituted in 1919, for gallantry not in the face of the enemy and for meritorious service by petty officer
Petty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...

s and senior naval rating
Naval rating
A Naval Rating is an enlisted member of a country's Navy, subordinate to Warrant Officers and Officers hence not conferred by commission or warrant...

s. As a gallantry award, it was superseded by the Empire Gallantry Medal
Empire Gallantry Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, usually known as the Empire Gallantry Medal , was a British medal awarded for acts of the highest civilian gallantry . King George V introduced it on 29 December 1922...

 in 1928, but resumed in 1977. It is now awarded to senior NCOs in the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Women's Royal Naval Service
Women's Royal Naval Service
The Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.Members included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics...

 and Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service is the nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Service unit works alongside the Royal Navy Medical Branch....

.

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

's medal was instituted in 1918, for meritorious service by ground crew. It was superseded in 1928 by the British Empire Medal
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...

, but awards began again in 1977 as for the Army.
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