Polar Medal
Encyclopedia
The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign
Sovereign
A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority within its jurisdiction.Sovereign may also refer to:*Monarch, the sovereign of a monarchy*Sovereign Bank, banking institution in the United States*Sovereign...

 of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. It was instituted in 1857 as the Arctic Medal and renamed the Polar Medal in 1904.

History

The first awards of the Arctic Medal were made to the men engaged in a search expedition to discover the fate of Sir John Franklin
John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...

 and his crew who were lost in 1847 while looking for the Northwest Passage, and a second Arctic Medal was sanctioned for the crews of three ships exploring in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 in 1875–76. In 1904 a third and current series, the Polar Medal, was instituted for members of Captain Scott's
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...

 first expedition to Antarctica. Medals were also awarded to members of Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...

's expedition.

The medal is octagonal in shape with a white ribbon. The reverse of the original Arctic Medal showed a three-masted ship surrounded by ice floes. The die for the medal was engraved by Leonard Charles Wyon
Leonard Charles Wyon
Leonard Charles Wyon was a British engraver of the Victorian era most notable for his work on the gold and silver coinage struck for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 and the bronze coinage of 1860 with the second head portrait, in use from 1860 to 1894.-Career:The eldest son of chief...

. A new design by Ernest Gillick
Ernest Gillick
Ernest Gillick was a British sculptor.Gillick studied at the Nottingham School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. His first important commission was for the figures of J.M.W...

 was used from 1904, showing HMS Discovery
RRS Discovery
The RRS Discovery was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain. Designed for Antarctic research, she was launched in 1901. Her first mission was the British National Antarctic Expedition, carrying Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first, successful...

, with a sledging party in the foreground. The obverse bears a portrait of the reigning monarch.

Originally the medal came in both silver and bronze; the bronze medals being awarded to personnel of relief ships for Antarctic expeditions. No bronze medals were awarded for Arctic expeditions. Since 1939, all medals awarded have been silver.

Before 1968 the Polar Medal was awarded to all who participated in any Polar expedition endorsed by the government of any of the Commonwealth Realm
Commonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...

s. Today however the Polar Medal is only awarded to selected British individuals for extreme human endeavour against the appalling weather and conditions that exist in the Arctic and Antarctic. An increasing number are awarded to members of expeditions and scientific bases that are kept constantly manned in the Antarctic. The Regulations governing the award have been revised and now "acquisition of knowledge of Polar regions shall normally be ten years such service to be considered a medal". However, greater emphasis is now placed on individual service.

A total of 880 silver and 245 bronze medals have been issued for Antarctic expeditions and a further 73 silver medals for Arctic expeditions.

Several people have been awarded the Polar Medal and Bar, the bar representing an additional award of the Polar Medal. Frank Wild
Frank Wild
Commander John Robert Francis Wild CBE, RNVR, FRGS , known as Frank Wild, was an explorer...

 and Ernest Joyce
Ernest Joyce
Ernest Edward Mills Joyce AM was a Royal Naval seaman and explorer who participated in four Antarctic expeditions during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, early in the early 20th century. He served under both Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton...

 hold the joint record for the number of bars awarded in addition to their Polar Medals: four apiece.

Australia

The Government of Australia
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...

 replaced the Polar Medal with its own Australian Antarctic Medal
Australian Antarctic Medal
The Australian Antarctic Medal is awarded for outstanding service in scientific research or exploration in connection with an Australian Antarctic expedition or for support of such work. The service or support would normally be for a period of at least 12 months.The AAM was introduced in 1987, and...

 in 1987.

New Zealand

In 1996, when New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 revised its royal honours system, New Zealanders ceased to receive the Polar Medal. It was proposed that the medal would be preserved, with a new name, under New Zealand regulations: the New Zealand Antarctic Medal
New Zealand Antarctic Medal
The New Zealand Antarctic Medal was created 1 September 2006, as a New Zealand Royal Honour to replace the British Polar Medal.-History:The Polar Medal was instituted in 1904 and awarded to those who had made notable contributions to the exploration and knowledge of Polar Regions and who, in doing...

. The rationale for the renaming was that it is in relation to Antarctica that New Zealand’s endeavours and achievements have been made. The new medal was formally instituted by the Queen of New Zealand on 1 September 2006.
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