Service Medal of the Order of St John
Encyclopedia
The Service Medal of the Order of St John is an award given to those that have provided a requisite number or years service to the Venerable Order of St John. The award was announced in the St John Ambulance Brigade General Regulations for 1895 and minted in 1899, though the first honorees had been selected the previous year.
-plated medal features the head of Queen Victoria and the legend VICTORIA + D + G + BRITT + REG + F + D + IND + IMP on one side, while the other displays the legend MAGNUS · PRIORATUS · ORDINIS · HOSPITALIS · SANCTI · JOHANNIS · JERUSALEM · IN · ANGLIA (Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England) along with five equally sized circles in a cross holding individual heraldic
icons supported by sprawling St John's Wort
. These are the St Edward’s Crown, the shield of Great Britain
, two icons of the Order of St John in England, and the cipher bearing the feathers of the Price of Wales. The "only British medal to retain the head of Queen Victoria on a current issue", the image utilized is based on a bust of the queen created by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
. The medal's design has been largely unaltered since creation, though the script
has changed from gothic
to serif
fed capital letters and the original practice of naming the recipient on the medal gradually ceased except in New Zealand
, but the metal composition has evolved from its original silver to various silver-plated base metal
s before reaching its current composition in 1966.
The Medal is suspended from a ribbon that is 1.5 inches wide with five equally spaced stripes, of black and white. Where additional services beyond those required for the award have been performed, the ribbon may display bars and laurel leaves. In most countries (Including New Zealand and Canada) a recipient is awarded a silver bar for every five years up to three silver bars, beyond which all silver bars are removed and a gilt bar is put on the medal for each five years. At the forty-seven year mark, the recipient is awarded a laurel leaf and all bars are removed. All bars are represented on the undress ribbon by appropriately coloured Maltese crosses, while the laurel leaf is also used on the undress ribbon.
In the United Kingdom, the Service Medal is after the Solomon Islands Independence Medal and before the Badge of the Order of the League of Mercy in the order precedence. In Canada, the medal is after the Ontario Provincial Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and before the Commissionaire Long Service Medal.
In 2010, the Order of St John England and the Islands, disallowed Cadets from earning the Service Medal after over fifty years of recognising the service young people offer to their community.
Description
The cupro-nickel, rhodiumRhodium
Rhodium is a chemical element that is a rare, silvery-white, hard and chemically inert transition metal and a member of the platinum group. It has the chemical symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is composed of only one isotope, 103Rh. Naturally occurring rhodium is found as the free metal, alloyed...
-plated medal features the head of Queen Victoria and the legend VICTORIA + D + G + BRITT + REG + F + D + IND + IMP on one side, while the other displays the legend MAGNUS · PRIORATUS · ORDINIS · HOSPITALIS · SANCTI · JOHANNIS · JERUSALEM · IN · ANGLIA (Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England) along with five equally sized circles in a cross holding individual heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
icons supported by sprawling St John's Wort
St John's wort
St John's wort is the plant species Hypericum perforatum, and is also known as Tipton's Weed, Chase-devil, or Klamath weed....
. These are the St Edward’s Crown, the shield of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, two icons of the Order of St John in England, and the cipher bearing the feathers of the Price of Wales. The "only British medal to retain the head of Queen Victoria on a current issue", the image utilized is based on a bust of the queen created by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
The Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
. The medal's design has been largely unaltered since creation, though the script
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
has changed from gothic
Blackletter
Blackletter, also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 to well into the 17th century. It continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century. Fraktur is a notable script of this type, and sometimes...
to serif
Serif
In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface . A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”...
fed capital letters and the original practice of naming the recipient on the medal gradually ceased except in 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...
, but the metal composition has evolved from its original silver to various silver-plated base metal
Base metal
In chemistry, the term base metal is used informally to refer to a metal that oxidizes or corrodes relatively easily, and reacts variably with diluted hydrochloric acid to form hydrogen. Examples include iron, nickel, lead and zinc...
s before reaching its current composition in 1966.
The Medal is suspended from a ribbon that is 1.5 inches wide with five equally spaced stripes, of black and white. Where additional services beyond those required for the award have been performed, the ribbon may display bars and laurel leaves. In most countries (Including New Zealand and Canada) a recipient is awarded a silver bar for every five years up to three silver bars, beyond which all silver bars are removed and a gilt bar is put on the medal for each five years. At the forty-seven year mark, the recipient is awarded a laurel leaf and all bars are removed. All bars are represented on the undress ribbon by appropriately coloured Maltese crosses, while the laurel leaf is also used on the undress ribbon.
Qualifications
The medal is typically rewarded to recognise efficient service of appropriate duration. The length varies by location, with current terms for the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa set for 12 years, while other territories require 10. Other forms of conspicuous service have also been recognized with the medal.In the United Kingdom, the Service Medal is after the Solomon Islands Independence Medal and before the Badge of the Order of the League of Mercy in the order precedence. In Canada, the medal is after the Ontario Provincial Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and before the Commissionaire Long Service Medal.
In 2010, the Order of St John England and the Islands, disallowed Cadets from earning the Service Medal after over fifty years of recognising the service young people offer to their community.
See also
- Insignia of the Venerable Order of St John
- Sri Lanka Police First Aid Medal