Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military)

The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) is a medal awarded to regular members of the armed forces. It was instituted by King George V in 1930 and replaced the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal as well as the Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal. The medal was originally awarded to Regular Army warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the UK Armed Forces. It also had a number of territorial versions for the Permanent Forces of the British Dominions. The eligibility criteria were relaxed in 1947 to also allow the award of the medal to officers who had served a minimum period in the ranks before being commissioned.Stephen Stratford Medals site - British Military & Criminal History - 1900 to 1999 - Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal (Accessed 26 May 2015)The Real Royal Engineers - The Army Long Service Good Conduct Medal (Accessed 2 June 2015) Since 2016, the eligibility was widened to include officers who had never served in the ranks, and so the medal can now be awarded to all regular members of the British Armed Forces who meet the required length of service.

Overview In the complex British honours system, there were distinct awards for officers and men of the Navy, Army and Air Force, and separate awards for the Regular Force or Reserve components. Regular Force officers were not eligible for any long service awards since, as they held a commission, they were expected to serve honourably and for a long period of time. Reserve Force officers were eligible for various long service decorations that granted them the use of post-nominal letters, while Reserve Force other ranks were eligible for various long service and good conduct medals, but without post-nominals.National Defence and the Canadian Forces - Obsolete Long Service Awards (Accessed 10 June 2015)

Predecessors The United Kingdom's Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was instituted by King William IV in 1830.

In 1895 Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt, amongst others, this medal and to award it to other ranks of their own permanent military forces. Territories that took advantage of the authorisation include Canada, Cape of Good Hope, India, Natal, New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and, from 1902, the Commonwealth of Australia. Each territorial version of the medal had the name of the respective territory inscribed in a curved line above the inscription on the reverse. (Accessed 26 May 2015)South African Medal Website – Colonial Military Forces - Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (1896–1913) (Accessed 6 May 2015)Museum Victoria - Medal - Queensland Long Service & Good Conduct Medal, Specimen, Queen Victoria, Queensland, Australia, 1895-1901 (Accessed 29 May 2015)Museum Victoria - Medal - South Australia Long Service & Good Conduct Medal, Specimen, Queen Victoria, South Australia, Australia, 1895-1901 (Accessed 29 May 2015)Museum Victoria - Medal - Commonwealth of Australia Long Service & Good Conduct Medal, King Edward VII, Australia, 1903-1910 (Accessed 29 May 2015)

In 1910 the Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal was instituted as a single common award to supersede these territorial versions of the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

Institution On 23 September 1930 the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) was instituted by King George V as a single medal for the regular other ranks of the British Army and those of all Permanent Forces of the British Empire. The new medal, which replaced the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal as well as the Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal, once again had various territorial versions, this time in the form of subsidiary titles inscribed on a bar attached to the suspender of the medal rather than on the medal's reverse.

These subsidiary titles are "Regular Army" on the bar of the medal for the British Army and the name of the dominion country on the bars of the medals for Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand. Apart from the bars, all but one of the medals are identical. The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (South Africa), introduced in December 1939, is the exception since the inscriptions on its bar as well as on the reverse of the medal are bilingual, in Afrikaans and English on the bar and in English and Afrikaans on the medal reverse. Instead of the name of the country, the South African medal displays the all-capital inscriptions "" and "Permanent Force" in two lines on the suspender bar.South African Medal Website - Union Defence Forces (1939–52) - Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) (1939–52) (Accessed 3 May 2015)Peter Duckers. British Military Medals, A Guide for the Collector and Family Historian, Paragraph heading: The South African Permanent Forces Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, 1939-52. 2nd ed, 2013. Pen & Sword Books Ltd., Barnsley, South Yorkshire. PDF (Accessed 19 June 2015)Medals of War - Army LSGC medal (Geo V) bar Canada Cpl (A/Sgt) R. Morrison, PPCLI; Awarded 15-1-36 (Accessed 17 June 2015)Dixons Medals - Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal George V, Commonwealth issue, 3rd type 1930-1936 with India bar. Assistant Surgeon S.N. Eate, Indian Medical Department (Accessed 17 June 2015)

Award criteria When it was instituted, the medal could be awarded to Regular Force warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the British Army after eighteen years of unblemished service. Qualifying service included service rendered by a soldier whilst under the age of eighteen, while service in West Africa and in certain parts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was reckoned two-fold as qualifying service.

The medal and the clasp could initially only be awarded to men, but on 9 February 1955 the criteria were amended by Queen Elizabeth II to also apply to women members of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom and of the Permanent Forces of member countries of the Commonwealth.The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) - Rules amendment, 9 February 1955

The qualifying period was reduced to fifteen years with effect from 1 December 1977. Possibly at the same time, the criteria in respect of reckonable service whilst under the age of eighteen was amended to be from date of attestation or age 17½, whichever is later.Gov.UK - Defence and Armed Forces - guidance - Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility - LS and GCM (Army) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal for the Army (Accessed 16 June 2015)

Eligibility The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) may be awarded to members of the UK Armed Forces who have completed eighteen (later fifteen) years of reckonable service. However, there were a number of offences which would normally preclude award of the medal and awards are only made after a thorough check of a soldier's service record. The award of the medal required the recommendation of the individual's commanding officer and it could therefore only be awarded to serving personnel. Eligibility criteria were amended in 2016

Clasp On 26 August 1944 a clasp to the medal was instituted by King George VI. The clasp could be awarded to holders of the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) for additional periods of eighteen (later fifteen) years of good service, reckoned from the date of the Army Order that announced their respective earlier awards. Holders of the earlier Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal were not awarded the clasp, but were instead awarded the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) in addition to the discontinued earlier medal.The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) - Fifth Clause amendment, 26 August 1944

The reckoning method was amended by King George VI on 1 May 1947 to be from the qualifying date for the award of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (Military) or the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.The Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) - Fifth Clause amendment, 1 May 1947

In October 2016, regulations were changed allowing the award of the clasp after an additional 10 years of service that meets conduct criteria.

Officers Regular Force officers were traditionally not eligible for any long service awards. From 1 May 1947 British Army officers also became eligible for the award of the medal, but only if at least twelve of their eighteen (later fifteen) years of qualifying service had been in the ranks before being commissioned and provided that the conduct requirements for the award of the medal had been met.

Also from that date, an officer became eligible for the award of the clasp or, for holders of the discontinued Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, the award of the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) in addition to the earlier medal, if at least nine of the eighteen years of the second qualifying period of service had been in the ranks and provided that the conduct requirements had been met.

Effective October 2016, officers who were serving in the Regular Army on or after 29 July 2014 are eligible for award of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. To be eligible for the medal officers must have had 15 years Regular Army service with a clear disciplinary record. Subsequent service of 10 years is recognized with a clasp, so long as the individual has continued to have a clear disciplinary record.

Order of wear In the order of wear prescribed by the British Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) and its territorial versions rank on par with the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and the Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal that it had replaced. It takes precedence after the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal and before the Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (1830).

Description The medal was struck in silver and is a disk, in diameter.

Obverse The obverse of the medal shows the effigy of the reigning monarch. Two versions of the medal each were produced during the reigns of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. All versions of the medal have the same ornamented scroll pattern suspender, attached to the bottom of a bar inscribed "REGULAR ARMY" and affixed to the medal with a single-toe claw and a horizontal pin through the upper edge of the medal.

Reverse The reverse of the medal remained unchanged through all versions of the obverse. It is smooth, with a raised rim, and bears the inscription "FOR LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT" in four lines. The reverse of the bar is smooth and undecorated on all versions.

Clasp The Clasp displays the image of the Army Crest. In undress uniform a silver rosette on the ribbon bar denotes the award of the clasp.

Ribbon The ribbon is identical to the one that was introduced for the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in June 1916. It is 32 millimetres wide and crimson or sometimes reddish violet, edged with 3 millimetres wide white bands.

Versions King George V The first version of the medal, depicted at the head of the article, has a raised rim and the obverse shows the crowned effigy of King George V, in Coronation robes and facing left. It is inscribed "GEORGIVS•V•D•G•BRITT•OMN•REX•ET•INDIÆ•IMP•" around the perimeter.The Military Archive - Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (Accessed 19 June 2015)Neate Medals - Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal Bar Regular Army, GVR Issue (Accessed 19 June 2015)

King George VI