During the horrors of the Crimean War, the Government came under pressure from the House of Commons and the Press to recognise the individual acts of gallantry being performed by the soldiers of the British Army.
While the Order of the Bath had been used to recognise acts of gallantry by officers of field rank or above, no official awards for gallantry existed until the introduction of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) in 1854.
The DCM was then awarded to the other ranks in the Army for acts of gallantry. In 1855, the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was introduced as the Naval equivalent to the DCM, to be awarded to the other ranks in the Royal Navy.
Despite the introduction of these two new awards for individual acts of gallantry, there was still no award that could be bestowed upon junior officers. With the continuation of the war in the Crimea came the realisation that a further, highly prestigious gallantry award for both officers and other ranks in both services was required.
In 1856 the Victoria Cross (VC) was instituted for this purpose and it remains the premier award for gallantry for the UK Armed Forces.
Since the Crimean War, further awards to recognise gallantry have been introduced, including awards for civilians, and for officers and airmen in the newly-formed Royal Air Force. The awards fall into two categories: those issued for acts of gallantry on operations in presence of the enemy and those issued for gallantry at all other times.
A significant review of gallantry awards was undertaken by the Government in 1993, which resulted in an end to the two-tier system whereby one type of medal would be issued to officers and a different type to the other ranks.
For example, the DCM, awarded since the Crimea to the other ranks of the Army, and the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) awarded to officers, both ceased to be awarded on the creation of the new Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) which may be awarded to all ranks.
Recipients of these level 1 to level 3 awards may use the appropriate abbreviation (as shown in brackets in the table below) as a post-nominal.
Hierarchy of gallantry, leadership and bravery awards for active operations (in presence of the enemy):
| Level 1 |
Victoria Cross (VC) |
| Level 2 |
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
(for command and leadership) |
Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC)
(for gallantry) |
| Level 3 |
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
(at sea) |
Military Cross (MC)
(on land) |
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
(in the air) |
| Level 4 |
Mention in Despatches
(for bravery, no post-nominal) |
Hierarchy of gallantry and bravery awards for non-active operations (not in presence of the enemy):
| Level 1 |
George Cross (GC) |
| Level 2 |
George Medal (GM) |
| Level 3 |
Queen's Gallantry Medal (QGM) |
Air Force Cross (AFC) |
| Level 4 |
Queen's Commendation for Bravery |
Queen's Commendation for Bravery in the Air |
| (both for bravery, no post-nominal) |