The
British Empire Medal (
BEM), officially the
Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
medalA Medal is usually a coin-like sculpted object of metal or other material that has been die-struck with an insignia, portrait or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific, academic or some other kind of...
awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the
crownThe Monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
. While recipients are not technically members of the
Order of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
this honour is nevertheless affiliated with it. It is no longer awarded in the UK but some Commonwealth realms such as
the BahamasThe Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 rocks. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, Hispaniola and the Caribbean Sea, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United...
and
Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres , but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone covers 1.8 million square kilometres...
still confer it as of 2008.
Recipients are entitled to put the letters "BEM" after their name.
The BEM was awarded in similar circumstances to the Order of the British Empire, but usually to people below management or professional level.
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The
British Empire Medal (
BEM), officially the
Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
medalA Medal is usually a coin-like sculpted object of metal or other material that has been die-struck with an insignia, portrait or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific, academic or some other kind of...
awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the
crownThe Monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
. While recipients are not technically members of the
Order of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
this honour is nevertheless affiliated with it. It is no longer awarded in the UK but some Commonwealth realms such as
the BahamasThe Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 rocks. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, Hispaniola and the Caribbean Sea, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United...
and
Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres , but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone covers 1.8 million square kilometres...
still confer it as of 2008.
Recipients are entitled to put the letters "BEM" after their name.
The BEM was awarded in similar circumstances to the Order of the British Empire, but usually to people below management or professional level. In the uniformed services, it was awarded to
non-commissioned officerNon-commissioned officer , abbreviated to NCO or Non-com , is a term in many armed forces indicating leadership ranks less senior than commissioned officers...
s of the armed forces, officers below
superintendentSuperintendent , often shortened to "Super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is Superintendent of Police...
rank in the police, and personnel below divisional officer level in the fire services.
A
British Empire Medal for Gallantry was also awarded from 14 January 1958 until its replacement with the
Queen's Gallantry MedalThe Queen's Gallantry Medal is the third level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.It was instituted on 20 June 1974 to replace the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, the British Empire Medal for Gallantry, and the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry...
in 1974. This was awarded to similar classes of people to those who were awarded the BEM for Meritorious Service and was for acts of gallantry (not in the face of the enemy) below the level required for the
George MedalThe George Medal is the second level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.The GM was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, during the height of The Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage...
. It could not be awarded posthumously.
See also
Recipients of the British Empire Medal
External links