List Of Australian George Cross Recipients
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration for heroism in the United Kingdom, a status it also holds, or has held, in several countries comprising the Commonwealth of Nations. The George Cross (Post-nominal letters "GC") is the civilian counterpart of the Victoria Cross, and is awarded to civilians for "acts of the greatest heroism" or to military personnel for actions that are not "in the face of the enemy" or for which purely military honours would not normally be granted. In an official radio broadcast on 23 September 1940, King George VI announced his decision to establish the awards of the George Cross and George Medal to recognise individual acts of bravery by the civilian population. The Royal Warrant that established the awards was published in the London Gazette on 31 January 1941. Australians received the George Cross under the Imperial Honours System until the establishment of the Australian Honours System in 1975, although Australians continued to receive Imperial awards until the late 1980s. The George Cross was replaced by the new award, the Cross of Valour, which was created by letters patent within the Commonwealth of Australia and its Territories on 14 February 1975. One further award of the George Cross, however, was granted after this date to Constable Michael Kenneth Pratt in 1978.
Between the first award of the George Cross to an Australian in 1942 and the final bestowal in 1978, 14 Australians were decorated with the medal. Of these, 9 were awarded to military personnel and 5 to civilians; 8 of the medals were awarded posthumously. At the time of the institution of the George Cross, living recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal automatically became recipients of the new award, and were required to return their previous medal; 2 Australians became holders through this method. In 1971, the British Government announced that living recipients of the Albert Medal and Edward Medal were invited to exchange their medals in substitution for the George Cross, and would henceforth formally become recipients of the latter award. The decision for such an action was the result of the decline in the status and significance of the two awards, leading recipients to feel they were not receiving the recognition they were due. Of the 27 Australian holders of the Albert Medal, 6 were living at the time; all 6 became awardees of the George Cross. None of the 8 Australians awarded the Edward Medal were alive in 1971, and thus no Australian became a recipient of the George Cross through this variant of exchange. Including exchange awards, a total of 22 Australians have been decorated with the George Cross.
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