Grades
By 1945, the following classes of the Military William Order were in existence.
- Knight 1st Class or Grand Cross – wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, plus the star on the left chest;
- Knight 2nd Class or Commander – wears the badge on a necklet, plus an identical breast cross on the left chest;
- Knight 3rd Class or Officer – wears the badge on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest;
- Knight 4th Class or Knight – wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.
The Grand Cross could also be awarded as an exceptional presentation to heads of state which had displayed feats of loyalty to The Netherlands during wartime. Only US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the British King George VI and Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands were conferred such an honour. In the 19th century, the Grand Cross was often conferred on foreign monarchs as a mere mark of respect.
The 4th Class could also be awarded as a unit presentation to military commands which had displayed feats of gallantry during wartime.
| Knight Grand Cross |
Knight Commander |
Knight Officer |
Knight 4th Class |
|---|---|---|---|
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Read more about this topic: Military William Order
Famous quotes containing the word grades:
“There are no grades of vanity, there are only grades of ability in concealing it.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“He suggested that there might be men of genius in the lowest grades of life, however permanently humble and illiterate, who take their own view always, or do not pretend to see at all; who are as bottomless even as Walden Pond was thought to be, though they may be dark and muddy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Kindliness seems to exist primarily as an animal instinct, so deeply rooted that mental degeneracy, which works from the top down, does not destroy it until the mind sinks to the lower grades of idiocy.”
—Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)