Navy lists > Quarterly > 1918 > January

2390
GEORGE R.I.
THE ALBERT MEDAL.
THE ALBERT MEDAL.
Oeobge the Fifth, by the Grace of God. of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and
of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King,
Defender of the Faith. Emperor of India, to all to
whom these Prasents shall come, Greeting !
Whebeas Her late Majesty Queen Victoria, being
desirous of distinguishing by some mark of Her
Koyal Favour the many heroic acts performed by
Mariners and others who endanger their own lives
in saving or endeavouring to save the lives of others
from shipwrecks and other perils of the sea;
and the many heroic acts performed on land by
those who endanger their own lives in saving or
endeavouring to save the lives of others from
accidents in mines, on railways and at fires, or other
peril within Her Dominions, other than perils of the
sea, did, by Warrants under the Royal Sign Manual
bearing date respectively the 7th March, lf66, the
12th April, 1867, and the 30th April, 1877, for Herself,
Her Heirs and Successors institute and create as a
mark of Royal Approbation of such heroic acts, new
Decorations styled respectively " The Albert Medal
of the Hirst Class " and "The Albert M-dal nf the
Second Class." which Decorations Her Majesty was
desirous should be higlily prized ad eagerly sought
after :
And whereas the said Warrants were subsequently
amended nnd all i.he Warrants relating to these
Decorations were consolidated by a Warrant imder
the Sign Manual bearing date the 6th June, 1905:
And whereas it is Our Pleasure to amend the ctyle
of the said Decorations:
We are graciously pleased to make, ordain and
establish the following Rules and Ordinances for the
government of the Decorations : -
I. It is ordained that the Decoration in each case
shall be styled ■' The Albert Medal " ; but when it is
awarded for acts of such extreme and heroic daring
as to merit aspecial degree of recognition, it shall
be styled " The Aloert Medal in Gold."
II. It is ordained that The Albert Medal shall
consist of a bronze oval shaped Badge or Decoration,
having in the centre a Monogram comoosed of the
letters V. and A. erect upon an enamelled back-
ground, surrounded by a Garter inscribed in raised
letters " For Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea," or
" For Gallantry in Saving Life on Land,'' as the case
may be, and surmounteo by a representation of the
Crown of His Royal Highness the lamented Prince
Consort.; but when the Medal conferred is "The
Albert Medal In Gold," it shall consist of agold oval-
shaped Badge or Decoration having in the centre a
Monogram composed of the letters V. and A. erect
in gold upon an enamelled background, surrounded
by a Garter in bronze, inscribed in raised letters of
gold, "For Gallantry in Saving Life at Sna," or
'• For Gallantry in Saving Life on LaLd,"as the case
may be, and surmounted by a representation in gold
ot the Crown of His Royal Highness the lamented
Prince Consort. When the Medal is given for
gallantry in saving life at sea, the letters V. and A.
shall be interlaced with an anchor erect in bronze or
g lid, as the case may be.
The Medal -shall be suspended from a riband of an
inch and three-eighths in width, having two white
longitudinal stripes; in the case of the "Albert
Medal in Gold " the riband shall have four white
longitudinal stripes.
The eoloor of the enamel and riband shall be dark
blue when the Medal is conferred tor gallantry In
saving lite at pea, and crimson when it is conferred
for gallantry in saving life on land.
III. It is ordained that the Medal shall only be
awarded to those of Our faithful subjects who. In
saving or endeavouring to save the lives of others
from perils of the sea, or from perils on land- have
endangered their own lives, and that such award shall I
be made only on a recommendation to Us by Our
Principal Secretary of State for the Home Depart-
ment.
Provided always that where the Medal is con-
ferred tor gallantry in saving lite at sea, the pre-
limiuarv steps and Inquiry shiU, if tlie award be to
anyone belonging to the Royal Navy or th« Royal
Marines, be with the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty, and in other cases with the President of
the Board of Trade.
IV. It is ordained that the names of those persons
upon wh'im We may be pleased to confer the Medal
i-hall be published in the "London Gazette." Where
tne Medal is conferred for gallantry in saving life on
land a Register of such names shall be kept in the
Office ot Our Principal Secretary of State for the
Home Department. Where the Medal is conferred
for gallantry in saving life at sea a Register of the
names f>f such of these rersons as belong to the
Royal Navy or the Royal Marines shall be kept in
the Othoe of the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty, and a Register of the names of such of
these persons as do not belong to the Royal Navy or
the Royal Marines shall be kept In the Office of the
Board of Trade
V. It is ordained that the Medal shall be worn
suspended from the left breast.
VI. It is ordained that any act of gallantry which
is worthy of recognition by the award of the Albert
Medal, but is performed by one upon whom the
Decoration has already been conferred, may, on a
recommendation to Us by Our Principal Secretary of
State lor the Home Department, be recorded by a
bar attached to the riband by which the Medal is sus-
pended ; and for every such additional act an
additional bar may be added.
VII. In order to make such additional provision
as shall effectually preserve pure these most honour-
able Decorations, it is ordained that if any person on
whom any of such Decorations is conferred be
guilty of any crime or disgraceful conduct which in
Our judgment disqualifies him for the same, his name
shall, by an especial Warrant under Our Royal Sign
Manual, be forthwith erased from the register of
those upon whom the said Decoration shall have been
conferred, and his Medal shall be forfeited. And
every person to whom the said Medal is given shall,
before receiving the same, enter into an engagement
to return the same if his name shall be so erased as
aforesaid under this regulation. It is hereby further
declared, that We, Our Heirs and Successors, shall
be the sole judges of the circumstances demanding
such expulsion. Moreover, We shall at all times have
Eower to order that any person who may at an.v time
ave been expelled shall be restored to the enjoyment
of the Decoration.
VIII. The warrant of the 5th June, 1905, is hereby
revoked.
Given at Our Court at Saint James's, this
Twenty-eighth day of August, One thousand
nine hundred and ^seventeen, in the Eighth
year of Our Eeign.
By His Majesty's Command,
Geo. Cave.