Military Cross

For the Polish military award, see Order of the Military Cross and Military Cross (Poland).

Military Cross
Military Cross
TypeMilitary decoration
Awarded for... gallantry during active operations against the enemy.[1]
DescriptionObverse: Straight armed silver cross, Royal Cypher in centre
Reverse: plain
Presented byUnited Kingdom and Commonwealth
EligibilityBritish, (and formerly) Commonwealth and allied forces
Statusactive
Established28 December 1914
First awarded1 January 1915 to 98 officers and warrant officers.[2]
TotalIncluding further awards:[3]
George V: c. 43,500
George VI: over 11,500
Elizabeth II: c. 750
Charles III: 0
Total recipients52,000+[4]


Military Cross ribbon:
without bar, and with one and two bars
Order of Wear
Next (higher)Conspicuous Gallantry Cross[5]
Next (lower)Distinguished Flying Cross[5]
RelatedMilitary Medal

The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.

The MC is granted in recognition of "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land" to all members of the British Armed Forces of any rank.[6] In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, could be recommended posthumously.[7]

  1. ^ "Defence FactSheet: Military Honours and Awards". Archived from the original on 17 April 2010.
  2. ^ "No. 29024". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1914. pp. 7–9.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Abbott220 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Jenn Stowell (9 December 2020). "All The Gen On The Military Cross". Forces Network. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b "JSP 761 Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces" (PDF). p. 12A–1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  6. ^ "No. 56693". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 October 2002. p. 11146.
  7. ^ Abbott & Tamplin, British Gallantry Awards, 2nd ed.. p. xx.