Queen Elisabeth Medal | |
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![]() Queen Elisabeth Medal (obverse) ![]() Ribbon bar | |
Type | Wartime humanitarian award |
Awarded for | Humanitarian and medical care to Belgian victims of the First World War |
Presented by | ![]() |
Eligibility | Belgian citizens and foreign nationals |
Status | No longer awarded |
Established | 15 September 1915 |
![]() Reverse of the medal |
The Queen Elisabeth Medal (Dutch: Koningin Elisabeth Medaille, French: Médaille de la reine Élisabeth) was a Belgian decoration created by royal decree in October 1916[1] to recognise exceptional services to Belgium in the relief of the suffering of its citizens during the First World War. Its statute was ratified on 14 May 1919.[2] It was awarded to people, both Belgians and foreign nationals, who, like Queen Elisabeth herself, had worked and cared for the suffering victims of war for a year or more prior to 10 September 1919. Although not limited to medical care of the sick and wounded, recipients who earned the medal by working in hospitals received a variant with a red enamelled cross within the suspension wreath. A great many Belgian and foreign doctors and nurses received the medal.