Christopher McCreery - The Beginners Guide to Canadian Honours

The Beginners Guide to Canadian Honours

Christopher McCreery

Foreword by His Royal Highness
The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex

Copyright Christopher McCreery, 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

Editor: Michael Carroll

Design: Jennifer Scott

Printer: Marquis

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

McCreery, Christopher

The beginners guide to Canadian honours / Christopher McCreery.

ISBN 978-1-55002-748-8

1. Decorations of honour--Canada. 2. Awards--Canada. I. Title.

CR6257.M324 2008 929.8171 C2008-900699-2

1 2 3 4 5 12 11 10 09 08

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program and The Association for the Export of Canadian Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishers Tax Credit program, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

J. Kirk Howard, President

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To my little brother, Jonathan

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
Sovereign of the Order of Canada, Sovereign of the Order of Military Merit
Sovereign of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, KG, KCVO, SOM.

Almost every country in the world has an honours system. Although Canada is a relatively young country, we are fortunate to have one of the most complete honours systems in the world. Countries from Australia to Fiji have looked to Canada as a leader in this field. However, little has been written about our national honours system, how it operates, and who it recognizes.

I hope this book will be an easy read for people who wish to learn about the basics of the honours system and how it operates in Canada. It has been designed to meet the needs of people who know little or nothing about honours orders, decorations, and medals. In , a wearing guide is also included.

Those wishing to gain a more detailed knowledge of Canadas various orders, decorations, and medals should consult my previous books, The Canadian Honours System or The Order of Canada: Its Origins, History and Development.

This book examines honours that are presented by the governor general on behalf of the Queen, meaning official awards from the government of Canada. Other unofficial awards presented by schools, societies, and associations are not examined here.

At the back of this book you will find a glossary containing some of the less-common words used in the text.

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michalle Jean, CC, CMM, COM, CD, the governor general of Canada, wears the insignia of Prior of the Order of St. John.

Royal Arms of Canada

Almost every country in the world has a means to recognize people who have done something outstanding to help others. The way a country says thank you is usually through an order, decoration, or medal what are known as honours. The monarch or leader of a country awards honours to those who have made significant contributions to helping others. Honours are also given to people who have acted bravely trying to save someone caught in a house fire, for instance.

The ancient idea of honour is that people are truthful and loyal to their sovereign and are willing to defend the land in which they live. This is much like the idea of honour made famous through stories about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Today honour still means to be truthful and loyal, but it also represents making a contribution to ones community or to people all over the world. For those serving in the Canadian Forces the idea of honour still includes a willingness to defend Canada. For this type of honour there are special awards such as the Victoria Cross, the Star of Military Valour, and the Order of Military Merit.

For civilians there are honours such as the Order of Canada and Meritorious Service Decorations. Citizens who make important contributions to their communities or to Canada as a whole can receive honours.

The three main types of honours are orders, decorations, and medals:

Orders: These recognize outstanding achievement and exceptional service over a long period (in some cases a lifetime). The main orders in the Canadian honours system have different levels to recognize various types of service. People are appointed to be members of an order but are not awarded an order.

Decorations: These recognize a specific act of bravery or meritorious service. There are three types of decorations:

Military Valour: Awarded for an act of courage in combat.

Bravery: Awarded for acts such as lifesaving.

Meritorious Service Decorations: Awarded for a specific act of meritorious service, not necessarily over a long period.

Medals: These are the awards most often associated with honours. There are three types of medals:

Campaign Service Medals: These are awarded for service in a particular military mission or operation and are the medals we usually see veterans wearing on Remembrance Day.