The
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ( )
was a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th
anniversary of the accession to the throne of
Queen Elizabeth II.
The medal
was physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save
for Canada
, where it
contained unique elements; as an internationally distributed award,
the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal holds a different place
in each country's order of precedence for honours.
History
Until
1977, the practice for coronation and jubilee medals was for
authorities in the United
Kingdom
to decide on a total number of medallions to be
produced and allocate how many were to be distributed to each of
the British Empire and Crown dependencies and possessions, and
later Commonwealth of
Nations countries. From that point, the award of the
medals was at the discretion of the local government authority.
Thus, for the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, which was
created by a
Royal Warrant from the
Queen, 30,000 were distributed in Britain, 1,507 in New Zealand,
6,870 in Australia, and 30,000 in Canada.
Design
The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal is in the form of a
diameter silver
disc with, on the
obverse, the words
ELIZABETH II DEI GRA. REGINA
FID. DEF. (
Latin
abbreviation for: Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, Queen,
Defender of the Faith) surrounding an
effigy
of Queen Elizabeth II, symbolizing her role as
fount of honour. On the reverse is a crown
atop a wreath that contains the words
THE 25th YEAR OF THE
REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II 6 FEBRUARY 1977 in six lines. The
Canadian version was identical, except that the medal was slightly
thicker, the crown on the Queen's effigy was more upright, and the
reverse bore a stylised maple leaf with
CANADA above and
the
Royal Cypher below. This medallion
is worn on the left chest, suspended from a bar on a wide white
ribbon with cardinal red bands along the edges, each 1mm wide, and
a 7mm wide garter blue stripe down the centre, bisected by another
1mm wide line of cardinal red; the colours carried on the tradition
for jubilee medals. No
medal bars were
available.
Eligibility and presentation
Canada
The medal was awarded to Canadians who had been deemed to have made
a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their
community or to Canada.
So that all regions of the country would be
recognised equally, the federal, provincial, and civic governments
all forwarded names to Rideau Hall
, as did private organizations in the fields of the
arts, sports, philanthropy, and charity. The full membership
of the
Order of Canada and
Order of Military Merit, as well as
all winners of
Canadian
Bravery Decorations received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver
Jubilee Medal automatically, while for members of the
Canadian Forces, merit with length of
service and prestige of current appointment was considered.
Precedence in each realm
Some orders of precedence are as follows:
See also
References
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