Medals
The Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth of Nations and British Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. Instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria in a Royal Warrant published in the London Gazette on 9 November, the first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886. It is typically awarded to officers ranked Major (or its equivalent) or higher, but the honour has sometimes been awarded to especially valorous junior officers. 8,981 DSOs were awarded during the First World War, each award being announced in the London Gazette. Recipients of the order are officially known as Companions of the Distinguished Service Order. They are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "DSO". One or more gold medal bars ornamented by the Crown may be issued to DSO holders performing further acts of such leadership which would have merited award of the DSO. The bars are worn as clasps on the medal ribbon of the original award. The following members of 624 Squadron received the Distinguished Service Order:-
Wing Commander C.S.G. Stanbury
French Croix De Guerre
The Croix de Guerre (English translation: Cross of War) is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts. The Croix de guerre was also commonly bestowed on foreign military forces allied to France. The Croix de guerre may either be awarded as an individual or unit award to those soldiers who distinguish themselves by acts of heroism involving combat with the enemy. The medal is awarded to those who have been "mentioned in despatches", meaning a heroic deed or deeds were performed meriting a citation from an individual's headquarters unit. The unit award of the Croix de guerre with palm was issued to military units whose men performed heroic deeds in combat and were subsequently recognized by headquarters. The Croix can be awarded to military units, as a manifestation of a collective Mention in Despatches. It is then displayed on the unit's flag. A unit, usually a regiment or a battalion, is always mentioned at the army level. The Croix is then a Croix de guerre with palm. Other communities, such as cities or companies can be also awarded the Croix. When a unit is mentioned twice, it is awarded the fourragère of the Croix de guerre. This fourragère is worn by all men in the unit, but it can be worn on a personal basis: those permanently assigned to a unit, at the time of the mentions, were entitled to wear the fourragère for the remainder of service in the military. Temporary personnel, or those who had joined a unit after the actions which had been mentioned, were authorized to wear the award while a member of the unit but would surrender the decoration upon transfer. This temporary wearing of the fourragère only applied to the French version of the Croix de guerre. The following members of 624 Squadron received The French Croix de Guerre:-
Flight Sergeant Colin Atkins , Squadron Leader John Austin , Flying Officer John Carroll , Flying Officer Lawrence Copp , Warrant Officer Edwin Denness , Squadron Leader Walter Fairey , Flight Sergeant John Hill , Flight Lieutenant Hynd , Flying Officer Robert Lippincott , Flight Lieutenant J. G. Mills , Sergeant Colin Ogilvie , Warrant Officer James Paulden , Warrant Officer George Regan , Pilot Officer Victor Scott , Wing Commander C.S.G. Stanbury , Warrant Officer Robert Sterling
Dutch Flying Cross
The Dutch Flying Cross (or Airman's Cross) is an important military decoration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Created in 1941, the cross is awarded to Dutch military personnel, who displayed initiative, courage and perseverance against the enemy or during hostile actions. The cross is also awarded to allied pilots, whose actions or performances in the air were of high importance for the Netherlands. Up until 2007 a total of 735 Dutch Flying Crosses were awarded, most recently to a F-16 pilot, Air Force Major M. Duivesteijn, who because of "exceptional courage and perseverance" during a flight above former Yugoslavia within the framework of NATO Operation Allied Force in 1999. The following members of 624 Squadron received the Dutch Flying Cross:-
Squadron Leader John Austin , Flight Lieutenant Alfred Ruttledge
Distinguished Flying Medal
The Distinguished Flying Medal was (until 1993) a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force (United Kingdom) and the other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy". The medal was established on 3 June 1918. It was the other ranks' equivalent to the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was awarded to commissioned officers and Warrant Officers (although WOs could also be awarded the DFM), although it ranked below the DFC in order of precedence, between the Military Medal and the Air Force Medal. Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "DFM". In 1993 the DFM was discontinued, and since then the Distinguished Flying Cross has been awarded to personnel of all ranks. During World War 2, 6,637 DFMs were awarded, with 60 first award bars. Some 165 were awarded to aircrew from other non- Commonwealth countries. The following members of 624 Squadron received the Distinguished Flying Medal:- Flight Lieutenant Cyril Boothby , Flight Sergeant Brian Dixon , Warrant Officer George Dockendorff , Flying Officer H. R. Figg , Sergeant Joseph Gundry , Flight Sergeant Peter James , Flight Sergeant Alfred C. Hills
Distinguished Flying Cross
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy". The award was established on 3 June 1918, shortly after the formation of the RAF. It was originally awarded to air force commissioned officers and to warrant officers. During World War II it was awarded to Royal Artillery officers from the British Army serving on attachment to the RAF as pilots-cum-artillery directors. Since the Second World War, the award has been open to army and naval aviation officers, and since 1993 to other ranks; the Distinguished Flying Medal, awarded to other ranks, has been discontinued. Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "DFC". A bar is added to the ribbon for holders of the DFC who received a second award. During the Second World War, 20,354 DFCs were awarded, the most of any award, with approximately 1,550 first bars and 45 second bars. Honorary awards were made on 964 occasions to aircrew from other non-commonwealth countries. In 2008, Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman became the first woman to receive the DFC. United States Marine Corps Captain Brian Jordan, a UH-1Y Venom helicopter pilot, received the Distinguished Flying Cross on 12 February 2014 at the British Embassy in Washington, for actions while deployed in Afghanistan in 2012. He is the second American to be awarded the DFC since WWII. The following members of 624 Squadron received the Distinguished Flying Cross:-
Squadron Leader John Austin , Flight Lieutenant Cyril Boothby , Pilot Officer Maurice Crequer , Squadron Leader Walter Fairey , Flight Lieutenant Jonathan Field , Flying Officer H. R. Figg , Wing Commander C.S.G. Stanbury , Flight Sergeant Albert John Hanmore , Flight Lieutenant Colin Hynd , Squadron Leader Alan Mawer , Flight Lieutenant J. G. Mills , Warrant Officer James Paulden , Warrant Officer George Regan , Flight Lieutenant Alfred Ruttledge , Warrant Officer Robert Sterling , Pilot Officer John Leslie Povey
The War Medal 1939 - 1945
The War Medal . All members of 624 Squadron were awarded this medal. The War Medal 1939–1945 was a British decoration awarded to all full time service personnel of the Armed Forces wherever their service during the war was rendered. Operational and non-operational service counted provided personnel had completed 28 days service between 3rd September 1939 and the 2nd September 1945. In the Merchant Navy there was the requirement that 28 days should be served at sea. Personnel who were eligible for a campaign star yet who had their service cut short by death, wounds or capture by the enemy, still qualified for this medal. Eligible personnel who had been mentioned in dispatches during the War were entitled to wear a bronze oak leaf emblem on the ribbon. The UK War Medals were made from cupro-nickel, whilst the Canadian War Medal are made from silver. Those War Medals issued to British personnel were not officially named. However, those issued to Australian and South African personnel were officially named. It is sometimes described as the "Victory Medal" for World War 2, although that is not its correct name.
The 1939-1945 Star
All members of 624 Squadron who died or were injured while on active service were awarded the star medal. The 1939–45 Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in the Second World War. The medal was awarded for operational service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. Eligibility was dependant on; Months service in an area of (overseas) operational army command. Naval personnel qualified if they completed six months service, and at least one voyage was made through an operational area. Royal Observer Corps personnel for service of 1,080 days. There were a number of "Qualifying Special Areas" where operational service for "one day or part thereof" qualified for the special award of the 1939–45 Star. These were actions for which a more specific campaign medal was not issued. Examples are: France or Belgium: 10 May to 19 June 1940, St.Nazaire 22-28 March 1942, Dieppe: 19 August 1942, Iraq: 10 April to 25 May 1941 and Burma (Enemy Invasion): 22 February 1942 to 15 May 1942. The star was immediately awarded if the service period was terminated by death, disability or wounding. The award of a gallantry medal or a Mention in Despatches also led to an immediate award.
Legion Of Honour
The Legion of Honour (full name: National Order of the Legion of Honour; French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte and retained by all the divergent governments and regimes later holding power in France, up to the present. The order's motto is Honneur et Patrie ("Honour and Fatherland"), and its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on the left bank of the Seine in Paris. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand officier (Grand Officer), and Grand-croix (Grand Cross).
In 2016 after a long campaign spearheaded by Ron McKeon, the following members of 624 squadron were appointed to the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre national de la Legion d'honneur:-
Jack White, David P Lambert, Derek Wood, Frank Turner, Jack Healey, Joseph Wilson, Ronald Milton, Victor Scott, Stanley Maurice David, Arthur John Toft, Walter Hughes,
