Medal, Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

The Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry, established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. It comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. King George V founded the order to fill gaps in the British honors system.

Members of the military division were given a rose pink ribbon as a replacement for purple, with a scarlet stripe down the center. An OBE is the second highest honor in the British Empire.

Medal, Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)   - image1Description: The silver-gilt (silver covering on the medal) badge is 2 inches wide, is gold in appearance with no enamels and is worn on the left breast. For mounting, a ring is attached to the top of the crown through which a larger ring passes.

Obverse Original Badge: A cross patonce (four arms with three points on each arm) of silver-gilt with the arms enameled pearl-grey, surmounted by an Imperial Crown. The circular centre, in gold, shows the figure of Britannia, holding a trident and seated beside a shield bearing the national flag. The centre is surrounded by a circular band, enameled crimson and bearing the motto FOR GOD AND THE EMPIRE in gold.

Medal, Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)   - image2On the reverse, there is a rope circle with the current Royal Cypher, surmounted by an Imperial Crown and with a hallmark on the lower limb.

Historical notes: The last Canadian recommendation for the Order of the British Empire was an (OBE) for gallantry published in 1966.

There have been a total of 1,671 OBEs issued to Canadians; 599 civil and 1,072 military.

Information on the (OBE) obtained from Veterans Affairs Canada. 

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