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Distinguished Service Order (DSO)

This Order was instituted on November 9th 1886 by Queen Victoria to reward individuals for meritorious or distinguished service in wartime. This is a military Order for officers only, and while normally given for services under fire or under conditions equivalent to service in actual combat with the enemy, between 1914 and 1916 it was awarded under circumstances which could not be regarded as under fire.

After January 1st 1917, commanders in the field were instructed to recommend this award only for those serving under fire. Many DSO’s were awarded to squadron commanders for a long period of leadership but in some cases it was awarded to junior officers for just one operation.
Prior to 1943, the Order could be awarded only to someone ‘Mentioned in Despatches’. The Order is generally given to officers in command, above the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and awards to ranks below this are usually for a high degree of gallantry just short of deserving the Victoria Cross. The Royal Warrant for this award was published in the London Gazette on November 9th 1886.

A bar is awarded for an act which would have merited the Order in the first place. The bar is plain gold with an Imperial Crown in the centre. The year of conferment is engraved on the reverse of the bar.

The medal is a gold coloured cross and on the obverse, within a wreath of laurel, enamelled green, is the Imperial Crown in gold on a red enamelled ground. On the reverse, within a wreath of laurel, enamelled green, is the Royal Cipher in gold on a red enamelled ground.
The red ribbon is 1.125 inches wide with narrow vertical blue edges.

A rosette is worn in undress uniform to signify the possession of a bar.The award is issued unnamed, but some recipients have privately had their names engraved on the back of the award or suspension bar.

Total issued unto 1983 : 1291, including 113 first bars and 18 second bars.

Grid List
NameDate of birthDate of deathAwards
D'Albiac, John Henry28-01-189420-08-1963more
D'Artois, Lionel Guy09-04-191715-03-1999more
d'Aulnis de Bourouill, baron, Pierre Louis26-12-191816-09-2012more
Dalton, Charles Osborne05-04-191021-02-1999
Dalton, Hume Elliot13-10-191500-01-1994
Dalton-Morgan, Thomas Frederick23-03-191718-09-2004
Dam, van, Leonard Charles August18-05-190012-12-1958
Daniel, Francis Edward Lloyd19-12-187404-03-1916
Darby, William Orlando "Bill"08-02-191130-04-1945more
Darley, Horace Stanley03-11-191300-00-1999
Darling, Warren William Gibson "Bill"  
Daughney, Ralph Herman20-11-190810-08-1944
Dauncey, Michael Donald Keen11-05-192023-08-2017
Davey, Arthur John 14-03-1945
Davidson, John 04-08-1943
Davie, John Chapman  
Davies, Edmund Frank (Trotsky)03-09-190000-00-1952
Davies, Henry Lowrie "Taffy"25-01-189806-07-1975more
Davis, Anthony Norman  
Davis, Peter Brian Newsom 19-09-1944
Davoud, Paul Yettvart25-11-191119-03-1987more
Davy, George Mark Oswald22-09-189816-06-1983more
Day, Harry Melville Arbuthnot03-08-189802-12-1977more
de Guingand, Francis Wilfred "Freddie"28-02-190029-06-1979more
de Leighton Brooke, Ronald  
De Wolf, Henry George "Harry"26-06-190318-12-2000more
De'Ath, Robert Dudley07-10-191801-02-1960
Deakin, Frederick William Dampier03-07-191322-01-2005
Deall, John Howard26-03-192020-05-1999
Dean, Donald Frederick Edgar Charles23-06-1917 more
Debefve, Emile Alons Marie  
Dec, Wladyslaw13-02-189821-11-1965more
Deere, Alan Christopher12-12-191721-09-1995more
Delforce, Cedric George  
Demozay, Jean-Francois "Morlaix"21-03-191519-12-1945more
Dempsey, Miles Christopher "Lucky"15-12-189605-06-1969more
Denis, Henri Jean Charles Eugène10-09-187719-01-1957more
Denison, Latimer Hugh27-12-192030-03-1945
Dennis, Meade Edward06-08-189331-01-1965
Denomy, Bernard Charles 00-00-1967
Déricourt, Henri Alfred Eugene "Gilbert"02-09-190920-11-1962
Derry, Samuel Ironmonger "Sam"10-04-191403-12-1996
Deshayes, Pierre24-12-191826-10-2011more
Dewar, John Scatliff10-08-190712-09-1940
Dewavrin, André "Colonel Passy"09-11-191122-12-1998more
Dewhurst, Ronald Hugh10-10-190529-01-1990more
Dewing, Richard Henry "Dick"15-01-189121-09-1981
Dextraze, Jacques Alfred15-08-191909-05-1993
Dick, Richard MacKenzie 14-03-1944
Dickson, Norman James  
Dickson, William Forster24-09-189812-09-1987more
Dill, John Greer25-12-188104-11-1944more
Dobie, David Theodore21-10-191212-12-1971
Doe, Robert Francis Thomas10-03-192021-02-2010more
Dolezal, Frantisek14-09-190904-10-1945more
Donald, Archibald Scott12-02-190700-00-1966
Donald, Haddon Vivian20-03-191723-04-2018more
Donaldson, Adrian  
Donaldson, Arthur Hay09-01-191505-10-1980more
Donaldson, Edward "Teddy" Mortlock12-02-191202-06-1992more
Donaldson, John William04-09-191009-06-1940
Donaldson, Oliver Russell  
Dorantt, Jan04-03-189931-08-1971more
Dougherty, Ivan Noel06-04-190704-03-1998
Doumenc, Joseph Édouard Aimé16-11-186021-07-1948more
Dove, Rodney George01-09-192130-10-2005
Dow, James Richard00-00-1919 
Dowbor, Romuald  
Drake, Billy20-12-191728-08-2011
Dredge, Alan Sydney04-02-191818-05-1945
Drew, Francis William Massy00-11-1881 more
Drewry, John Leslie03-07-1919 
Drijfhout van Hooff, Jacob Frans04-01-191208-09-1993more
Dring, Walter 13-01-1945
Drouot l'Hermine, Jean15-09-190723-05-1969more
Druce, Henry Carey "Docker"21-05-192104-01-2007
Drummond, Peter Roy Maxwell02-06-189427-03-1945more
Drury, Robert Esmond Hill16-09-191000-05-1988more
Duch, Boleslaw Bronislaw15-11-189609-10-1980more
Duigan, Brian Lawless15-11-191400-00-1972more
Duke, Neville Frederick11-01-192207-04-2007more
Duke-Woolley, Raymond Myles Beecham "The Dook"16-10-191610-10-1991more
Dulm, van, Johannes Frans24-10-190720-08-1991more
Duncan, Nigel William  
Duncan-Smith, Wilfrid George Gerald28-05-191401-12-1996
Dundas, Hugh Spencer Lisle "Cocky"22-07-192010-07-1995
Dunkelman, Benjamin "Ben"26-06-191311-06-1997
Dunnicliffe, Charles McKenzie  
Durnford, Roy Charles Henry  
Durnford-Slater, John Frederick00-00-190905-02-1972
Dutton, Roy Gilbert02-03-191714-09-1988
Dyer, Stewart Barton Bythesea 26-01-1917

Sources