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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
Mabry, George Lafayette, Jr.14-09-191713-07-1990more
Macdonald, Donald John25-07-188903-12-1951more
MacDonald, Duncan Stuart15-03-191229-02-1996
MacEwan, Malcolm "Technicolor"00-00-189400-08-1985more
Macfarlane, Nigel Graeme  
MacGillivray, Dougal16-04-1918 
MacInnes, Ian Dashwood 23-01-1944
MacIntosh, Charles Nicholson  
MacIver, Peter Graeme13-06-190516-10-1989
Mack, Philip John06-10-189229-04-1943more
Mackenzie, Charles Baillie  
MacKenzie, Donald Alexander09-07-191412-04-1945
Mackie, Evan Dall "Rosie"31-10-191728-04-1986
Mackie, Norman Alexander John22-12-192001-01-2003
MacLachlan, James Archibald Findlay01-04-191931-07-1943
MacLauchlan, Donald George  
Macmillan, Gordon Holmes Alexander "Babe"06-01-189721-01-1986more
MacNeece, William Foster21-08-188928-03-1978more
Macready, Gordon Nevil, 2nd Baronet05-04-189117-10-1956more
MacWilliam, Maurice Edgar MacGregor07-02-192030-12-1996
Maczek, Stanislaw Wladyslaw "Baca"31-03-189211-12-1994more
Maguire, Harold John12-04-191201-02-2001more
Mahaddie, Thomas Gilbert "Hamish"00-03-191116-01-1997more
Majewski, Tadeusz Adam Feliks26-08-189920-06-1969more
Malachi Hardiman, Edgar Henry  
Malan, Adolph Gysbert "Sailor" 17-09-1963more
Malley, James Young 'Zulu Jim'24-07-191805-06-2000more
Maloubier, Robert "Bob"02-02-192320-02-2015more
Malraux, André03-11-190123-11-1976more
Maltby, David John Hatfield10-05-192015-09-1943
Maltby, Paul Copeland05-08-189202-07-1971
Mann, Clarence Churchill06-09-190414-01-1989
Mansfeld, Miroslav Jan14-12-191222-10-1991
Mansfield, John Maurice22-12-189304-02-1949more
Manus, Maximo Guillermo "Max"09-12-191420-09-1996more
March-Phillipps, Gustavus Henry "Gus"00-00-190812-09-1942
Marchelidon, Jacques  
Maresch, Karol14-08-189817-01-1986
Marks, James Hardy00-00-191819-09-1942
Marrable, Arthur Trevor12-10-190922-02-1954
Marsh, John Anthony 14-11-1984more
Marsh, Thomas William 01-01-1955
Marshall-Cornwall, James Handyside27-05-188700-00-1985more
Martin, Frederick Lawrence  more
Martin, Harold Brownlow Morgan27-02-191803-11-1988more
Mason-MacFarlane, Frank Noel23-10-188912-08-1953more
Massu, Jacques05-05-190826-10-2002more
Matheson, Foster Martin  
Mathews, John Owen  
Mathieson, Robert "Roy" 21-10-1943
Matthewman, Charles Humphrey  more
Matthews, Albert Bruce12-08-190912-09-1991
Matthews, Francis Raymond Gage26-01-190326-05-1976
Maud, Colin Douglas "Mad Maud"21-01-190322-04-1980more
Maude, Frederick Stanley25-06-186400-11-1917more
Maund, Arthur Clinton00-00-189113-12-1942more
Maxwell, Hugh Lockhart  
Mayers, Howard Clive09-01-191020-07-1942more
Mayne, Robert Blair "Paddy"11-01-191514-12-1955more
McAuliffe, Anthony Clement02-07-189811-08-1975more
McCracken, Angus Murray00-00-189512-12-1943
McCreery, Richard Loudon "Dick"01-02-189818-10-1967more
McFarlane, Robert12-07-191419-05-2004more
McGrath, William 19-02-1942
McGregor, Alan James  
McGregor, Eric George23-01-1901 
McGregor, Hector Douglas15-02-191011-04-1973more
McGurran, Leonard Vincent00-00-191823-04-1999
McIntyre, Douglas William  
McKee, Andrew10-01-190208-12-1988more
McKellar, Archibald Ashmore10-04-191201-11-1940more
McLeod, Henry Wallace "Wally"17-12-191527-09-1944more
McNair, Robert Wendell "Buck"15-05-191915-01-1971
McNalty Cochran, Cyril  
McNaughton, Andrew George Latta25-02-188711-07-1966more
McTavish, Frank Alexander 28-07-1967
Meagher, Patrick Edward08-10-1910 
Mears, Gerald Grimwood00-00-189600-00-1979
Megill, William Jemmett "Bill"26-06-1907 
Mehre, Helge01-02-191117-09-1997more
Mendez, Louis Gonzaga, Jr.14-07-191519-09-2001more
Menzies, Stewart Graham30-01-189029-05-1968more
Menzies, Stuart Graham30-01-189029-05-1968more
Micklethwait, St. John Aldrich04-03-190131-07-1977
Miers, Anthony Cecil Capel11-11-190630-06-1985more
Miles, Reginald10-12-189220-10-1943
Milford, Edward James10-12-189410-06-1972
Millar, Andrew Patrick  
Miller, Charles Michael18-06-191900-04-1982
Mills-Roberts, Derek23-11-190801-10-1980
Mitchell, David Reynolds00-07-191130-04-1945
Moloney, Bernard00-00-190104-02-1941
Moncel, Robert William00-00-191710-12-2007
Montgomery, Bernard Law "Monty"17-11-188724-03-1976more
Montgomery, Hugh Ferguson06-05-188010-12-1920more
Moolenburgh, Cornelis26-06-190131-01-1997more
Moorcroft, Bernard26-04-1921 
Moore, Edward Duke00-00-187600-00-1952
Moore, Kenneth Owen "K.O."11-08-192217-01-2008
Morel, René06-12-190808-05-1974more
Morgan-Smith, John Bernard  
Morris, Basil Moorhouse19-12-188805-04-1975
Morris, Edward James16-04-191518-01-1999more
Morris, Owen Charles00-00-1905 
Morrison, Charles Esmond17-06-189301-05-1966more
Morshead, Leslie James18-09-189926-09-1959more
Morton, Ronald Edward Alfred  
Mougin, Louis (Général de division)10-11-187314-01-1955more
Mould, Blair Stirling19-09-189707-05-1961
Mount, Christopher John "Micky"14-12-191323-07-2002
Mountbatten, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas25-06-190027-08-1979more
Mowat, Noel Joseph18-09-191407-11-1946
Mrazek, Karel29-11-191005-12-1998more
Mucci, Henry A. "Hank"04-03-190920-04-1997more
Munro, John Leslie "Les"05-04-191904-08-2015more
Murray, Terence Desmond00-00-189117-07-1961
Myers, Edmund Charles Wolf "Eddie"12-10-190606-12-1997

Sources