Gallantry Awards

The names featured here show all those who are remembered within the UK Police Roll of Honour that received State recognition by way of a Gallantry Award in relation to the incident where they lost their lives.

Current Gallantry Awards

George Cross 

The George Cross is the premier award given for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. This is awarded for acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger.

The George Cross is equal in stature in the UK honours system to the Victoria Cross, the highest military gallantry award. This has always been the case since the introduction of the award in 1940.

George Medal

The George Medal is awarded for conspicuous gallantry not in the presence of the enemy. A silver bar may be issued to George Medal holders who perform a further act of such bravery which would have merited award of a second George Medal.

King’s Gallantry Medal 

The King’s Gallantry Medal is awarded to civilians for acts of exemplary bravery at a level below that of the George Medal. The King’s Gallantry Medal is also awarded to military personnel for acts which military honours would not normally be granted such as acts of exemplary bravery not in the presence of the enemy.

*No current image of the KGM available, hence Queen’s Gallantry Medal pictured.

King’s Commendation for Bravery 

The King’s Commendation for Bravery is awarded for an act (or acts) of bravery not in the presence of the enemy. 

Royal Ulster Constabulary GC

In 1999, The Queen awarded the George Cross to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in recognition of the collective and sustained bravery of the Force, including the families of those serving. The only collective award prior was to the people of Malta for their efforts during the War and most recently to the National Health Service after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The following official George Cross citation was released by Buckingham Palace on 23 November 1999:

For the past 30 years, the Royal Ulster Constabulary has been the bulwark against, and the main target of, a sustained and brutal terrorism campaign. The Force has suffered heavily in protecting both sides of the community from danger – 302 officers have been killed in the line of duty and thousands more injured, many seriously. Many officers have been ostracised by their own community and others have been forced to leave their homes in the face of threats to them and their families. 

As Northern Ireland reaches a turning point in its political development this award is made to recognise the collective courage and dedication to duty of all of those who have served in the Royal Ulster Constabulary and who have accepted the danger and stress this has brought to them and to their families.

The George Cross was presented to Constable Paul Slaine by The Queen on 12th April 2000 at a ceremony in Hillsborough Castle, who accepted it on behalf of the RUC. Paul was a police officer confined to a wheelchair as a result of an IRA mortar bomb attack in 1992. Approximately 1,500 RUC officers and their families watched The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, honour the Force at the ceremony.