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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
Cabanier, Georges21-11-190626-10-1976more
Cabeldu, Frederick Norman00-00-190512-06-1976
Caldwell, Clive Robertson "Killer"28-07-191105-08-1994more
Callaway, Arthur Henry00-00-190611-12-1941
Callinan, Bernard James02-02-191320-07-1995
Cambridge, Alexander, 1st Earl of Athlone14-04-187416-01-1957more
Cameron, Allan Gordon16-05-190908-06-1960
Cammaerts, Francis Charles Albert16-06-191603-07-2006
Campbell, Alister Henry 29-08-1945
Campbell, John Charles "Jock"10-01-189426-02-1942more
Campbell, Lorne MacLaine22-07-190225-05-1991more
Campling, Eric Frank Knowles01-08-192008-04-1944more
Campling, Richard David 15-02-1944
Canham, Charles Draper William26-01-190121-08-1963
Carew, Thomas Arthur25-11-191916-02-2009
Carlisle, John Charles Denton00-00-1889 more
Carr, William Greenwood10-01-190127-01-1982
Carter, Albert Desbrisay "Nick"02-06-189222-05-1919
Carter, Guy LLoyd00-00-190018-07-1944more
Carter, Robert Alfred Copsey15-09-191010-11-2012
Cartleton, Frederick Montgomerie21-07-186715-05-1922more
Cartwright, Philip Alexis12-08-190427-04-1941
Cary, Robert Webster18-08-189015-07-1967more
Casement, Peter Reginald22-05-192112-12-2016more
Cass, Edward Earnshaw Eden "Copper"03-03-189831-08-1968
Cassels, Archibald James Halkett28-02-190713-12-1996more
Castagnola, James "Cass"  
Cazenove, Arnold de Lecisson18-09-189802-04-1969more
Chadburn, Lloyd Vernon "Chad"21-08-191913-06-1944
Chambers, Alan  
Chandler, Richard  
Chaplin, John Hugh18-06-191116-07-2002
Charles, Edward Francis John "Jack"06-02-191905-11-1986
Charrington, Harold Vincent Spencer00-00-188600-00-1965more
Chateau-Jobert, Pierre, Yvon, Alexandre, Jean03-02-191229-12-2005more
Chatterton, George James Stewart00-00-191200-11-1987
Chatwin, Cecil Athos Newcome10-03-189811-05-1974
Chaumet, Guy12-01-191319-04-1980more
Chavasse, Kendal George Fleming28-09-190431-03-2001
Checketts, John Milne "Johny"20-02-191221-04-2006more
Cheshire, Geoffrey Leonard07-09-191731-07-1992more
Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode, Philip Walhouse21-09-186906-07-1950more
Chidson, Montagu Reaney00-00-189300-00-1957
Chisholm, Roderick Aeneas23-11-191107-12-1994
Churcher, John Bryan09-09-190502-08-1997
Churchill, Jack  
Churchill, John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming "Jack"16-09-190608-03-1996
Churchill, Peter Morland14-01-190901-05-1972
Churchill, Walter Myers24-11-190728-08-1942
Chute, Rowland Fitzmaurice Eidingtoun02-10-1899 more
Clark, Herbert Ashton00-00-1911 
Clark, Percy William19-11-188815-02-1943
Clark, Reginald Percival "Slug"  
Clarke, Andrew Board Stephenson 23-07-1943
Clayton, Bernard William "Bunny" 00-00-1951
Clayton, Patrick Andrew16-04-189617-03-1962
Cleaver, Richard Frank Wharton09-04-192001-10-1953
Clostermann, Pierre28-02-192122-03-2006more
Clouët des Pesruches, Jean-François31-03-191811-12-1957more
Clouston, Arthur Edmund07-04-190801-01-1984more
Coad, Basil Aubrey  
Coates, John Gordon00-00-1918 
Cochrane, Alfred William Gordon10-10-191629-10-1994more
Cochrane, James Aikman "Peter"12-05-191905-12-2015
Coldwell-Horsfall, John Henry21-02-191518-12-2006
Coleman, Cyril Frederick Charles16-04-190317-06-1974
Coleman, Rowan Corry22-06-191521-09-1996
Coleman, Sir, Cyril Frederick Charles16-04-190317-06-1974
Coles, William Edward26-07-191307-06-1979
Collier, John David Drought10-11-191600-11-2000
Collins, Francis Timothy  
Colonna d'Istria, Paulin27-07-190504-06-1982more
Colville, Edward Charles01-09-190510-01-1982
Combe, John Frederick Boyce01-08-189512-07-1967more
Common, Lawrence Andrew31-03-188906-04-1953
Complak, Karol Józef  more
Coningham, Arthur "Mary"19-01-189529-01-1948more
Constable-Maxwell, Michael Hugh03-06-191700-08-2000
Conus, Adrien06-01-190101-09-1947more
Cooper, Alfred Duff, 1st Viscount Norwich22-02-189001-06-1954
Copland, William Cranmore  
Cork, Richard John04-04-191714-04-1944
Corniglion-Molinier, Edouard23-01-189809-05-1963more
Cory, George Norton26-12-187417-11-1968more
Cota, Norman Daniel "Dutch"30-05-189304-10-1971more
Cottrell-Hill, Roger Charles00-00-190300-00-1965more
Coulson, Stafford Pulleine06-07-191629-04-2007
Counsell, Jim Ronald O'Dell  
Courage, Rafe Edward22-06-1902 more
Cox, Arthur  
Cox, Edward Henry00-05-1863 
Cox, Graham James00-00-1919 
Cox, William Reginald13-06-190512-06-1988
Cracknell, Douglas Aubrey09-12-190900-00-1979more
Cranswick, Alec Panton07-09-191905-07-1944
Crawford-Compton, William Vernon02-03-191502-01-1988more
Creasy, George Elvey13-10-189531-10-1972more
Crépin, Jean01-09-190804-05-1996more
Crerar, Henry Duncan Graham "Harry"28-04-188801-04-1965more
Crew, Edward Dixon24-12-191718-08-2002more
Crocker, John Tredinnick04-01-189609-03-1963more
Crombie, John Harvey Forbes16-02-190031-08-1972
Crooks, Leslie 18-08-1943
Cross, Kenneth Brian Boyd "Bing"04-10-191118-06-2003more
Cross, Philip Louis Ulrich01-05-191704-10-2013
Crossley, Michael Nicholson "Red Knight"29-05-191200-09-1987
Crouch, Cecil Bernard26-11-190914-03-1943
Crouch, Ronald Lionel14-07-191626-06-1945
Cruddas, Ralph Cyril00-00-190000-00-1979
Culliford, Stanley George18-03-192018-03-2020
Cumberlege, Claude Michael Bullstrode "Mike" 10-04-1945
Cunliffe-Lister, Hon. Philip Ingram00-00-191800-00-1956
Cunningham, Andrew Browne, 1st Viscount Cunningh07-01-188312-06-1963more
Cunningham, Douglas Gordon "Ben"00-00-190818-07-1992
Cunningham, John "Cat's Eyes"27-07-191721-07-2002more
Currant, Christopher Frederick "Bunny"14-12-191112-03-2006more
Currey, Edmund Neville Vincent01-10-190602-05-1998
Currie, Ryves Alexander Mark18-06-187530-03-1920more
Curry, George William  
Curtis, Berwick09-10-187609-05-1965more
Curtis, Henry Osborne "Squeak"18-11-188828-01-1964more
Czernin, Manfred Maria Edmund Ralph Beckett18-01-191809-10-1962more

Sources