The Imperial Service Medal
What is the Imperial Service Medal and when was it instituted? We look at the Imperial Service Medal’s origins and its latest recipients.
What is the Imperial Service Medal?
The Imperial Service Medal was instituted under the statutes of the Imperial Service Order on 8 August 1902 (Gazette issue 27463) by King Edward VII to reward civil servants (on retirement) after at least 25 years of meritorious service in the United Kingdom, or not less than 16 years in what was then the British colonies and protectorates.
Recipients of the Imperial Service Medal were not entitled to use any post-nominal letters.
What does the Imperial Service Medal look like?
When the Imperial Service Medal was inaugurated, it was in bronze and had a central part showing the royal and imperial cypher and the words “For Faithful Service”, but with a different external surround that depended on the recipient’s gender, with a seven-pointed star for men, and a laurel wreath for women.
In 1920, the design changed to a circular silver medal of the same pattern for both men and women, with the recipient’s name being inscribed on the rim. It bore on the obverse side the effigy of the reigning sovereign, and on the reverse side, a design to depict well-earned rest with the same wording as before, that is ‘For Faithful Service’ (Gazette issue 31953).
Where can I see Imperial Service Medal recipients?
All Imperial Service Medal awards are published in The Gazette. The first appeared in The Gazette in May 1903 (Gazette issue 27559), and related to civil servants from Canada, Hong Kong and Malta. The first United Kingdom awards of the medal were gazetted shortly afterwards (Gazette issue 27571) and included officers who served in various occupations such as museum attendant, postman, prison warder and shipwright.
The recipients may have come from across the British Empire, but the number of medals awarded varied widely from country to country, with very few in India and a much greater use of the honour by the authorities in Australia and Canada. In the United Kingdom the medal was often granted to men and women who served in large government organisations, and The Gazette contains regular lists of medals for personnel from, for example, the Admiralty, Air Ministry and War Office and their successor department, the Ministry of Defence.
The Gazette also contains frequent awards to employees of the General Post Office, who were civil servants until 1969 when the Post Office ceased to be a department of state and became a public authority. This explains why Gazette notices for certain former Post Office personnel refers to the award of their medal being dated 30 September 1969, as it was the last day on which the old department existed.
You can view the latest Imperial Service Medal recipients in the supplement below:
Celebrate your honour with a commemorative edition
If you or a loved one have been honoured by the King or mentioned in despatches, The Gazette is available to buy as a personalised commemorative edition. Each pack contains a complete edition of The Gazette from the day the honour was published.
See also
The Queen's Anniversary Prizes 2022-2024
Succession to the Crown: King Edward VII
British armed forces promotions and awards in The Gazette
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Russell Malloch
Russell Malloch
Publication date
18 March 2024
Any opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and the author alone, and does not necessarily represent that of The Gazette.