ROYAL WARRANT

  ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to all to whom these Presents shall come,

Greeting!
  WHEREAS a Medal for Arctic Discoveries was instituted by Our Royal predecessor, Her Majesty Queen Victoria, in 1857 and granted for service in specified expeditions in the period 1818 to 1855; and whereas Her Majesty subsequently instituted in 1876 a further Medal for Arctic exploration in the years 1875 and 1876; and whereas Polar Medals in silver and bronze were instituted by Our Royal Great-Grandfather, His Majesty King Edward VII, in 1904,
  AND WHEREAS conditions for the award of the Polar Medal, in silver only, were established by a Warrant under Our Sign Manual dated the twenty second day of January, one thousand nine hundred and fifty four as amended by Our Warrant dated the fifth day of February, one thousand nine hundred and seventy,
  AND WHEREAS We deem it expedient that Our said Warrant shall be further amended;
  NOW THEREFORE We do hereby declare that the rules and ordinances contained in Our said Warrant dated the fifth day of February, one thousand nine hundred and seventy shall be abrogated, cancelled and annulled and We are pleased to make, ordain and establish the following rules and ordinances in substitution therefor which shall henceforth be inviolably observed and kept:
  Firstly: (Style) The medal shall be styled and designated “The Polar Medal”.
  Secondly: (Description) The Medal shall be in silver and octagonal in shape, bearing on the obverse the Effigy of The Sovereign with the inscription “ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F:D:” and on the reverse a representation of the ship Discovery in winter quarters with, in the foreground, a sledging party on skis.
  Thirdly: (Ribbon and Order of Wear) The Medal shall be worn on the left breast suspended from a white ribbon, to denote snow and ice, one inch and a quarter in width.
  In the official list showing the order in which Orders, Decorations and Medals shall be worn the Polar Medal shall be placed immediately after War Medals.
  Fourthly: (Clasps) Every Polar Medal awarded shall be accompanied by a Clasp to be worn on the ribbon of the Medal and bearing the name of the Polar region or, in appropriate cases, Polar regions together with the date or dates appropriate to the achievement for which the Medal is awarded. When further service has been rendered by a holder of the Polar Medal which, under the terms of this Our Warrant, would otherwise merit recognition by the award of the Medal, a second Clasp shall be awarded, and a further Clasp may be granted in respect of each such additional service. A rose emblem in silver shall be worn on the ribbon, when the ribbon only is worn, to denote the award of each additional Clasp.
  Fifthly: (Eligibility) The Medal may be conferred on those citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland who have personally made conspicuous contributions to the knowledge of Polar regions or who have rendered prolonged service of outstanding quality in support of acquisition of such knowledge and who, in either case, have undergone the hazards and rigours imposed by the Polar environment. The Medal may also be awarded in recognition of individual service of outstanding quality in support of the objectives of Polar expeditions, due account being taken of the difficulties overcome.
  The Medal may exceptionally be conferred on citizens of other Commonwealth or foreign countries taking part in United Kingdom expeditions, or in the expeditions of those Commonwealth countries, other than the United Kingdom, of which We are Queen Our Government whereof may so desire.
  Sixthly: (Service) The period of service living and working in the arduous conditions of a Polar environment required to be considered for this Medal shall normally be not less than twelve months, although shorter periods of service may be aggregated to meet this criterion. Service in the support of the acquisition of knowledge of Polar regions shall normally be at least ten years’ such service in order to be considered for the Medal, although, in exceptional cases, a shorter period of outstanding service may be considered.
  Seventhly: (Posthumous awards) Awards of the Medal with Clasp and additional Clasps, if appropriate, may be made posthumously.
  Eighthly: (Recommendations) Awards to citizens of Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland shall be made only on the recommendation to Us by Our Secretary of State for Defence, on the advice of the Polar Medal Assessment Committee as described in the Regulations governing the award of this Medal.
  A recommendation for the award of the Medal to a citizen of a Commonwealth or foreign country shall be made to Us by the appropriate Minister of State of the said Commonwealth country or by Our Secretary of State for Defence as may be appropriate.
  Ninethly: (Names of recipients) The name of the recipient shall be engraved or stamped on the rim of the Medal.
  Tenthly: (Registration) The names of those citizens of Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to whom We have awarded the Medal and Clasp, or additional Clasp or Clasps if appropriate, shall be published in The London Gazette and a register thereof kept in Our Ministry of Defence.
  The publication and registration of awards to citizens of Commonwealth countries other than Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland shall be the responsibility of the Government of the said Commonwealth country but Our Ministry of Defence shall be informed of all such awards and an appropriate entry shall be made in the register held in Our Ministry of Defence. The names of citizens of foreign countries awarded the Medal shall also be included in the register held in Our Ministry of Defence.
  Eleventhly: (Miniatures) Reproductions of the Medal and Clasps in miniature, known as Miniature Medals, which may be worn on certain occasions by those to whom the Medal and Clasp have been awarded, shall be half the size of the Polar Medal and Clasp respectively, and a sealed pattern of the said Miniature Medal shall be deposited and kept in the Central Chancery of Our Orders of Knighthood.
  Twelfthly: (Regulations) The Medal and Clasp or Clasps shall be awarded under such regulations as to grant, forfeiture, restoration, and other matters, in amplification of this Our Warrant as may, with Our approval signified through Our Secretary of State for Defence, be issued from time to time by Our Defence Council.
  Thirteenthly: (Cancellation) It shall be competent for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, by an Order under Our Sign Manual on the recommendation of Our Secretary of State for Defence, or in the case of any Commonwealth country other than Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the appropriate Minister of State of the said Commonwealth country, Our Government whereof may so desire, to cancel and annul the award to any person of the Medal and Clasp or Clasps, and that the name of that person shall be removed from the register: provided that it shall be competent for Us, Our Heirs and Successors to restore the Medal or Clasps so forfeited when such recommendation has been withdrawn.
  Lastly: We reserve to Ourself, Our Heirs and Successors, full power of annulling, abrogating, augmenting, interpreting or dispensing with these rules and ordinances, or any part thereof, by a notification under Our Sign Manual.
  Given at the Court of St. James’s this fifth day of August One thousand nine hundred and ninety eight in the forty seventh year of Our Reign.
By Her Majesty’s Command GEORGE ROBERTSON THE POLAR MEDAL: Regulations

Made under the terms of the Royal Warrant by the Secretary of State for Defence and approved by the Queen.

Clause 5 (Eligibility)
  1. Eligibility for this Medal shall be interpreted as:

  (a) service on land or ice, at sea and in the air providing that individuals have fulfilled the qualifying conditions set out in the Royal Warrant. The Medal may only be awarded to all members of a party if the achievement of that party has been exceptional;
  (b) the Polar environment shall normally be considered to exist within the following geographical limits:

    — Antarctic— south of Latitude 60 degrees South, as well as the islands of South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, Heard Island and Bouvet’ya, account being taken of the position of the Antarctic Convergence in deciding whether the service is eligible;
    — Arctic— north of the Arctic Circle and including the whole of Greenland and Baffin Island, account being taken of the remoteness of the nominee’s activity from established settlements and from air transportation facilities; and

  (c) awards will normally only be made to those who have participated in expeditions or activities recognised by the UK Government or led by a UK citizen, however exceptional service by a UK citizen during an expedition authorised by a Commonwealth or foreign Government may also be considered.

Clause 6 (Service)
  2. In applying this Clause to short periods of service, the fact that an individual has over-wintered will be significant, especially for service at Antarctic bases.

Clause 8 (Recommendations)
  3. Recommendations for those involved in UK expeditions are put to the Ministry of Defence by Government departments, agencies and organisations responsible for expeditions. All recommendations are examined by the UK’s Polar Medal Assessment Committee which is made up of distinguished individuals with a wide knowledge of Polar affairs who examine the results or have knowledge of the nominees’ services. The nominees’ achievements and that of the expedition of which they were a part should accompany, or be included within, the citations, for nominees.
  4. Recommendations for individuals not responsible to, or employed by, Government departments, but who may nevertheless merit the Medal, including the citizens of Commonwealth and foreign countries, may be forwarded directly to the Ministry of Defence. They shall be examined by the UK’s Polar Medal Assessment Committee which may seek additional advice as necessary from organisations, learned societies or individuals with knowledge of the expeditions concerned.

Clause 13 (Cancellation)
  5. In the event of a holder of the Medal, subsequent to the award, being found guilty of any conduct which is considered inappropriate the Medal will, on the recommendation of the Secretary of State for Defence or of the appropriate Minister of the Commonwealth or foreign country concerned, be cancelled. The name of the holder will be removed from the register held in the Ministry of Defence. On further recommendation, The Sovereign may restore the Medal.

Interpretation
  6. The term “expedition” where used in the Royal Warrant or these Regulations shall be deemed to cover both long-term polar research programmes as well as short-term activities by individuals and groups.